Sen. Evan Bayh says Sen. Brown might help fix partisan politics

Retiring Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana said Monday that electing more lawmakers like new Republican Sen. Scott Brown might be the “ultimate cure” for partisan gridlock in Washington.

Brown’s upset victory over a Democrat, who held a double-digit lead a week before Massachusetts’ special Senate election last month, signaled that voters wanted “more practical problem solving,” Bayh said in a television interview Monday on ABC’s “The View.”

“Scott Brown is a good example of what I think the ultimate cure might be,” Bayh said. “My read on what happened in Massachusetts is the vast majority of moderates and independents rose up and said ‘enough already.’”

Bayh, who has clashed regularly with more liberal members of his party, announced last week that he had decided against seeking re-election after two terms in the Senate.
Bayh said he was tired of partisan wrangling in Washington.

He reiterated that sentiment Monday, saying the Senate used to be a more polite place.

Senators should be more open to compromise and rely on filibusters less to block legislation, Bayh said.

“Those on my side need to accept half a loaf when the alternative is nothing,” he said.

Bayh repeated that he has no plans to seek the presidency as an independent in 2012, but pointedly left the door open to a return to public office in the future — but not as a member of the Senate.