Senator Evan Bayh's retirement - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

pan6467 · 02-17-2010, 07:18 PM

I'm surprised no one has posted about this yet. Senator Bayh is a man I truly respected almost as much as Sherrod Brown. I disagreed with both on Health Care but Bayh is a stand up man with principles.

I met him a few times back in '94/95 when living in Indy and he was a very strong, charismatic presence, who seemed genuinely caring and well, nice. His leaving and the facts for which he is should say something to both sides. That they are being run by extremists.

I am deeply saddened to have this loss in the senate as I believe his voice was one that should have been listened to. He was on the path to what most say would have been a landslide victory, so he wasn't leaving because he was destined to lose.

Anyway, how do you feel? Should he have stayed and fought the good fight to get more moderates on both sides to take charge and speak out against their respective parties? Should he have just gone along with agendas that I believe he didn't agree with? Should he have just crossed the aisle?

I truly hope he changes his mind and eventually comes back into politics, hopefully, running for President in 12.

Select quotes from the article linked below:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100215/..._politics_bayh

Quote:

Bayh of Indiana said that "narrow ideology" was ruling lawmakers' decisions, thwarting useful work at a time when a bipartisan approach was urgently needed, and sapping his desire to remain in Congress.

Bayh's surprise decision underscored the Obama's and Democrats' problems in the often gridlocked Congress as well as the party's difficulty heading into November's election.

But he was clearly frustrated at the strong partisan streak in the Senate where most major votes are along party lines.

"Two weeks ago, the Senate voted down a bipartisan commission to deal with one of the greatest threats facing our nation: our exploding deficits and debt," Bayh said. "Just last week, a major piece of legislation to create jobs -- the public's top priority -- fell apart amid complaints from both the left and right."

SecretMethod70 · 02-17-2010, 07:29 PM

He'll be back in politics in no time - as a lobbiest, where he belongs. Bill Maher is often wrong, but he's spot on in this interview.

dippin · 02-17-2010, 07:36 PM

Bayh was part of the problem, not the solution. It is easy to be the centrist and the moderate when you are actually not for anything in particular. He was mister status quo himself.

I generally don't agree with Ross Douthat, but this was pretty spot on:

The Emptiness of Evan Bayh - Ross Douthat Blog - NYTimes.com

key point:

Quote:

"His big issue was supposed to be deficit reduction, but you wouldn’t catch him dead proposing anything remotely like Paul Ryan’s fiscal roadmap, with its detailed list of programs to be reshaped and reduced. (Bayh preferred the “bravery” of punting the issue to a commission.) On foreign policy, he was a liberal hawk on every vote except the hard ones: He backed the Iraq invasion in 2003 and takes a hard line on Iran today, but in the debate over the surge, when being hawkish was suddenly costly, he sided with the doves. Wherever the Beltway conventional wisdom settled, there was Evan Bayh — and he was rewarded for it with endless presidential and vice-presidential chatter, which has followed him, absurdly, even now that he’s announced his retirement."

pan6467 · 02-17-2010, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SecretMethod70

He'll be back in politics in no time - as a lobbiest, where he belongs. Bill Maher is often wrong, but he's spot on in this interview.

IF, Bayh becomes a lobbyist, he'll lose any and all respect I have for him. I truly believe that ANY politician should be ineligible to work for lobbyists in any capacity. That action further throws a shadow on our government's "honesty". If it were up to me we'd have limits on lobbyists, period.

And yes, I know there are good organizations out there that do voice and lobby for the right things... but they are few and far between and are nowhere near as well funded and as well influential as those that have worked the last 30 years to get us to where we are now.

Craven Morehead · 02-17-2010, 08:46 PM

He can run for governor again.

samcol · 02-17-2010, 10:25 PM

I'm from Indiana and I still can't figure out why he resigned. Usually the reason a politician gives for stepping away isn't even related to the real cause.

I know that he was very good at voting for conservative issues when it mattered (election time).

Also, he's actually better on gun rights issues than his Republican counterpart Luger from what I've read...

He's never really been challenged during an election as far as I can remember.

This has more to do with Dan Coates running more than anything I think...

scout · 02-18-2010, 03:28 AM

I think the whole Coats/Bayh in 98? and the Bayh/Coats thing in 2010 is kinda suspicious. Coats didn't run for reelection so Bayh could run in 98 and now Bayh is stepping aside for Coats in 2010? Sounds a little suspect don't ya think? Especially since Bayh has about 13 million in campaign funds. Another thing that was real suspicious was the fact Bayh announced this on Sunday and the following Tuesday was the filing deadline to get on the May primary ballot. It's really put the state Democratic Party in a bind. Why would he do that to his own party if he was planning on another run for governor 2012 unless there isn't some connection to the Coats filing?

Regardless of what he decides to do he's set for life thanks to you and I the taxpayers.

ASU2003 · 02-18-2010, 06:17 AM

If our crappy media would actually investigate things and find "the truth", we may have a better handle on why he retired. The timing is the suspicious part.

He may just want to quit working though, as I would.

And Bill Maher isn't wrong very often. (His show and podcast start again on Friday)

pan6467 · 02-18-2010, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SecretMethod70

He'll be back in politics in no time - as a lobbiest, where he belongs. Bill Maher is often wrong, but he's spot on in this interview.

He makes some good points, I don't necessarily agree with his politics, but he brought out the fact Bayh's wife sits on an insurance board, which I did not know.

I appreciate this link, thank you.

