Evan Bayh Considering Running

[gWIL 0]

Father says Bayh seriously considering White House run

The Associated Press

 

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Sen. Evan Bayh is giving “serious consideration” to running for president, according to his father, former Sen. Birch Bayh.

The younger Bayh has received considerable mention as a possible Democratic presidential hopeful in 2008, but his father's words Friday appeared to be the strongest indication that a White House run may be planned.

 

“I think he's giving that serious consideration,” Birch Bayh told about 200 people at Ivy Tech State College's second annual O'Bannon Institute for Community Service.

 

The elder Bayh, who served as senator from Indiana from 1963 to 1981, sought the Democratic nomination himself in 1976, but lost to Jimmy Carter.

 

Bayh that his son is more serious and more conservative than he was.

 

“I thought I could speak to the young people who were concerned about Vietnam and the hard hats who were concerned about making a living,” he said.

 

The former senator was the featured speaker for the two-day conference on student activism and leadership named for late Gov. Frank O'Bannon.

 

Bayh encouraged students and young people to put their abilities to use in politics and civic life.

 

“I think young people want to believe they can make a difference,” he said. “God help us if a generation of young people come along that don't think they can make a difference.”

 

 

I hope he does, as I think if could past Clinton, then he could win the election easily. I'm far more liberal than Bayh, but my family knows his father pretty well.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

He never will. Not liberal enough.

 

Actually, he's one of the Dems that I like...

[gWIL 0]

That's why I think he'll win. At this point a lot of hardcore democrats, such as myself want someone who can reach out to moderates and Republicans. If he can win over Clinton, I think he'll win the general election by a fairly large margain.

[Ted the Poster 0]

How do you pronounce his last name?

[Guest BDC]

How do you pronounce his last name?

"Bay" like a gulf.

[Hogan Made Wrestling 0]

How do you pronounce his last name?

"Bay" like a gulf.

Maybe he can get Michael Bay to produce and direct his campaign ads.

[BUTT 0]

Maybe he can get Richard Bey to endorse him. Although I'm not sure how big Richard is on the Dems, considering how he feels Clinton got his show kicked off the air.

[teke184 0]

Here's a potential campaign slogan:

 

"Vote for Evan Bayh... His father lost his Senate seat to Dan Quayle, you know!"

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

I saw some old Birch Bayh campaign ads a few weeks ago, and the last name was pronounced as "buy" then.

 

Go governor, not senator. Too much baggage.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

^Correct. I hear Evan Bayh's name on local news quite a bit.

 

Dan Quayle's dumb ass is from my hometown.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

I second the "Buy"-sounding last name. It was funny on election night that Evan and W. won IN by a large number of votes (I think each one was over 60 percent)...

[gWIL 0]

I can't even remember the Republican guy running for Senate. Bayh was a GREAT governor, it was the Democrats after him that screwed up this state. And let us never mention Dan Quayle, I like to pretend he doesn't exist. Buy is correct for his last name.

[The Czech Republic 0]

"President Evan" sounds like "President Cameron" or "President Conner." I didn't know many people born before 1988 went by Evan.

[Ted the Poster 0]

I bet President Connor's first act would be that pregnant women are no longer allowed on boats...

[SuperJerk 0]

I saw some old Birch Bayh campaign ads a few weeks ago, and the last name was pronounced as "buy" then.

 

Go governor, not senator.  Too much baggage.

He was a 2 term governor, and only just started his second term as a senator.

 

 

Elected to his second term in November 2004, Senator Bayh has proven he is "more concerned with reflecting what he believes is right for Indiana citizens than with playing to the Beltway crowd," says the Indianapolis Star. His signature legislative efforts seek to strengthen our national security, create more jobs through the growth of small businesses, encourage responsible fatherhood and provide tax-relief for families struggling with the rising costs of college, retirement and the long-term care of a loved one. To help win the war on terror, Bayh has taken the lead in providing our troops with the armored vehicles they need and has visited Baghdad for a firsthand look at the progress on-the-ground.

 

Bayh currently serves on five Senate committees: Banking Housing and Urban Affairs, on which he is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on International Trade and Finance; Armed Services; the Select Committee on Intelligence; the Special Committee on Aging; and the Small Business Committee.

 

Bayh is a leader of the New Democrat movement. At a time when partisanship is threatening progress on the nation’s most pressing issues, Bayh is spearheading the creation of the Third Way, an organization designed to build consensus around legislation that would otherwise remain bogged down in political turf wars. Bayh also serves as Chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), a national group that offers support for Democratic elected officials and community leaders with a progressive approach on issues. Bayh is a member of the Senate Centrist Coalition, a group of moderate senators from both parties who meet regularly and work together to find common ground. He helped establish the New Democrat Coalition, a new and growing group of senators who are committed to sensible bipartisan progress. Bayh also serves on the Board of Directors of the National Endowment for Democracy, a non-partisan group that works to promote and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide.

 

Before his election to the Senate, Bayh served two terms as Governor of Indiana, where he established the state as one of the strongest, most financially secure economies in the nation. "Mr. Bayh’s record," reported the Wall Street Journal in 1992, "is one of a genuinely fiscally conservative Democrat." Stressing fiscal responsibility, lower taxes, job creation and lean government, Bayh’s list of achievements are remarkable: eight years without raising taxes; the greatest single tax cut and largest budget surplus in state history; national leadership in moving people from welfare to work; more dollars for schools every year; high academic standards and new college opportunities; over 350,000 new jobs; tougher laws on crime; and improved environmental quality.

