Evan Bayh can go to HELL!

I am trying to breathe here. I am trying to be rational. I am trying not to make this just an absolute rant (despite the title). I will totally give Evan Bayh the fact that the climate in Washington is unbearable. I certainly cannot blame him for wanting to quit on those grounds. It has to be difficult to be constantly standing in the middle of ideologues, screaming at the top of your lungs and not being heard. However, to make an announcement today, four ONE day before the deadline to get on the primary ballot, is such an example of epic douchebaggary, is such a giant "FUCK YOU" to the Democratic Party and every single person who has ever voted for him, I really cannot get past my feeling of anger towards him.

For a candidate that isn't one of the Party's chosen ones to get on the ballot, he or she would have to decide to run today, and then get organized enough to get 4500 signatures (500 in each of the 9 Indiana Congressional Districts) in less than 24 hours. With broad party support, this does not seem too insurmountable.  However, who is going to be able to garner party support in that amount of time?  Outside of support, what about the money needed to win, especially in light of the fact that the Republicans will be smelling blood.  Sure, the rules state that in lieu of the signature requirements the party has until June 30th to place a candidate on the ballot, but that in and of itself is undemocratic and smacks of political cronyism because we do not get to vote on the candidate (don't get me started on party slating...) before November, and I have to wonder if there are some sort of rules for campaigning during the primary season if you're not actually on the Primary ballot?  So, is the best case scenario that on May 5th the Indiana Democratic Party names the candidate for the General Election?  Who knows, but thank you, Evan for all this wonderful uncertainty.

Bayh had $13 million in his campaign war chest, which scared away many of the big named Republicans, like Rep. Mike Pence, from challenging him this year. While Bayh would have more than likely won, it was pretty much a given that this was probably not going to be the 20+ point cakewalks that he's had in the past.  If you consider name recognition being the greatest hurdle to fundraising and ultimately winning, then the obvious choice for replacement would be one of the incumbent members of House of Representatives.  This is problematic for the obvious reason that all House seats are up for re-election this year, too.  So, you're basically reshuffling the deck chairs by filling one position and creating another open one.  Granted, it would be easier to put up a new candidate in a congressional district vis-a-vis the entire State, but with every seat counting right now, the party is running the risk of losing both a Senate and a House seat.

This makes me so incredibly mad.  I have to say I was never that big of a fan of Evan Bayh, and this is even after interning with him for a summer during the final year of his being Governor.  While I truly respect his political skills, I never felt that he really had a position on anything that wasn't politically expedient.  His stepping down today just feels like a slap in the face.  Almost like he planned the announcement to cause the most political carnage.  Surely he didn't have some sort of epiphany over the weekend, right?  Hopefully, there isn't some sort of scandal about to break, though I have to admit that would make me feel better about the whole thing.  All I can say is this:

"Evan Bayh, you could have retired with more class and dignity than you did today, but you chose to take the coward's way out by sticking it to the Party that created and the people who elected you.  Frankly, I hope you stay in DC and never come back to Indiana.  Your betrayl will be felt for years to come."