Free Republic

<p>To the disappointment of Democratic partisans and long-faced members of the media in attendance at today's hearing, Democratic commission member Bernard Pylitt assured the public the Commission's decision was not about partisan politics or a pending criminal case against White.</p>

Former Sen. Evan Bayh (D- Ind.) appeared on the Laura Ingraham Show and admitted that Obamacare does not reduce the actual costs of health care. Bayh said: The real issue that was not addressed, Laura, that you’ve raised now, and I think appropriately, is the cost, the cost to both the government and to your listeners. We need to take steps now to get the costs of health care under control. That was not dealt with really in an aggressive way in this legislation. I think it now needs to be.

Former Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh is slated to become a contributor to Fox News, Huffington Post and other outlets are reporting. Bayh, a moderate Democrat who served in the Senate from 1999 to 2011, will act as a commentator and political analyst for the network, according to the Huffington Post. Bayh flirted with the idea of a presidential bid in 2008, but ultimately abandoned the idea. "Senator Bayh's decades of experience in the political arena and his participation in key decisions in Washington will lend a valuable point of view to the entire FOX News lineup," said Michael Clemente, senior...

If only this were a coalition of the left and the right working out differences. But alas, it’s just a coalition of mostly liberal politicians who used to label themselves by a political party and now would rather fly stealth. Sigh. If you are not familiar with “No Lables”, no worries, it’s brand new and they certainly deserve a Hat Tip for brevity. Here’s their declaration: We are not labels – we are people. We care deeply about our country. We are frustrated and concerned about the tone of politics. We are passionate about addressing America’s challenges. We are Democrats,...

ndiana Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh has decided against a run for governor in 2012, robbing Democrats of their top recruit in the Hoosier State. "After careful consideration, I have concluded that the appropriate decision is not to be a candidate for governor of Indiana in 2012," Bayh said in a statement released to the Fix. ""The principle reason for my decision is the welfare of my twin sons." Bayh's decision leaves the Democratic field wide open. Reps. Brad Ellsworth and Baron Hill, both of whom lost races this fall, are likely to consider the Bayh-less contest. Others mentioned include Rep....

Alternate headline: “Lame-duck Blue Dog free to admit what every other Democrat already knows.” The good stuff comes at the beginning, but if you give up before the end, you’ll miss him talking about what a horrible political miscalculation ObamaCare was. Yes, after 60 years of trying, they finally got a foot in the door of socialized medicine, but they knew the price they’d pay was steep. Did they know it’d be quite this steep, though? Kaus-ian Democrat-bashing Democrat Pat Caddell raises the stakes:

Kosciusko County Silent NO More has scheduled a debate for U.S. senatorial candidates from 10 a.m. to noon at the Center Lake Pavilion, 119 E Canal St, Warsaw. It said four of the candidates have agreed to participate: Don Bates Jr., Marlin Stutzman, John Hostettler and Richard Behney. Representatives of Dan Coats said he has also agreed to take part. The seat is currently held by Evan Bayh, who is not seeking re-election.

CNN Insists Evan Bayh is 'No Liberal;' GOP 'Should Be Sad to See Him Go' On Monday's Rick's List, CNN's Rick Sanchez and Jessica Yellin both tried to portray liberal Indiana Democrat Evan Bayh as a centrist. Yellin insisted, "Republicans should be sad to see Evan Bayh go because he is one of the centrists who worked very hard to work with Republicans." Sanchez replied, "Evan Bayh is no liberal!"

LOS ANGELES -- Sen. Evan Bayh will be a guest next week on "The View," his first live talk show appearance since announcing he won't seek re-election to the U.S. Senate, ABC said. The Democrat will be interviewed by Barbara Walters and the other hosts of "The View" on Monday, Feb. 22. The 54-year-old Bayh said this week he wouldn't seek a third Senate term in 2010, citing the bitter partisan divides that have dominated Congress in recent years.

"Mr. Bayh knows something about high-water political floods. As a 24-year-old law student he helped run his father's 1980 Senate re-election and saw him go down to defeat under the Reagan landslide. In 1994, Mr. Bayh was governor of Indiana and thankful he wasn't before the voters when they revolted against Bill Clinton. "Every 14 or 16 years we seem to have to relearn this lesson," Mr. Bayh said. "I do have a sense of deja vu, and the movie doesn't have a happy ending." He isn't the first observer to note the misfortune that befalls modern Democrats when they...

Tamyra d’Ippolito, looks like she didn't get enough signatures....

