To: Interested Parties
From: Rob Jesmer, NRSC Executive Director
Re: Bayh’s Frantic Scramble To Center Can’t Mask His Liberal Record
Date: Tuesday, January 26, 2010
It has now been one week since Senator-elect Scott Brown (R-MA) shocked the political world by claiming the Senate seat held by Ted Kennedy for nearly half-a-century in deep blue Massachusetts.
The ramifications of Brown’s historic victory have profoundly impacted political races at all levels across the country. Perhaps no better example can be found than Indiana, where U.S. Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) is desperately attempting to mask his liberal record with decidedly moderate rhetoric as he prepares to face Hoosier voters in the fall.
As he reads the political tea leaves and attempts to scramble to the middle of the political spectrum, Bayh’s rhetoric and actions in the last week have truly been remarkable.
Before the final votes were tallied last Tuesday, Bayh told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl that Democrats would only govern successfully by “making common cause with independents and moderates.” And in an interview with Bloomberg over the weekend, Bayh said “Congress should pursue a more limited health-care overhaul measure” and urged President Obama to focus on “rising deficits.”
Just this morning in an interview with MSNBC, Bayh criticized President Obama’s major legislative priority last year – legislation that he himself voted to pass – and admitted that the Democrats’ massive stimulus bill should have been “more directly targeted.”
Bayh also told Gerald Seib of the Wall Street Journal that Democrats “must move to the middle.” He incredibly added that “it is amazing that some people here in Congress still don’t get it” regarding Americans’ outrage at the exploding deficits and Democrats’ out-of-control spending.
All this centrist language, however, cannot change one simple fact: When Democrat Party leaders in Washington needed Evan Bayh’s vote to advance their liberal agenda, he has been there for them. In 2009 alone, Bayh cast the decisive 60th vote to move forward the massive $787 billion stimulus bill that he’s suddenly criticizing, as well as the President’s exceedingly unpopular health care bill, which cuts Medicare by roughly $500 billion and raises taxes by over $400 billion.
In fact, the Indianapolis Star reported in December that behind closed doors, Bayh played a pivotal role rallying fellow Democrats to support the controversial legislation, giving a “rousing speech, arguing that Democrats could not afford to let the reform effort collapse in the face of Republican attacks.”
Evan Bayh can try to disguise his liberal credentials with sweeping rhetoric about bipartisanship and moderation, but behind closed doors, he is a reflexive partisan and enthusiastic supporter of an increasingly unpopular agenda in a conservative-leaning state.
Unfortunately for Hoosier taxpayers, Bayh’s concern about deficits and spending were nowhere to be found last year. Had Bayh brought the same level of concern to lowering taxes and limiting government spending that he’s bringing to his own political future, he could have single-handedly prevented these two flawed pieces of legislation from moving forward.
Given these stubborn facts, it’s no wonder that Senator Bayh’s approval numbers have taken a hit at home, and his re-election prospects are suddenly less certain this November. As voters demonstrated in the deep blue state of Massachusetts, they are prepared to hold the party in power accountable for their liberal spending agenda – an agenda that Evan Bayh has eagerly championed in Washington.
