Is Sen. Evan Bayh Retiring A Politically Expedient Move?

Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana has announced that he is retiring, citing that he is unhappy with Congress and Washington.

Evan Bayh's decision represents yet another blow to the beleaguered Democratic Party. Last month, Sens. Chris Dodd and Byron Dorgan decided not to seek reelection (as reported by MSNBC via AP). Democrats are also recovering from Republican Scott Brown's victory over Martha Coakley.

Yet the Indiana senator insists that his decision has nothing to do with his prospects for reelection. According to his statement (as posted by WISH TV), "my decision was not motivated by political concern. Even in the current challenging environment, I am confident in my prospects for reelection."

Is Evan Bayh's retirement a move to buck his party? Is he trying to distance himself from Obama and the Reid/Pelosi Congress? Throughout his career, he was always known as a moderate centrist. He was also a Clinton supporter throughout the 2008 primary season and only tepidly endorsed Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention.

I'm reminded of Zell Miller's book, National Party No More: Conscience of a Conservative Democrat. There he discussed how his term in the senate had caused him to become disillusioned with the party of his birth. He argued that the Democratic Party had abandoned its platform of fiscal responsibility and strong national defense (under JFK) in favor of extremist ideologues and corrupt special interests.

While Evan Bayh is no Zell Miller, he's likely discontent with the current direction of the Reid/Pelosi Congress. Charles Lane of the Washington Post argues that Sen. Bayh's decision was "an emphatic 'screw you' to President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid." He also pointed out Evan Bayh's desire to move the party into a more centrist direction, and to focus on fiscal responsibility and jobs over health care and cap and trade.

Evan Bayh is one of the most fiscally conservative senators in his party. FOX News points to the fact that he voted against last year's budget and that he helped to axe $100 million in spending off the stimulus package. He has also opposed Obama's cap and trade legislation.

Yet this is not to suggest that Evan Bayh is in cohorts with the Republicans. The GOP had bucked his ideas for creating a bi-partisan budget-balancing commission, hanging him out to dry at the eleventh hour.

One could look at the Indiana senator's retiring as genuine frustration at his party's inability to adopt a fiscally responsible agenda. Yet more calculating pundits could also interpret this as a politically expedient move, a way to distance himself from Obama and Reid, thus putting himself in the position to run for higher office in the future without becoming associated with the stigma of the Obama Administration.

BBC's Mark Mardell describes his retirement as "political positioning," observing that many Americans would welcome Bayh's centrist rhetoric about reaching across the aisle.

Perhaps Evan Bayh is trying to distance himself from Obama the way John McCain tried to distance himself from Bush.

In any case, Evan Bayh's retiring may send a sobering message to Democrats: if they have any hope of hanging on, they need to be more like Bayh and Nelson and less like Dean and Pelosi.

Sources:

Abrupt Dem retirements show tough landscape, MSNBC via AP

Sen. Evan Bayh not seeking reelection in 2010, WISH TV

Bayh to Obama: take this job and shove it, Washington Post

With Bayh, the Writing Was on the Wall..., FOX News

Bye Bayh, Blue Dog, BBC