Another Case for Evan Bayh and other news

Forgive me for the lengthy post, I have to cover a day's worth of political news and what not. This is the latest of messages from Bill on the Evan Bayh in 2008 listserv. It is worth the read and I have decided to publish it in full with permission from the author.

I probably wasn't too clear in my message.
Let me try again.
I'm referring to party members who are reluctant to compromise in order to get a Democratic president, and even though conventional wisdom shows that a strong liberal probably could NOT at this time get elected nationwide, I feel that, in order to get a Democratic president in 2008, we need to realize that WITHOUT giving up any liberal principles..
I know that I HAVEN'T..
in my case I am willing to support a candidate that is not a "match" for me philosophically, but COMES CLOSE ENOUGH (as Bayh is) so we can get a Democratic administration back in the Executive branch.
Me picking the most liberal elected Democratic officeholder out there and supporting them with no realistic hope of winning I don't think is in my best interest.
This is exactly the problem our party faced in 1976 and 1992 when our nominees (Carter and Clinton) were much more "to the right" than myself or other liberal Democrats.
But we were willing to support those two as our nominees because we wanted to win, and THEY were able to do that, whereas liberal candidates such as Frank Church in 1976 and Tom Harkin in 1992 were not.
Let me make this clear.
I do not want our party to abandon the liberal principles it has stood for.
But this is the "field" in which we have to play in..
the electorate is NOT as liberal as I want it to be, I truly long for the days of the Great Society and The War On Poverty, but that's NOT where the electorate is right now...
so in order for us to win, we have to find a "player" on our "bench" WHO CAN.
I'll be the first to admit it.
Evan is gonna have a tough time to win Democratic primaries because the Democrat voters who traditionally dominate the primaries are, like me, left of center.
But when we start to see Bayh WIN, such as in Iowa and New Hamphire, that is when I HOPE that liberals, like myself, can SEE that we just might have a winner who can win nationwide, and therefore BACK HIM, EVEN THOUGH HE MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN OUR FIRST CHOICE If Evan Bayh does NOT do well in Iowa and NH, well, then, all of us here just might end up out of our "volunteer job" here, and start looking for another candidate.
But I don't think that will happen.
Too much of what it seems the American people WANT, they can GET with Evan Bayh..
...a Democrat, someeone who knows how to govern, a scandal-free private life, a family man from the heartland with HEARTLAND VALUES, and a candidate who HAS BEEN PROVEN TO WIN OVER REPUBLICANS year after year after year.
Again, to all liberal democrats:
as George McGovern said in 1984 "Don't throw away your conscience," and as Ted Kennedy said in 1980 "The work goes on, the cause continues, and the dream shall never die,"...we SHOULD hang on to our liberal principles, but by backing Evan Bayh we are NOT, repeat NOT, selling out.
An electable Bayh in the White House is better for our country than an UNELECTABLE LIBERAL, even if that liberal is closer to our hearts and liberal philosophy.
And yes, I know that Evan Bayh is NOT his father...
but BECAUSE of WHO Evan IS and that he IS Birch's son, make me feel more TRUSTING toward him than if he was just another centrist without that liberal name.
Same thing with the Kennedy family...
I would most certainly support a Kennedy family member (except Schwarzenegger) just because THEY ARE a member of that family...it's like the Kennedy name is like a brand I can trust.
This is going to be a long four years.
In the end in 2008, we will ALL back our nominee whether it is Bayh or not.
But for now, I ask all members here to check out Evan head to toe and see if you see what I see.
The RIGHT man for THESE TIMES.
I hope Bayh wins in Iowa and NH because if he does, he'll be unstoppable.
But until then let's all relax and watch what Bayh does between now and then.
See if he becomes more passionate.
See if he DOES get behind an issue that ordinary folks can relate to.
I hope I clarified what I had said briefly this morning in the earlier message.
There is nothing wrong with a liberal HOLDING OUT for their "soulmate candidate" to emerge...but if there DOES happen to be a less liberal candidate WHO HAS A BETTER CHANCE OF WINNING, then to me it makes more sense to go with the winner...and I think that winner is Evan Bayh.
BiLL