SecretMethod70 · 02-18-2010, 11:44 AM

scout: hmm. I hadn't thought about that.

cementor · 03-10-2010, 09:26 PM

There was an interesting interview in Business Week after the announcement. He said the right things regarding frustration related to gridlock and the feeling that things will not improve, but there is always that niggling in the back of my mind that want to know "the rest of the story". All things I have read indicated he was basically a lock to hold his seat, unlike a number of the recent group who have chosen not to seek re election. It will be interesting to see if we learn TROTS.

flstf · 03-11-2010, 08:05 AM

I believe Bayh is one of our politicians who we would be better off without. Between 2006-2008 his wife made over 2 million dollars serving on the board of WellPoint and four other health-care related companies. I don't mean to just single him out as I believe many of our politicians use their influence to enrich themselves and their families.

Quote:

The lovely Susan Bayh, formerly a mid-level attorney for the Eli Lilly Corporation headquartered in Indianapolis, has seen her income skyrocket since Evan joined the auspicious upper chamber of Congress in 1998.

The Bayhs are embroiled in a controversy over the inordinate number of corporate boards on which Mrs. Bayh serves. She is described by the liberal advocacy group Public Citizen as a "professional board member." The controversy will be certain to generate a closer examination of the couple's finances. Formerly overlooked tidbits like Susan Bayh's Wellpoint stock dumping profit should raise a few eyebrows as well:

On January 7, 2007, Susan Bayh exercised her options to acquire 3,333 shares of Wellpoint for an estimated cost of $147,000 and sold them the same day for an estimated price of $260,000, netting a tidy sum of $113,000. She repeated the process on May 17, 2007 for a net profit of $136,000. On December 11, 2007 she dumped an additional 1,430 shares of Wellpoint for $123,000. Why not? The entire Wellpoint board of directors was doing the same thing.

Bayh's total profits from stock dumping were $372,000. How much health care could the state of Indiana purchase for $372,000?

It appears that since Evan Bayh was elected to the Senate in 1998,

... numerous companies recruited her, and she eventually served on the boards of eight companies. At least one of them asked her to reduce the number of boards she served on, apparently because she was spread too thin to be effective.

And Susan is really hauling in the dough while strolling the medical corporation Board walk. Daniel Lee writes in the Indianapolis Star:

Susan Bayh served on these five boards from 2006 through 2008. All have a stake in health-care reform...

...Bayh's compensation during those years:
•WellPoint $976,000: Indianapolis-based health insurer, includes Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
•Dendreon $370,391: Seattle-based biotech company focused on cancer treatments.
•MDRNA* $388,169: Bothell, Wash., biotech company developing therapeutics to treat liver diseases.
•Curis $184,001: Cambridge, Mass., drug-development company focused on cancer treatments.
•Dyax $221,692: Cambridge, Mass., biopharmaceuticals company developing treatments for use in oncology and inflammation.

Total $2,140,253

American Thinker Blog: Mrs. Evan Bayh Does the Board Walk

02-17-2010, 07:29 PM	#2 (permalink)
SecretMethod70 Human Administrator Location: Chicago	He'll be back in politics in no time - as a lobbiest, where he belongs. Bill Maher is often wrong, but he's spot on in this interview. __________________ Le temps détruit tout "Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

02-17-2010, 10:25 PM	#6 (permalink)
samcol Junkie Location: Indiana	I'm from Indiana and I still can't figure out why he resigned. Usually the reason a politician gives for stepping away isn't even related to the real cause. I know that he was very good at voting for conservative issues when it mattered (election time). Also, he's actually better on gun rights issues than his Republican counterpart Luger from what I've read... He's never really been challenged during an election as far as I can remember. This has more to do with Dan Coates running more than anything I think... __________________ It's time for the president to hand over his nobel peace prize.

02-18-2010, 03:28 AM	#7 (permalink)
scout Psycho	I think the whole Coats/Bayh in 98? and the Bayh/Coats thing in 2010 is kinda suspicious. Coats didn't run for reelection so Bayh could run in 98 and now Bayh is stepping aside for Coats in 2010? Sounds a little suspect don't ya think? Especially since Bayh has about 13 million in campaign funds. Another thing that was real suspicious was the fact Bayh announced this on Sunday and the following Tuesday was the filing deadline to get on the May primary ballot. It's really put the state Democratic Party in a bind. Why would he do that to his own party if he was planning on another run for governor 2012 unless there isn't some connection to the Coats filing? Regardless of what he decides to do he's set for life thanks to you and I the taxpayers. __________________ "The beauty of the second amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it." Thomas Jefferson

02-18-2010, 11:44 AM	#10 (permalink)
SecretMethod70 Human Administrator Location: Chicago	scout: hmm. I hadn't thought about that. __________________ Le temps détruit tout "Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

03-10-2010, 09:26 PM	#11 (permalink)
cementor Crazy Location: Denver	There was an interesting interview in Business Week after the announcement. He said the right things regarding frustration related to gridlock and the feeling that things will not improve, but there is always that niggling in the back of my mind that want to know "the rest of the story". All things I have read indicated he was basically a lock to hold his seat, unlike a number of the recent group who have chosen not to seek re election. It will be interesting to see if we learn TROTS. __________________ Cementor If I was any better I'd have to be twins!

02-17-2010, 08:46 PM	#5 (permalink)
Craven Morehead Custom User Title	He can run for governor again.

02-18-2010, 06:17 AM	#8 (permalink)
ASU2003 immoral minority Location: Back in Ohio	If our crappy media would actually investigate things and find "the truth", we may have a better handle on why he retired. The timing is the suspicious part. He may just want to quit working though, as I would. And Bill Maher isn't wrong very often. (His show and podcast start again on Friday)