Bayh Begins Blue Dog Breakdown

Rejoice, all ye true Democrats! The march of Blue Dog DINOs out of Congress and back to the repug swamps in which they spawned has begun.

Fitting that the first to go is one of the worst: corporate-owned Evan Bayh.

Sen. Evan Bayh's (D-Ind.) retirement is a shocker, leading many to wonder what on earth a popular incumbent with plenty of money and a big lead in the polls is thinking. Bayh alluded to his frustrations on the Hill as part of his rationale.

"Two weeks ago, the Senate voted down a bipartisan commission to deal with one of the greatest threats facing our nation: our exploding deficits and debt. The measure would have passed, but seven members who had endorsed the idea instead voted 'no' for short-term political reasons," he said. "Just last week, a major piece of legislation to create jobs -- the public's top priority -- fell apart amid complaints from both the left and right. All of this and much more has led me to believe that there are better ways to serve my fellow citizens, my beloved state4 [sic] and our nation than continued service in Congress."

This sounds a bit like Bill Bradley's rationale in 1996 -- politics on Capitol Hill has become ugly and difficult, so I'm walking away.

But it's not exactly a compelling explanation. To hear Evan Bayh tell it, Republicans have made it impossible for Congress to work on issues important to him ... so he's decided to make it easier for the Republican caucus to have more power.

When the going gets tough, the conserva-Dems pack up and go home?

What's more, while I'm hardly familiar with Indiana's election procedures, reliable sources report that the filing deadline for candidates interested in the Senate race is this week, meaning Dems will have to scramble. If these reports are accurate, it would appear Bayh is hurting Democrats twice -- once by walking away when they need his vote, and again by making it extremely difficult for the party to find, recruit, and qualify a top-tier candidate to run in his stead.

Yes, of course Bayh lied about his intentions, soaking up campaign cash and timing his departure in a way to maximally ass-fuck the Democratic Party. That Indiana and national Democrats expected anything better from him is yet more evidence of their terminal naivete.

All due respect to Steve Benen, Bayh quitting is not a surprise if you look at it from the appropriate kindergarten perspective.

Forty-one set-in-concrete repug votes in the Senate means that neither the repugs nor the Democrats have any use for Evan "My ass is for sale" Bayh. Either the Democrats are going to keep letting the repugs block everything with fake filibusters, or they're going to eliminate the filibuster and return the Senate to majority rule.

Either way, Bayh and his fellow Blue Dogs - Lincoln, Baucus, Nelson, Landrieu, Pryor, McCaskill and Lieberman are now irrelevant. They have no leverage, no power, no respect.

They'll either take their marbles and go home in a snit, or fall to primary defeat at the hands of Real Democrats.

But assume the worst - or rather, best: All eight of them quit or lose, and repugs take their seats, leaving the Democrats with 51 votes in the Senate. As long as the dems keep caving to fake repug filibusters, 59 is the same as 51 - it still gives repugs the power to stop everything with their minority of 41.

But if the Democrats call the repugs out and manage to restore majority rule, then 51 is not only just as good as 59, it's better.

No more gutting good liberal legislation to please Blue Dogs. No more adding poison pills to please repugs. No more betraying the American people's desire for single-payer healthcare, heavy regulations on Wall Street, massive jobs programs and renewable energy.

I'll take 51 reliable Real Democratic votes over 60, 70, even 90 votes that include Blue Dogs like Bayh.