I kind of understand what Evan Bayh is trying to do. Despite being in the Senate for a full ten years, and in spite of serving on six full committees, he ranks no higher than fourth on any of them. He does hold two significant gavels: as chair of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support and the Banking Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment. But, the bottom line is that Bayh is stuck as a relative bankbencher in the Senate with far below the level of institutional clout he should have acquired by now. He’s up for reelection in two years and he wants to show that he’s a player that is doing something for his home state. I don’t begrudge him that.
But Bayh did two things today that annoy me. First, he put together a meeting of Democratic ‘moderates’ that are concerned about all the spending going on in Washington.
A group of 14 Senate Democrats and one independent huddled behind closed doors on Tuesday, discussing how centrists in that chamber can assert more leverage on the major policy debates that will dominate this Congress.
Afterward, some in attendance made plain that they are getting jitters over the cost and expansive reach of Obama’s $3.6 trillion budget proposal.
Then Bayh cast a vote in favor of John McCain’s amendment to the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act.
The Senate just defeated an amendment, 63 to 32, by Senator John McCain that would have maintained federal agency spending at last year’s levels and deprived lawmakers of nearly 9,000 in earmarks.
Sen. Clair McCaskill, who is a member of Bayh’s Gang of 15, also voted for McCain’s amendment, but at least she is consistent: she is one of only five senators to request no earmarks in the Appropriations Omnibus bill. That’s not something Bayh can claim.
From Bayh’s own previous remarks, it’s clear that he sees his Gang of 15 as a Senate version of the House’s Blue Dog Coalition.
Roll Call reported last night that Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) intends to form a group of “moderate” Democratic senators based “loosely on the House Blue Dog Coalition. “
“I think we have a wonderful opportunity to break the gridlock that has existed in Washington for too long,” Bayh said in an interview. “We need to do that in practical ways that will solve problems. The place that will be most important in striking that right balance will be in the Senate.”
Bayh, who has spoken with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) about his initiative, said he is trying to create a faction of moderate Senators who will gather on a weekly basis ahead of the usual Tuesday Democratic Caucus meetings.
Additionally, Bayh envisions inviting outside speakers to address the group, which would also work in concert with third parties that have similar viewpoints, like the Third Way, a nonpartisan progressive think tank.
I would not describe the Third Way as a progressive think tank. They do some decent work, but they’re mainly representative of the following sentiment:
Sen. Evan Bayh, the Indiana Democrat who assembled Tuesday’s skull session, added that he was “very concerned” about Washington’s level of spending, especially in a $410 billion “omnibus” spending bill to fund the government until the start of a new fiscal year in October.
As for the tax increases on high-income earners called for in Obama’s plan, Bayh said, “I do think that before we raise revenue, we first should look to see if there are ways we can cut back on spending.”
“The American people and businesses are tightening their belts,” Bayh added. “I think we need to show that the government can economize as well.”
Obama is spending money like a drunken sailor because the economy is in a global death spiral, and Evan Bayh still is complaining about raising any revenue through taxes, even when those taxes are going to come from individuals that make over $250,000 in taxable income and even though that rate is the same as what prevailed during the Clinton administration, and even though the tax hike will not take effect for two more years. And he pretends to be a budget hawk!!
Maybe Bayh really has some principles. But, if so, he’s just stupid and can’t do arithmetic. It’s far more likely that he wants to organize a group of backbenchers to increase their relative power by threatening to block or water down Obama’s agenda. Look at the membership of Bayh’s Blue Dog coalition.
Sens. Evan Bayh of Indiana, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Mark Begich of Alaska, Mark Warner of Virginia, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Bill Nelson of Florida, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Robert P. Casey Jr. of Pennsylvania, Blanche L. Lincoln of Arkansas, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, as well as Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.).
Two members remain unidentified in the article. Of this list, only Lieberman has the chairmanship of a full committee. Begich, Shaheen, and Warner are freshmen, and Klobuchar, Casey, and McCaskill are sophomores. This is just a power play to extort some goodies and increase this backbenching group’s power. And I can understand it, but I also find it annoying as hell.