Interesting about Sarah Palin: She simply refuses to go away and die. She refuses to get out of politics. She refuses to accept the view of the political establishment, or much of it, that she’s a joke, a moron, a laughingstock. I think she has a keen sense of her own worth: of her talents and abilities, which are considerable. They are not total. But whose are? Churchill’s? Maybe. Bear with me while I tell a little story. Some years ago, I was in Davos, for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. John Ashcroft was a lunchtime speaker....

VIDEO

It is white-rhino rare for a politician who is in the prime of his life (or for that matter at the end of his life), and who is still popular with his constituents, to quit without an ulterior motive. Bob Dole quit in order to focus on a Presidential run. Sarah Pailin quit in order to spend time in the lower 48 states, promote a book and perhaps run for the White House. Even politicians near death tend to keep running. Senator Byrd (D-Living) and Strom Thurmond (R-Dead) have been prime examples of this phenomenon. Moderate Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN),...

President Barack Obama branded Republicans last week as 'electoral opportunists' more concerned about their own interests than the people's, taking a political risk by escalating criticism of the very lawmakers he's urging to work with him. Are you kidding me? This is a man that ran for President after serving 180 days as junior Senator from Illinois. He barely got used to his Senate office before he headed off to New Hampshire and Iowa. This is President who ignored the minority party for one year, because he had the majority and didn't care. He loafed around Washington as a virtual...

The media, liberal Republicans like David Frum, and every left-winger out there has for a year decried, bemoaned, ridiculed, and laughed at conservatives for an alleged “purity test” for candidates. I have been a chief target of those attacks from the Republican establishment, pundits, the left, and the media. Never mind that is was never true. I’ve always said the GOP should go right where it can go right. That’s not everywhere. Unperturbed, folks from the GOP establishment and Republican pay-to-play organizations to your friendly national news correspondent, have gone after me and conservatives for our alleged purity test. Charlie...

You can almost hear the beat of that old rock song: “Dum, dum, dum… Another one bites the dust.” Evan Bayh, the Indiana Democratic Senator, has announced that he too is quaking in his boots and suddenly deciding not to run as beleaguered Democrats are quickly realizing their arrogant posturing this past year has stirred up a political hornet’s nest that is likely to bring most of them down. While Bayh is only the latest and certainly not the last to realize that America’s anger is real, some Democrats continue their Little Big Horn mentality in holding high the liberal...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Barack Obama suffered another setback Monday as a fifth Democratic senator, centrist heavyweight Evan Bayh, decided not to run for re-election in dismay at the bitter political climate. Obama, who reportedly tried to talk Bayh out of retiring, faces a looming Republican resurgence and risks watching strong majorities in Congress crumble in November mid-term elections, and with them his ambitious reform agenda. With his tearful wife and two sons at his side, Bayh, 54, expressed disenchantment with excessive partisanship in the Congress as he announced his decision at a press conference in the state capital...

Millions of Americans long to tell their bosses “take this job and shove it.” Hardly any have the power and money to do so, especially in these recessionary times. Sen. Evan Bayh (D) of Indiana, however, is the exception. His stunning retirement from the Senate is essentially a loud and emphatic “screw you” to President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. For months now, Bayh has been screaming at the top of his voice that the party needs to reorient toward a more popular, centrist agenda -- one that emphasizes jobs and fiscal responsibility over health care and cap...

FORT WAYNE, IN (Indiana's NewsCenter) - Former U.S. Senator Dan Coats confirmed this morning that he will run for U.S. Senate. During a live interview with Charly Butcher on WOWO radio Coats said his campaign is "up and running, with thousands of volunteers on the ground". Multimedia Watch The Video The campaign is still collecting the necessary signatures to enter the Republican primary in May. The former 4th District Congressman said he never expected to be back in politics, but the recent turn the country has taken concerned him, leading him to enter the race. Since word of a possible...

Formally, it is known as H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. But this week, it has acquired an unhelpful nickname: "Cash for Cloture." As Senate Democrats finally complete their health-care legislation, those combing through the bill have uncovered many backroom deals that were made to buy, er, secure the 60 votes needed to "invoke cloture" -- the legislative term for cutting off debate and holding a final vote. It will take years to see how well the measure reduces costs and expands insurance coverage. But already, the bill has been a bonanza for wordsmiths. First there was...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzpRZnnrjrs An empty suit? A Republican who hopes to prevent Democrat Evan Bayh from winning his third U.S. Senate term in 2010 is running his first commercial. The ad features Marlin Stutzman, a state senator from Howe, standing next to a suit on a hanger. "I don't approve of sending empty suits to Washington," he says, an implication that the moderate Bayh shifts with political winds. Stutzman is emerging as the front-runner among three Republicans who have entered the race. The empty suit commercial is running only on cable channels right now. Political observers think that to seriously challenge Bayh,...

