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Indiana's citizens were screwed by Bayh. By waiting until the last minute, he made impossible for a real candidate to decide to run, get petitions signed and get on the ballot. That handed the decision over to state Democratic party leaders, who will undoubtedly be instructed who to appoint to run by DSCC leaders. I don't think this was an accident. It was planned-- a conspiracy to take the Democratic process away from Indiana Democrats.
Bayh image from his senate site, thanking
Constituents-- for what, taking it with a smile?
Sadly, it's not that big a deal. In most states, a few powerful Democrats decide, with input and influence from DSCC leaders, who will be the chosen and endorsed candidate.
This is bad for Democracy, bad for the Democratic party and bad for America. In the senate, Chuck Schumer, Hillary Clinton and Harry Reid had a major say in these decision in previous election cycles.
This time around, I'm sure Bob Menendez, (D NJ) head of the DSCC will play a major role. As head, the buck stops with him... and Obama, the party leader. They sure blew it in Massachusetts, with Scott Brown. There's not much reason to have higher hopes in Indiana. But maybe they'll have learned. Menendez is a smart guy.
I'm sure that Bayh coordinated the exact day he made his announcement so it was impossible for free agents, for people who were not "the chosen" to get on the primary ballot.
Shame on Bayh and the Democratic leaders he worked with to circumvent the voice and decision of the people of Indiana.
My guess is, based on the bad decisions the Democratic leadership has been making lately, they candidate they chose will not succeed. Primaries are good for candidates. They prepare them, toughen them, challenge them. Instead, the Democrats will have someone who has not been through the mill-- one more mistake among an infinity of errors.
There ought to be a way to prevent this kind of thing from happening. Primaries are for voting, not appointing.
Update:
apparently, according to TPM, one candidate, Tamyra d'Ippolito, a progressive who the Dem party does not want, may make it on the ballot. That will force the Dem party to do a write-in campaign. David Dayen at firedoglake.com interviewed d'Ippolito, the first woman, yesterday. She was 500 signatures short and now has a day to go. Dayen reports,"But she's not getting the sense that they want to be helpful in that effort. "Politics in Indiana is the old boy's school. They're getting ready to put one of their own in," D'Ippolito, a cafe owner in Bloomington who gained experience in politics running a primary campaign for Gretchen Clearwater in 2006. "My gut feeling tells me they're meeting in a room, I don't know if they're smoking cigars," D'Ippolito said, basically working under the assumption that Bayh's announcement was timed so the state party could pick the nominee by themselves. "The timing of this is amazing."
And... Bayh Calls Lack Of Primary To Replace Him A Good Thing On Call With Dems
I think I nailed this one. PLease vote in the poll.