Bill, I definitely give that one a ^5, that's a high five. While I am not a fan of carpetbagging senators, I most certainly am a fan of the Kennedy clan, including the late Senator Robert Francis Kennedy. I've always been a Kennedy fan, always have been, always will be.
I do believe that the progressive wing of the party needs to wake up and realize this. A Blue State Democrat will not cut it in the South and Midwest. Evan Bayh is our guy. Retiring Sen. Edwards will have to do something to stay in the spotlight, and let's face it, no losing VP candidate since President Franklin D. Roosevelt has recieved the Democratic Party's nomination for President during the next election (Sorry Demogog).
I live in a red state so I am looking at the whole picture here and thinking strategically. I think Sen. Evan Bayh stands the best chance of getting elected to the Presidency as I believe Kentucky State Treasurer Jonathan Miller does the Governorship (as bad as Ernie's ratings our, we will win!). If I did not think they had a chance, I would not back them, but I believe that they have a chance.
I just don't see Sen. Clinton getting elected as she is too polarizing. I think Sen. Edwards will need more experience, at least executive. Gov. Vilsack has a state that signed into law English as the official language under his watch. Gov. Warner will probably run for the 2008 Senate seat when Sen. John Warner steps down. Past history has shown that we cannot win with liberals, only with moderates. Presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Baines Johnson, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton, were all moderates. The Kennedy/Johnson ticket was the last time we had two sitting Senators on the ticket until 2004 with Kerry/Edwards. However, since then, we have only elected Southern governors who fall in the right of the party. We can only win with moderates as history will show.
In political news, Jerry Springer is starting a new radio show in which he will broadcast from both Chicago and Cincinnati. Maybe he will accept an engagement to speak here in the Northern Kentucky area as we are not that far away. Springer considered running the US Senate in 2000 and 2004. He was former Mayor of Cincinnati and ran for Governor in 1982. Maybe once the Kentucky Democrat starts picking up more steam, I'll be a guess on the show. I'll call in for sure. I called in the first day of former Congressman Mike Ward's radio show on 1080.
Late last night, the AP reported that Secretary-Designate Bernard Kerik has withdrawn his name from consideration for DHS Chief.

Bush's nomination of Kerik quickly proved controversial. News reports in recent days focused on revelations that Kerik had made millions of dollars a stun gun company that sold weapons to the Homeland Security Department and which wants more business. The White House had said that Kerik would avoid any conflicts of interest.
Records filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission show Kerik made $6.2 million by exercising stock options he received from Taser International. He has been a consultant for the company and still serves on its board of directors, although the company and the White House said he planned to sever the relationship.

The AP reports the following people are speculated to get the job now:

Among those mentioned as possible candidates before Kerik was chosen were Joe Allbaugh, a former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency; Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Mike Leavitt and White House homeland security adviser Fran Townsend.
Others believed to be interested in the job include Asa Hutchinson, Homeland Security undersecretary for border and transportation security.

The late Senator Strom Thurmond is back in the spotlight as his biracial daughter Essie Mae Washington-Williams is releasing a book titled "Dear Senator." As you recall, she went public last year with the announcement.
Michael Collins of the Cincinnati Post reports that the Democratic Party sees a ray of hope. Here's a brief excerpt with a quote from friend and mentor Jonathan Miller:

On Jan. 15, Kentucky Democrats will choose a new leader. In the past, the governor dictated the party chairman. But now that the sitting governor is a Republican, Democrats are trying something different. In an effort to rejuvenate the party, they are seeking input from grass-roots activists about who their new chairman should be and the overall direction the party should take.
"The Republicans have for the last two or three decades done an effective job of telling Kentuckians they are the party of good moral values," said state Treasurer Jonathan Miller, one of the commonwealth's top elected Democrats.
"People are obviously frustrated with the last couple of elections. But there is a lot of hope out there that if we are able to do a better job of articulating our message, we can start winning."

If the Kentucky Democratic Party is reading this, I'll throw in my two cents for either Jerry Abramson, Jack Conway, Robert E. Sanders, or if it is legal under party by-laws, Jonathan Miller. Also, any chance that we can get an annual state party convention like other states have? If the Democratic National Committee members read this, how about putting southern states as the first primaries in the nation. You don't win the election without Kentucky!
In sports news, the Kentucky Wildcats started out bad but than picked up against the Indiana Hoosiers. Kentucky had a big run during the first half and finished the first half with a 33-24 lead. The University of Kentucky Wildcats finished the game with a 78-53 victory over the Indiana University Hoosiers. The Hoosiers resorted to fouling in the last five minutes even though they had clearly lossed. My father knows Tom Eades, one of the officials in the Southeastern Conference. The Florida Gators did not do as well as I hoped with a 4 point loss to the hated Louisville Cardinals. I will be in Lexington for the South Carolina game in Rupp Arena.
Back to political news, the The USS Arizona memorial is slowly sinking! Perhaps this may be a result of global warming? Regardless, this is a priority!
Ousted Senator Tom Daschle is pondering his future according to the Associated Press.

Tom Daschle says he might consider writing, lecturing or teaching now that his Nov. 2 election loss has cost him his Senate seat and the job of Senate minority leader.
"I do want to affiliate in some way professionally with public policy," Daschle said Saturday in a telephone interview from his Washington home, where he was helping baby-sit his two grandchildren. "I'm also looking at the investment world."

Such an interesting day, wasn't it?