Do you want President Barack Obama to succeed? Rush Limbaugh would IF ONLY he instituted rational policies. Since it looks like that won't be happening, then Rush wants him to fail because of his errant policies. And it is those very policies that will ultimately cause Obama to fail which is why I am glad that the DUmmies refuse to listen to the one bit of rational advice from one of their own in this THREAD, "Evan Bayh steps up, Good for Him." Yes, good for Evan Bayh since he might force Barack to not cater to the looney...

Here is video of Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh on Great Van Susteren last night where he strongly made the case for voting "no" on the $410 Billion Omnibus Spending Bill that contains 9,000 earmarks, and that President Obama should veto it. Bayh has broken ranks with the Democratic leadership in Congress, and with Obama who said he would sign the bill. Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, also a Democrat, is reportedly planning to vote against the bill too. . . . . . . (Watch Video)

THIS WEEK, THE UNITED STATES SENATE WILL VOTE ON A SPENDING PACKAGE TO FUND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR THE REMAINDER OF THIS FISCAL YEAR THE SENATE SHOULD REJECT THIS BILL. IF WE DO NOT, PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA SHOULD VETO IT. THE OMNIBUS INCREASES DISCRETIONARY SPENDING BY 8% OVER LAST FISCAL YEAR'S LEVELS, DWARFING THE RATE OF INFLATION ACROSS A BROAD SWATH OF ISSUES…APPROPRIATE FOR A NATION FLUSH WITH CASH OR UNCONCERNED WITH FISCAL PRUDENCE, BUT AMERICA IS NEITHER. OUR NATION'S CURRENT FISCAL IMBALANCE IS UNPRECEDENTED, UNSUSTAINABLE AND, IF UNADDRESSED, A MAJOR THREAT TO OUR CURRENCY AND OUR ECONOMIC VITALITY. THE...

NashvillePost.com has learned that senior campaign officials from the Barack Obama Presidential campaign are being dispatched from various locations around the country and are converging in Indianapolis for a “major event” to take place on Saturday. Saturday is the same day that Obama is expected to make his first public appearance with his yet to be announced vice presidential running mate. Indiana is the home state of Democratic Senator Evan Bayh, widely considered to be on the short list of Democratic vice presidential contenders. Sources in Denver, the site of next week's Democratic National Convention, say that individuals responsible for...

Senator Barack Obama fought back Saturday against accusations from his rivals that he had displayed a profound misunderstanding of small-town values, in a flare-up that left him on the defensive before a series of primaries that could test his ability to win over white voters in economically distressed communities. For a second day, Mr. Obama sought to explain his remarks at a recent San Francisco fund-raiser that small-town Pennsylvania voters, bitter over their economic circumstances, “cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them” as a way to explain their frustrations. Acknowledging Saturday that “I didn’t...

Over the past few years, the mainstream media has tried to dismiss bloggers and other emerging media outlets as rank amateurs. It's claimed that our sources are unreliable, our investigation methods are shaky, and all in all, bloggers are considered to be an unprofessional lot who serve no useful purpose in the reporting process. Unfortunately, these same words can easily be used to describe the mainstream media. One need only to look to the story of John Mark Karr to see a vivid example of how the media runs with a story with little or no merit. As you probably...

Those Clinton campaigners sure know how to slip the "subliminable" shiv in. During a Hardball appearance yesterday, chief strategist Mark Penn managed to work the phrase "cocaine use" into his comments supposedly disassociating the campaign from charges of Obama drug use made by Hillary's New Hampshire chairman. See video of Penn in action here. Today, it was the turn of Hillary supporter Evan Bayh to take a whack at Barack, all while pretending to take the high road. A bit after 3 PM ET this afternoon, the Dem senator from Indiana with the Eagle Scout aura [who might well have...

pla•gia•rism -[pley-juh-riz-uh m, -jee-uh-riz-] –noun - the unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work. Three years ago, I received an email for articles for a risk management trade magazine, a profession to which I am proud to belong. I deleted it. It got me thinking, though – why not send in an article and see what would happen. So I wrote a humorous little piece on how invisible risk managers seem to be in the business world and how no one (not even my...

