Sen. Evan Bayh shocked his fellow Democrats on Monday by announcing that he would not seek re-election in November. Bayh says he is retiring Senate because the Senate has become bogged down in pointless partisan bickering, but his decision seemed aimed at Democrats. Without the centrist Bayh on the ballot, analysts say Republicans this fall stand a good chance of picking up his seat in conservative-leaning Indiana. Will Bayh's departure weaken President Obama — and even threaten the Democrats' control of the Senate? (Watch a CBS report about Evan Bayh's surprising announcement)
Bayh just shut down the Democratic agenda: Democratic leaders ignored Evan Bayh's pleas for a "more popular, centrist agenda," says Charles Lane in The Washington Post, so he's hitting back with an "emphatic 'screw you'" — simultaneously imperiling Obama's "short-term hopes of passing health care" and the Democrats' chances of retaining control of the Senate. This is a "Massachusetts-sized political earthquake."
"Bayh to Obama: take this job and shove it"
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There's no guarantee Bayh's shocker will hurt Democrats: The Republicans don't have a lock on Evan Bayh's Senate seat, says Steve Benen in Washington Monthly. And in his remaining months Bayh might actually be free to vote with Democrats more frequently now that he doesn't have to worry about re-election. Besides, there are now six Republican incumbents leaving the Senate and just three Democrats — so it's silly to characterize this as part of "a mass Democratic exodus."