Posted on 01/25/2010 3:13:47 AM PST by MarkAccord
WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, $12.7 million was an insurmountable barrier that insulated U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh from any kind of potent Republican challenge to his re-election this year.
By lunchtime Thursday, that mountain of money in Bayh’s campaign account was a piffle.
The Supreme Court ruled that corporations can spend as much as they want – $10 million, $20 million, even more – to campaign for or against a candidate. It made Bayh’s once-enviable stash of cash just one of many factoids a Republican might consider in evaluating a campaign instead of the major reason not to run.
One such Republican is Rep. Mike Pence, R-6th, who was the darling of the Republican inside-the-Beltway kingmakers immediately after the GOP candidate won the Massachusetts Senate seat Tuesday.
Bayh never turns up on lists of vulnerable incumbents. Why? Because of the $12.7 million in his campaign fund, his statewide favorable rating northward of 50 percent and his universal name recognition by Hoosier voters.
But after the Massachusetts election, Bayh’s name was included in lists of Democrats who might be in trouble. The implication was that if Massachusetts voters were mad at Democrats, Hoosiers are, too, and will take it out on Bayh.
And that was before the Supreme Court ruling.
(Excerpt) Read more at journalgazette.net ...
“I am disappointed in the Supreme Court’s ruling. Unfortunately, it’s going to have the practical effect of limiting opportunities for too many minorities, disabled and the elderly to exercise their franchise. Many seniors who don’t drive and many lower-income Americans who don’t have an automobile or a license now risk being turned away from the polls.
Pence is great. He spoke at the March For Life in Washington last Friday. “I’m Mike Pence. I’m from Indiana, and I’m Pro-life” He called Barry “the most pro-abortion president in American history”.
I think Georgia’s voter ID plans were shot down
by the courts as being discriminatory.
There is NO WAY Pence will beat Bayh.
Hell, that is like saying a REPUBLICAN will be elected to the Senate in Massachusetts.
Oh, wait...
Mike Pence really should run for the United States Senate against Bayh. It is a no-lose proposition. There is a good chance he can win, and even if he comes close and loses, it will set him up well for either a future Gubernatorial or even Presidential Fund.
A company like Proctor and Gamble could donate enough pro= Pence money to completely wipe out Evan Bayh’s financial advantage.
Do you think that is why Obama is so upset with the recent Supreme Court Ruling?
For those that can't drive, I think all states have a photo ID card that looks like a license-- it's required for check cashing, etc. I have one. What's the big deal?
This articles statements do not reflect tho local sentiment in my area, Bayh is currently on the hate list of just about everyone I know. I don't think money will save him if the republicans run a decent candidate.
Never stopped those people from collecting their social security benefits using some form of id or the other.
Without demanding an ID, it’s easier to cheat. No democrat would ever survive an honest election.
I'd go even further and support such non-DL photo IDs being offered to legal residents of a given state at no charge whatsoever. That would serve to completely wipe out the argument that low-income people are supposedly disenfranchised by voter ID requirements.
Wouldnt it be great if we had a campaign law that said , After the election all monies not spent by candidates would go to the IRS.
Incumbents are allowed to build these huge amounts of money and store it in their campaign war chests, and it puts every newcomer at a disadvantage. It’s one reason incumbents are re-elected so often.
Make them all start out even .
Of course they will never be even as lobbyists and people who got political favors from the incumbent will flood them with money, but that could be stopped too.
I think Pence could be another Scott Brown in that he has nation-wide support from movement conservatives and the Pro-Life movement. Bayh has been shown to be an extreme liberal and those controversial votes of his can’t be erased.
All of a sudden, Evan Bayh has been making noises like he is some kind of moderate after he ratified the Cornhusker Kickback.
Georgia is one of the southern states which has to seek approval from the federal government to change their voting laws.
All true.
But if he runs and loses, he loses his seat in the House. Scott Brown wad lucky, in that his State Senate seat would still have been there even if he had lost.
I doubt if Pence will be sweating losing his Congressional seat. Pence is ambitious and wants to run for President at some point. You can’t really do that running as a Congressman who was afraid to run for the Senate. Especially in this political environment.
You could be right.
I suppose crimials or folks paid under the table that use money orders may not need an ID...
Yes, I am sure that BHO doesn’t like it that people who actually work and create jobs will have a say in elections, not just the left wing billionaires and the MSM.
Is there a reason Proctor and Gamble would support Pence? Just wondering. I remember boycotting them a few years back. I believe it was about their ads in gay magazines, but they backed off and the boycott ended.
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