Indiana Democratic Senator Evan Bayh Announces Retirement; Will Not Seek Re-election

The announcement seems to have caught the Democratic Party by surprise. It also all but ensured the election of former Senator Dan Coats, a Pro-Life Republican, in the upcoming midterm election.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Catholic Online) - In what is becoming a year of serial surprises for the Democratic establishment in Washington, DC, Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana just added one more. He announced on Monday that he will not run for reelection to a third term. He has decided to retire. The announcement seems to have caught the Democratic Party by surprise. It also all but ensured the election of former Senator Dan Coats, a Pro-Life Republican, in the upcoming midterm election. Evan Bayh had amassed a war chest of 13 million dollars for his reelection campaign. He appeared stable in the polls. He had already begun to attack his likely Republican opponent in advertisements. Most observers note that his name and popularity made him the only possible Democrat who could have held on to the seat. Indiana trends Republican. Once a contender for the Vice Presidential slot on the Obama ticket, he was passed over. Since then he has carved out a perception as a "moderate" or "centrist" Democrat by opposing some of the fiscal policies of the Obama administration. Washington was abuzz Monday over the surprising turn of events. Political pundits speculated in every venue they could find. As for the Senator, he appeared at an afternoon Press conference surrounded by his family. He announced that "the people's business is not getting done" and expressed his frustration with the current state of politics in Washington, DC. saying "there is much too much partisanship and not enough progress...All of this and much more has led me to believe that there are better ways to serve my fellow citizens." In short, Senator Evan Bayh simply seemed tired of it all. Of course, the speculation will continue. One thing is certain; Bayh brings to five the number of Democratic Senators to retire this year. In a political environment where most indicators point to a difficult midterm election for Democrats, it is no surprise that "Politico", the latest "go to" place for political punditry, headlined the announcement "Evan Bayh burns Democrats." Although painting himself as a "moderate" on fiscal issues, Bayh´s record on the fundamental human rights issue of our age, the Right to Life, has gone form bad to worse over the years. Steven Ertelt, the Editor of Lifenews.com in an article entitled "Pro-Abortion Sen. Evan Bayh to Retire, Easier for Pro-Life Senate Wins" notes: "Bayh has strongly supported both abortion and forcing taxpayers to fund embryonic stem cell research, which involves the destruction of human life. During the 109th Congress, Bayh voted to spend taxpayer money on promoting and performing abortions in other nations and he voted to fund embryonic stem cell research. Bayh also opposed a measure requiring states to respect parental involvement laws so teenagers wouldn't be taken to other states for secret abortions. "This session, he has scored just a 33% pro-life rating from National Right to Life by virtue of voting for the pro-abortion health care bill and supporting Obama's reversing the Mexico City Policy. He compiled a scant 18 percent pro-life voting record from 2003-2004, a 0 percent record from 2001-2002, and just an 11% pro-life record from 1999-2000."

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