He doesn't have the money to compete with the first-tier candidates. He doesn't have the national stature that others do. Still, he's got experience as a governor, from an area of the country important to his party's hopes in 2008, and speaks well on the stump. Therefore, he's the perfect choice for Vice President. These qualities all apply to Mike Huckabee, Evan Bayh, Bill Richardson, Mark Warner, Mark Sanford, Tom Vilsack and any number of other potential number twos. But every one of them will tell you they're not interested in the job (Richardson the latest to do so, in...

From the time we're in grammar school, all the way through our adult lives we've been taught to take responsibility for our actions and not place blame on others for something we did. It's one of the essential elements of integrity. There was a time in our history when we could at least hope to look up to our elected officials and view them as statesmen, because they represented character traits we admired. Those traits and the courage to take a stand against evil would make us proud to follow them into battle. But today, we see many of them...

"...No Member, officer, or employee shall knowingly use his official position to introduce or aid the progress or passage of legislation, a principal purpose of which is to further only his pecuniary interest, only the pecuniary interest of his immediate family, or only the pecuniary interest of a limited class of persons or enterprises, when he, or his immediate family, or enterprises controlled by them, are members of the affected class."-Standing Rules of the Senate - Rule XXXVII (4) Conflict of Interest "...As I travel across Indiana, one of the biggest concerns raised by my fellow Hoosiers is the rising...

Blog written by openly gay immigration attorney Gary Welsh lambasts Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh (D) for his "no" vote on cloture for the Shamnesty bill.

Reading this AP article on Evan Bayh's announcement that he won't seek the Dem presidential nomination because he's concluded the odds are too long, I kept searching for the predictable labeling reference. And sure enough it came: "Bayh has charted a centrist's course throughout his political career." That sent me scurrying to a favorite source, Project Vote Smart, to check Bayh's ratings from various interest groups. Yes, he's probably less liberal than, say, Barbara Boxer. But check out some of his ratings: NARAL, 2005 - 100%National Right-to-Life Committee, 2001-02 - 0%National Taxpayers Union, 2005 - 12%Americans for Tax Reform, 2006...

CBS) There has been intense speculation among Democrats Friday night that Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh will not seek his party's nomination for president in 2008, CBS News has learned. Bayh’s office has not yet responded to requests for comment. The speculation comes less than two weeks after Bayh hired campaign staff and announced plans to form a fundraising committee for a potential presidential bid. "He has this very serious team ... some very high-powered help," Mark Blumenthal — aka Mysterypollster, editor of pollster.com — said at the time. Blumenthal noted that he's worked in the past with some of Bayh’s...

Top Indiana Democrat issues warning WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Sen. Evan Bayh, a veteran Indiana Democrat, said Tuesday's election was a vote against the status quo and not an affirmation of his party's agenda. In an interview Bayh, a potential 2008 presidential candidate, said most Americans don't really know what Democrats stand for, Gannett News Service reported. "And if we serve up a highly partisan, ideologically extreme, Democratic version of what they just voted against, we're not going to do very well." Instead Bayh urged his party to focus on issues of concern to the middle class like health...

5 out of the top ten US House Recipients of contributions (1989- 2001) from Arthur Andersen are democRats. Their names and the amounts are listed below. And, according to dim logic, they are guilty by association and should have their names shining in the bright lights of Reuters, AP, Drudge, The Washington ComPost, and more. After all, this is a hit piece. Here you go, Klayman, chase this ambulance too! Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) $34,687 Martin Frost (D-Texas) $32,000 Peter Deutsch (D-Fla) $24,200 James P. Moran (D-Va) $21,250 Ken Bentsen (D-Texas) $19,225 Other Rats also receiving Andersen dirty money include: Rick...

In the history of the Democratic Party, the election of 1980 looms large: the year the party lost the White House, the Senate, a generation of Midwestern liberals and, in some ways, its confidence that it was the natural, even inevitable, majority party. Now, that election has a sequel. Call it the return of the sons: Chet Culver, the Iowa secretary of state and the son of former Senator John C. Culver, is running for governor of Iowa. Senator Evan Bayh, son of former Senator Birch Bayh of Indiana, is organizing and testing the waters for a possible presidential bid...

Sen. Evan Bayh, weighing a run for president in 2008, challenged the Democratic Party to establish an agenda aimed at middle-class voters, a critical constituency that he said the party has let slip away. "We may consider ourselves the party of the middle class, but too many middle-class Americans no longer consider us their party," the Indiana Democrat said Monday. "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, and we must not...

