Oh, Good Grief....

So, Rep. Brad Ellsworth has come out of the closet to say he will run for Evan Bayh's Senate seat, which as pretty much been the school of thought since Monday.  The other option was Baron Hill, who will likely loose his congressional seat due to the census, may run for governor, and has lost to Dan Coats once already.  Obviously, he was a non-starter in the eyes of many.  As I wondered aloud in a previous post, the Indiana Democratic Party technically cannot name a candidate until there is officially a vacancy, and even though no one was able to file to run for the seat, it will technically not be open until after the Primary.  Now we have to wait.  More people may decide to plead their case, but I think it is pretty much a foregone conclusion that Ellsworth will be our man.

In my opinion, this is a debacle.  As is the case with most Democrats in Indiana, you cannot be a liberal and win here.  So, for the most part, Hoosier Democrats have become the epitome of the conservative, "Blue Dog" wing of the party.  You know, the whiny little girls that derailed health reform.  In a lot of ways, the Indiana Democratic Party is more traditionally Republican than the current Republican Party, and Indiana Republican's are mostly crazy.

Ellsworth just happens to be a Catholic, pro-life, pro-gun, and is rated 30 out of 100 by the Human Right's Campaign.  I have nothing against Catholic's btw, but I was raised one.  So, I know enough to consider it a debit.   Anyway, pardon me if you don't see me jumping up at down at the concept of his candidacy for Senate.  At least with Evan Bayh, I knew we had a pretty good party line type of guy, and I knew we could trust him if the going got tough.  Sure, he's become a bit of a moderate grandstander in the the recent past, but I still knew the "D" meant something to him.  I don't get that from Ellsworth, and that scares me.  Surely, I won't be voting for Dan Coats or whomever the Republican is going to be, but I am frankly getting tired of having to hold my nose and vote for these Republicans in Democrat clothing.  I realize I will have to leave Indiana to ever get a representative that is remotely in line with my own positions.  And no, I shouldn't have to just grin and bear it because even 30 points is higher than your average Republican...

Grow a pair, Dems.