"There's just too much brain-dead partisanship, tactical maneuvering for short-term political advantage rather than focusing on the greater good, and also just strident ideology."
"The extremes of both parties have to be willing to accept compromises from time to time to make some progress because some progress for the American people is better than nothing, and all too often recently, we've been getting nothing."
"The people who are just rigidly ideological, unwilling to accept practical solutions somewhere in the middle, vote them out, and then change the rules so that the sensible people who remain can actually get the job done."
"The president I know is desperately trying to accomplish this. Congress needs to listen and the American people need to help with this process."
"I love working for the people of Indiana. I love helping our citizens make the most of their lives, but I do not love Congress."
-Indiana Senator Evan Bayh.. from his retirement announcement
I'm confused. Is he quitting as an admission that he is not one of those "sensible people" that can get the job done?
ReplyDeleteHard to say why he is really quitting. I think that he is somewhat of a centrist and has been disappointed by the folks on the extreme left and right. As a centrist myself I have to say that I resonate with that disappointment.
ReplyDeleteI must admit I was as surprised as anyone else when Evan Bayh made his announcement. Will Evan run for President? I don't know, but I think we could do a lot worse. As a Hoosier by birth, I'm somewhat familiar with the Bayh family. A former high school classmate of mine was then Governor Bayh's secretary of state for a while and will probably help run Evan's campaign if he does run. It's been a very long while since a Hoosier was president....maybe it's time!
ReplyDeleteThought you would appreciate this link, Bob. It's the 1956 Republican Platform.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/print.php?pid=25838
Clearly, some of the GOP platform items then are socialist today (expansion of social security, govt healthcare, progressive taxation, infrastucture stimulus spending, pro-labor)... but it illustrate how the collective middle seems to missing in Washington these days.
@CR - I saw him this morning on the news categorically saying he would not run for prez. And I think he tried to run a few years ago.
ReplyDelete@Ed - Quite a platform.. I liked this from it..
"We promise unwavering vigilance against corruption and waste, and shall continue so to manage the public business as to warrant our people's full confidence in the integrity of their Government."
The president is desperately trying to compromise? On what has he compromised up to this point?
ReplyDelete@Casey - Have to ask Bayh.. he has seen the prez up close.. of course he is a democrat :)
ReplyDelete"On what has he [Obama] compromised up to this point?"
ReplyDeleteTurning a blind eye to torture and extraordinary rendition for starters. Also, the public option in healthcare and tighter regulation for banks?
I won't miss Bayh; he wasn't the sharpest tack in the box. He's definitely not like his father.