Staff Editorial: Hello, Evan Bayh

He votes with the blue party, but his words clearly determine his true conservative ties to Indiana.

Evan Bayh, Indiana’s former junior senator, retired from office at the beginning of the year, leaving the Democratic National Committee and Indiana’s Democratic headquarters little room to find a proper replacement for what would have been Bayh’s re-election campaign.

The Democratic Party picked Brad Ellsworth, the then 8th District congressman, and essentially threw the election to the Republican Party and Dan Coats.

Bayh’s actions were a blow to the Democratic Party, but on Nov. 2, he publicly struck the final low blow to the group, telling what went wrong for the left following Bush’s exit from the White House.

It’s a slap in the face, and the Democrats should cut all remaining ties with the man. He is far from following in his father’s footsteps; instead of becoming a respectable public figure, Bayh is taking the easy, opportunistic way out.

So what’s to come for the former senator? As everyone will be looking at Obama’s re-election, Bayh is poised to run for Indiana’s governorship again.

He has more than $10 million saved up from federal campaigning that he could simply donate, and he could then in turn have the DNC donate it to his regional race.

The general public will not know those details. Instead, they will immediately connect his last name to his father’s credibility, one that doesn’t exist for Evan Bayh himself.
The gubernatorial race in 2012 is practically set for Indiana as Bayh is sure to square off against Mike Pence, current congressman for Indiana’s 6th District.

It’s going to be a radical conservative against a moderate conservative, and essentially, it’s a GOP showdown for control of the Hoosier State.