 

credit: http://bayh.senate.gov/about.html

[genius33 0]

^Correct. I hear Evan Bayh's name on local news quite a bit.

 

Dan Quayle's dumb ass is from my hometown.

holy crap... you're from huntington???? me too! we are so dang proud of dan quayle its scary.

 

btw, its "buy"

[The Czech Republic 0]

Well what can I say. Evan Bayh looks like he could be the most impressive, likable, qualified, bipartisan-appealing candidate in the whole field for the 2008 Democratic primaries.

 

So it'll be a real shame when they pick Hillary.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

I saw some old Birch Bayh campaign ads a few weeks ago, and the last name was pronounced as "buy" then.

 

Go governor, not senator.  Too much baggage.

He was a 2 term governor, and only just started his second term as a senator.

Yeah, I know he did the governor thing, but by the time the campaigns would really be gearing up, he'd already have 8 years of Senate time under his belt. All the votes along the way can kill you.

 

Getting past that, he'd be a nice fit.

[Guest MikeSC]

A guy the Dems wouldn't consider naming as head of the DNC is, somehow, supposed to be a candidate for President?

 

Umm, yeah.

-=Mike

[The Czech Republic 0]

Maybe they were saving him for the 2008 run.

 

 

Hey how's this for a primary

 

Hillary Clinton

Terry McAuliffe

Al Sharpton

John Edwards

Tom Daschle

Robert Byrd

Rod Blagojevich

 

 

 

lol

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

^Correct. I hear Evan Bayh's name on local news quite a bit.

 

Dan Quayle's dumb ass is from my hometown.

holy crap... you're from huntington???? me too! we are so dang proud of dan quayle its scary.

 

btw, its "buy"

You've got to be fuckin' shittin' me.

[SuperJerk 0]

^No, it really is "buy".^

 

A guy the Dems wouldn't consider naming as head of the DNC is, somehow, supposed to be a candidate for President?

Bayh wanted to be DNC chair?

[Guest JMA]

I really hope this guy does run. I've looked over his positions on various issues and I believe he's just what the Democratic Party needs.

[SuperJerk 0]

Yes, but then you'd have every far left idealogue coming out of the woodwork claiming Bayh's too conservative and a "Republican lite" like they did with Gore.

[Guest JMA]

Yes, but then you'd have every far left idealogue coming out of the woodwork claiming Bayh's too conservative and a "Republican lite" like they did with Gore.

Those individuals really need to learn how to compromise.

[SuperJerk 0]

Its kind of a rule that a party's most extreme factions try to periodically take it over. Even now, the Republicans are having to deal with their own most conservative faction that is threatening to walk out if Bush doesn't follow their agenda to the letter.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Its kind of a rule that a party's most extreme factions try to periodically take it over. Even now, the Republicans are having to deal with their own most conservative faction that is threatening to walk out if Bush doesn't follow their agenda to the letter.

I hope the Crazy Christians shut up soon. The Republicans really have them by the balls, because if they're complaining that George W. Bush is not conservative enough for them, they're certainly not going to vote Democratic.

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

I really hope this guy does run. I've looked over his positions on various issues and I believe he's just what the Democratic Party needs.

Unfortunately, you're probably right. He's what the Democrats need to *win*. Not what they necessarily need to be right.

 

This and Kerry's cynical stance on gay rights really makes me wonder: is it better to win or to be right?

[SuperJerk 0]

Let me explain the difference between Bayh and Kerry.

 

Kerry is a liberal pretending to be a moderate to get votes.

Bayh is actually a moderate.

 

People might be more willing to vote for Bayh, because there's a greater chance he actually believes what he's selling, whereas Kerry was exposed as being full of shit. People can disagree with you and still feel good about voting for you if they think you're being sincere about your views (Ronald Reagan is a perfect example of this).

 

What I'm trying to say is that I don't care if the Democrats run a moderate, so long as its someone who actually believes what they're saying and isn't just changing their positions to get votes.

 

 

Its kind of a rule that a party's most extreme factions try to periodically take it over.  Even now, the Republicans are having to deal with their own most conservative faction that is threatening to walk out if Bush doesn't follow their agenda to the letter.

I hope the Crazy Christians shut up soon. The Republicans really have them by the balls, because if they're complaining that George W. Bush is not conservative enough for them, they're certainly not going to vote Democratic.

They actually have two choices:

 

-not vote at all

-vote for a 3rd party

 

Either way, they've crippled the Republican vote and given themselves a moral victory by denying someone the win. Like I said, this is exactly what happened on the left in 2000 when Nader drew just enough votes away from Gore for him to loose. The Democrats have a disadvantage because they have no unifying positions to fall back on. There are no broad themes or uniting issues to bring them together other than a desire to win.

 

Whoever the 2008 GOP nominee is will have their work cut out for them to remain true to this group without alienating everyone else. The two most successful people at doing this, Reagan and G.W. Bush, were able to pull it off by uniting social moderates around their national security proposals while playing to the right on social issues (I still maintain that Bush's economic policies were a non-issue in 2004).

Edited May 10, 2005 by RobotJerk

[MrRant 0]

Who?