Evan Bayh and the Sasquatch
By Mark Kilmer Posted in Democrats — Comments (10) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Senator Evan Bayh ('08), the Indiana Democrat and son of Birch, knows what ails the Dems:
"We may consider ourselves the party of the middle class but too many middle-class Americans no longer consider us their party," Bayh said in a speech at the National Press Club.
"They have left the Democratic Party in droves, costing us the last two presidential elections and the last six congressional elections. If we don't learn some lessons, we'll lose in 2006 and 2008 as well," said Bayh, one of about a dozen Democrats considering a presidential run.
"We have both a patriotic responsibility and a political imperative to reclaim our legacy as the party of the middle class by fighting for their interests," the former Indiana governor said before flying to Iowa, site of the traditional kickoff caucus in the White House race, to repeat his middle-class message.
It's a bland message from a man widely considered to be a bland politician, but he might have a winning theme. They key word, here, is "might." That is, indeed, "might" – as in Georgia might want to become a Canadian province and the Sasquatch might be looking in my window.
read on...
The only way for a Democrat to occupy the Oval Office these days – and no, they cannot even impeach and remove everyone and put in Pelosi – is to pander, and it is not so simple to pander to the American middle class in a Democratic manner.
For example, Bayh cites two examples of Democrat pandering which he says are not pandering to the middle class: a minimum wage hike and John Edwards's call to eradicate poverty. The hike in the minimum wage will only increase the prices paid by members of the middle class for various services, and the middle class are those who will pay to eradicate poverty, if such a thing is possible.
But does Bayh even want to run for President?
He said he was not discouraged by opinion polls showing him in low single digits in support among Democrats. Polls showed Edwards in a similar spot in 2002 and 2003, he said, and Edwards eventually finished a strong second in Iowa in 2004.
It could be that Bayh wants to balance, say, a Hillary ticket. He should remember, though, that Edwards became his party's number two to a really bad Presidential candidate by pandering to a different of his two America's than the one in which most in the middle class consider themselves to be.
"We must re-establish the Democratic Party as the instrument of middle-class progress," he said.
Last I checked, we had some 127,000 troops stationed in Iraq. The nation is on a constant terror alert. North Korea is a problem. Iran is a problem. A President faces concerns and problems.
And Evan Bayh wants to become President in 2008, or at least his party's nominee, by promising to pay for college and health care for the middle class, even though he'd have to tax the middle class to do it?
But there is hope: Bayh's father, Indiana Senator Birch Bayh, finished second to Jimmy Carter in Iowa in 1976, the first year it was the first set of caucuses. Dick Morris worked for the elder Bayh then, and maybe Evan could talk him into something. Then again, the toesucker might still be frightened of the Clinton machine to which he keeps referring.
Then again, I still don't see the Sasquatch.
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Evan Bayh and the Sasquatch 10 Comments (0 topical, 10 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
They have been leaving the Dems.
Of course the main reason is that even supposedly "centrist" Dems like Bayh have been caving into the Moore/Soros/Kos "progressive" view more and more. He is from a red state yet his votes are getting bluer and bluer each year.
"Some of the Democrats wouldn't take their own side in a fight"
Maybe so, it certainly seems most won't take their countries side.
oops I mean a religious figure
http://www.suntimes.com/output/jesse/cst-edt-jesse18.html
When I saw the title, I thought maybe Jesse was writing a column I could finally agree with.
Then I read the column. Talk about out of touch with reality!
In fairness to the Democrats, there are stupid people among the middle class. Stupid people may well be persuaded that Democrats know how to pay for their childrens' education with "federal funds," those magical dollars that grow on trees.
The not-so-stupid people know perfectly well that any federal help with anything is merely their own money coming back to them, minus a hefty cut for administrative overhead. When we're talking about the middle class, it's not "free money" like it is for the poor who pay little or no taxes.
The question is whether the sum of stupid people plus lefty peaceniks constitutes a voting majority. I'd like to think not, but I don't have any data.
With the exception of Hillary Clinton and Joe Lieberman, Democrats seem totally oblivious to the depth of feeling among the voting public concerning being blown up. People really, really do not want to be blown up. They don't want their trains blown up, their airplanes blown up, or even their pizza parlors blown up. Especially with them inside.
Democrats seem to think that people will forget all about being blown up — or at least cease to care about it — if sufficient attention is paid to health care, education, and Social Security. On the subject of being blown up, they are simply not serious... and people can see this.
Until they fix that, I don't know how they can win anything.
After all these bombings, kidnappings, and whatnot around the world, people understand very well that nothing is going to slow or stop these Islamofascist wackos except hunting them down and killing them. They're not mad at us; they're mad at everybody. They attack Russians, Indians, Canadians, Danes, Brits, Spaniards, Somalis... any plan that says all we have to do is be nice to them is simply not serious and will eventually result in Americans getting blown up. So is any plan that suggests retreating behind a defensive wall. In any contest between a guy with a gun, and a guy with a bullet-proof vest, bet on the guy with the gun. Everyone instinctively understands this. Except, apparently, Democratic politicians.
I've been disappointed in him, too, but if he has presidential aspirations, he does have to appeal to the base first.
After all, conservative Dems have about as much of a chance of winning primaries as liberal Republicans...
75% of the United States Military, including those currently deployed (and especially those still in Clintonian hotspots that are Still more dangerous than Iraq)...
...Come from the Middle Class.
Figure it out, Democrats, or continue to be Marginalized...
If I recall correctly, did he not vote against Secretary Rice's confirmation?
Does Evan's comments suggest that he and his party are starting to emerge from their decades long stupor? I really am quite amazed at the blunt honesty of his comments.
and Evan is popular here, even though his voting record is anything but centrist. That's because Bayh plays the Clinton game - being all things to all people. Bayh, like Bill Clinton, is a political chameleon who stands for nothing, believes in nothing. Runs as a conservative Dem at home, votes as a liberal in DC. He's got nothing to offer the country or the party, which is why he's in the low single digits.
A big problem for the dems is that they have redefined middle class "at least in their minds" to mean those without a job or at the very low end of the pay scale. That is not the middle class that they lost. Remember how only the rich benefited from the tax cuts - well, everyone who pays taxes benefited, with the highest percentage cuts coming at the low end of the income tax scale. So anyone who pays income taxes is considered rich in their minds and not part of the middle class. The dems have become the party of those who don't work (i.e., the poor).