In a quiet, methodical style reflecting his Midwestern roots, Sen. Evan Bayh is laying the foundation for a presidential campaign and prompting some Democrats to talk about a candidate with a realistic shot. "The chatter that you hear is that he's a good guy and nice and he has that honest, Midwestern feel to him, kind of like Harry Truman," said veteran Democratic strategist Dane Strother. "That's all appealing." In his fifth trip to Iowa in the last year, the centrist Indiana Democrat opened a three-day swing Thursday with a fundraiser in downtown Des Moines for legislative candidates. He mingled...

And they're off! By Salena Zito TRIBUNE-REVIEW Sunday, June 18, 2006 Sometimes you are a hit. Sometimes you take a hit. One of the golden rules of campaigning is that every poll on the calendar is not a slam-dunk. The Des Moines Register conducted the first poll of the 2008 presidential race last week. It was based on interviews with registered Iowa voters who are likely to participate in the Democratic caucuses two years from now. Much ado has been made about John Edwards' robust first-place showing, Hillary Clinton's second place, John Kerry's distant third, and Iowa homeboy Gov. Tom...

IT'S TOUGH TO BE a moderate Democrat. Hatred of George Bush has changed the loyal opposition into the bitter opposition, less interested in policy than in punishing their bête noire. It's particularly tough for Democrats who supported the invasion of Iraq, the defining George Bush moment, and who oppose withdrawal. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, the very model of a modern "defense Democrat"--not to mention the party's 2000 vice presidential nominee--now faces overwhelming votes of "no confidence" from Connecticut Democratic town councils.The conundrum is acute for the rising generation of moderate Democrats who may run for president, if the performances last week...

Tough-on-terrorism Democrats urged their party on Tuesday to put foreign policy ahead of political retribution in the fall elections, underscoring a divide between the party's hawks and doves that could frame the 2008 presidential campaign. "Simply lashing out in anger at the current administration doesn't accomplish what we want," said Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, a likely candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. Bayh and another potential White House hopeful, former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, spoke at an event sponsored by the moderate Progressive Policy Institute to promote its book, "With All Our Might," a Democratic blueprint for fighting the war...

Weekend Talk Show *Preview* for 4/15-4/16/06 (not the live thread) I'm going to try a little different formatting this week.  The listings were growing too long to let us look at and organize the show contents after I started adding the Saturday shows.  So what I'm going to do is add 3 message posts on this thread, in this order the Sunday show contents in message 1 the Saturday show contents in message 2 the guests for all shows in message 3 Then I'll send out the ping to everyone.  I hope this will help make the thread easier to...

Journal Editorial Report (Paul Gigot) - FNC show page Meme: The Republicans are doomed if they do and doomed if they don't on immigration Topics: The Republican brawl over immigration: An interview with pollster Matthew Dowd on the politics of reform (Opinion Journal web site)Journal editors handicap the showdown between President Bush and GOP restrictionists. (Opinion Journal web site)Immigration reform and the Hispanic vote: Are hard-line Republicans jeopardizing the GOP's future as a majority party for short-term gains this November? (FNC web site) Guests Matthew Dowd I used to work for George Bush, now I work the Ahnuld on his...

The Talk Shows Sunday, February 19th, 2006 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Evan Bayh, D-Ind.; former Sen. Alan Simpson, R-Wyo. MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff FACE THE NATION (CBS): Sens. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. THIS WEEK (ABC): Chertoff; Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., and Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va.; basketball player Shaquille O'Neal. LATE EDITION (CNN) : Chertoff; British ambassador to the United States David Manning, German ambassador to the U.S. Wolfgang Ischinger and French ambassador to the U.S. Jean-David...

Fox News Sunday (Chris Wallace) Memes: As usual it looks like Fox is reversing the main meme of the other shows: the usual suspects (Dems/MSM) are trying to blame the grown ups for a natural disasterThe MSM are out of their tiny minds, particularly CNN for lashing out at Brit Hume and Fox for the Cheney interviewThey are giving Evan Bayh a platform for trying to run right of George Bush on IRANThey are giving Lindsey Graham a platform to auditioning as John McCain's VP candidate, therefore he will take the Democrat talking points on NSA and repeat them, ad...

Be prepared for them to ask for your zip code, Some Senate offices have started doing that.

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. (AP) - A man who beat his ex-wife to death with an unloaded shotgun during an eight-hour furlough from prison was executed early Wednesday, hours after the governor denied his request for clemency. Alan Matheney, 54, was pronounced dead at 12:27 a.m. EST after receiving a lethal injection at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. Matheney said his attorney would give his final statement. Matheney was sentenced to death in 1990 for murdering 29-year-old Lisa Bianco. Prosecutors said he drove to the South Bend suburb of Mishawaka, broke into Bianco's home, chased her outside and beat...