Yesterday's New York Times carried the story, "Indiana Senator Offers Obama Risks and Rewards."
The article focuses on Democratic Senator Evan Bayh, described as "one
of the leading candidates to be the running mate of the presumed
Democratic presidential nominee, Senator Barack Obama."
The article notes:
Mr. Bayh and Mr. Obama made a joint campaign swing in
Indiana last week that would have provided an opportunity for the Obama
campaign to gauge the personal and political chemistry between the two
men, who have worked together in the Senate on an initiative to promote
responsible fatherhood — a signature issue for both.
“Evan has a lot of experience,” said Lee H. Hamilton, a former House
member from Indiana and a respected Democratic elder. “He has got
Hollywood good looks, and he speaks well. He would be very loyal.”
Mr. Bayh, whose father, Birch, was a liberal Democratic senator and
presidential candidate in 1976, has compiled a moderate-to-conservative
record both as governor of Indiana from 1988 to 1996 and as senator
since 1999. He was first elected to state office in 1986 at age 30, as
Indiana secretary of state.
A moderate-to-conservative record? The Times itself continues:
In the past few years, Mr. Bayh has been a more
reliably Democratic vote on social policy, and he opposed President
Bush’s nominees to the Supreme Court. But this spring, he frustrated
Democratic leaders by holding out against new spending in the federal
budget. But that reflects his fiscal conservatism; in Indiana, his
record on cutting taxes as governor and leaving office with a $1.6
billion surplus is a hallmark.
Budget surpluses are not unusual for Indiana. Even in today's "tough times," as incessantly painted by the media, Indiana ended the last fiscal year with $1.4 billion in its main checking account and primary savings accounts.
So let's briefly examine the rest of that moderate-to-conservative record. Project Vote Smart collects ratings
given by a wide variety of special-interest organizations. Evan Bayh's
record shows that in 2007, NARAL Pro-Choice America gave him a grade of
100, as did the AFL-CIO and the Children's Defense Fund. The Americans
for Democratic Action assigned him a 95 percent rating and the ACLU
awarded him an 86. For 2005-2006, he earned a 100 percent rating from
the National Education Association.
In 2007, the National Taxpayers Union gave him a grade of D, the
American Conservative Union rated him at 12 percent, and both the Gun
Owners of America and U.S. English assigned him an F.
Oh, yes, that sounds moderate-to-conservative. I'd imagine that to
most of us on the right, the word "conservative" isn't one that applies
to Evan Bayh. You can bet, however, that if he's chosen for the veep
slot, we'll see that many in the mainstream media will try to portray
him exactly that way.