http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti...501/1008/NEWS02

IndyStar.com Local News Metro & State

October 23, 2005

Bayh watch
Re-election fund is getting fat

Based on the latest campaign finance reports, you'd think Sen. Evan Bayh -- and not Sen. Richard Lugar -- was the one facing voters next year.

Bayh's re-election fund raised $729,188 from July through September, nearly twice what Lugar raised in those months.

But while Bayh won't have to defend his Senate seat again until 2010, he's considering running for president in 2008.

The $7.88 million -- and growing -- in Bayh's re-election fund at the end of September can be rolled over into a presidential campaign.

Bayh also is raising money through a political action committee, which collected $1.17 million from January through June. The next disclosure report on that account isn't due until early next year.

The reports already filed show Bayh is tapping some of the same sources for both funds.

For example, developer Herb Simon and other members of his family have given $15,000 to Bayh's PAC and at least $18,000 to his re-election campaign. Robert Kaplan, vice chairman of Goldman Sachs investment firm, gave $5,000 to Bayh's PAC and $4,200 to Bayh's re-election campaign.

-- Star Washington Bureau reporter Maureen Groppe

This is good news!!!!!

If it's this big already, just imagine how big it'll be by the time he announces.

He's a major contender. Don't know that I would support him, but he will be one of the top candidates.

he gave a great speech in new hampshire tonight. It was on CSPAN. Hopefully there will be videos of it posted there soon. Yep he's certainly got a chance at it!!!

So far the poll I put up on my blog has him ahead. Interesting.

marie

Yeah, i read somewhere on the net that he was speaking on C-SPAN and i immediately ran to the tv... but, i caught just the end of it where he was talking to people of NH. Hot diggity damn! I heard it was going to be replayed tomarrow... does anyone know what times it will be replayed?

http://www.cspan.org/

Just check back at CSPAN. They are usually pretty good about getting things added.

He did just fine. I've been yaking with supporters via email all evening. Everyone was favorably impressed.

I personally wouldn't rush to support him. Would love to see his stance on the Iraq War. As it is I'm not too comfortable to learn that he's one of the 'architects' of the Iraq War... the Iraq mess has certainly put to question how and what trcikery against Americans are those, with intentions to rush to war in Iraq, really up to. The Iraq War which has seen America's failure to stay in check with financial balance, necessary for it's economic and political health, its ability and capability to aid the hurricane victims, etc. should be the weight to match the abilities and capabilities in structuring the much needed change and attitudes of America's foreign policies to prevent America's integrity, honor and democracy. How much is Bayh influenced by the Fundamentalists in AIPAC should also be examined. We've seen Bush as being infuenced by Fundamentalist Christians and separated America. It's also a danger for other Presidential Candidates with strong ties to Fundamentalist groups to keep America and the world separated. Ameica can't afford another President with ideologies that could influence a nuke war.

He's also known as a "Republicrat.”

He addressed most of your concerns in his speech. Did you happen to catch it? He has publically denounced Bush and Rove on numerous occasions. He's no Republicrat..........he's a Democrat. I once thought the same thing, wow was I wrong. I suppose you would totally rule out Senator Clinton. She is one of the most pro war Dems out there. I have great respect for Clinton but disagree with her support of the war. Unlike Clinton, Bayh has acknowledged the selling of the war was based on misinformation by the Bush administration. Bayh has our troops back. Believe me they won't have to depend on their parents to purchase bullet proof vests for them.

http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_sho...l?article=62493

Bayh blasts Bush at NH Democrats dinner
By MICHAEL COUSINEAU
Union Leader Staff
MANCHESTER —

President Bush has divided the country, mismanaged the war in Iraq and was irresponsible in not sufficiently equipping American troops, potential White House hopeful Evan Bayh told a partisan Democratic crowd last night.

“It’s painfully obvious that those in charge in Washington today don’t have a clue,” the Indiana senator said during a sold-out state party fundraiser at the Radisson at the Center of New Hampshire.

Bayh mixed in his achievements as governor of Indiana before entering the Senate, singled out a slew of local and state officials and made his biggest target the White House.

“It’s been on their watch that North Korea has become a virtual assembly line for nuclear weapons ... It’s been on their watch that our military has been stretched to the breaking point,” the two-term senator said at the Jefferson-Jackson dinner, broadcast live on C-SPAN. “And it’s been on their watch that the conflict in Iraq has been terribly, terribly mismanaged.”

Bayh, who’s pondering a 2008 White House run and has nearly $8 million in his Senate war chest that could be shifted to a Presidential race, made his second appearance this year in the first Presidential primary state.

“The more the merrier,” said Manchester Mayor Bob Baines, who will go campaigning door-to-door with Bayh this afternoon in Ward 2.

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic Presidential nominee in 2004, and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, another former Presidential hopeful, both will visit the nation’s first Presidential state this week. Kerry will appear Saturday at the Democratic city headquarters while Biden will stop at the Alpine Club on Tuesday.

Bayh praised Gov. John Lynch for responding quickly to help flood victims in southwest New Hampshire recently, to the point of giving out his personal cell phone number.

“John Lynch can teach George Bush and FEMA a thing or two about responding to an emergency,” Bayh said, contrasting the federal government’s response to hurricane-damaged regions this year.

And he reminded the room of 600 that he helped former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen in her unsuccessful Senate run against John Sununu in 2002.

“If you had elected Jeanne Shaheen as your senator, the people of New Hampshire would have hit the lottery rather than having a senator hit the lottery,” Bayh said. The state’s other U.S. senator, Judd Gregg, actually was the lottery winner, pocketing more than $800,000 from a recent Powerball jackpot.

Bayh didn’t mention any interest in running for President.

“He doesn’t have a timetable” for deciding, said his communications director, Dan Pfeiffer. “History tells you that you can’t wait too long after the 2006 elections to make a decision.”

During the 26-minute speech, Bayh said George Bush “sought our nation’s highest office pledging to be a uniter and not a divider and has proceeded to divide this country more profoundly than at any time since the Vietnam War.”

Bayh's statement on Plamegate and the Libby Indictment.

"This is a sad day for America. There is no joy in seeing a top government official indicted for serious crimes. The legal system must run its course to determine if crimes were committed, but this is about more than legal and illegal. It is about right and wrong. The President should demand a higher standard of conduct in his White House than ‘its ok as long as it isn’t criminal.’

"Launching a campaign to smear political opponents is not something top officials should be engaged in, especially when we have so many serious challenges facing our country. I hope the President will take this opportunity to tell the American people that the politics of personal destruction will no longer be conducted in his White House. We need to put an end to the type of politics that has divided our country so profoundly."

One can give great speeches condemning Bush, but I think it's best to look at their record. I think it's too easy to be influenced by partisan rhetoric and tough talk.

Who are you leanin' towards beamer?

have you looked at Bayh's record? Like I said I was unsure at first myself. But was stunned by what I found. A Democrat. Like I said before we are fortunate to have a wide array of qualified dems for 08. It's nice to be ahead in the game. There is a great deal at stake in 08. The only Democrat that didn't vote for the war was kucinich. or am I mistaken. To me that's a moot point as we already know that the information supplied to them was trumped up. I do respect your point of view. Thanks.

Here ya go.....

http://court.ontheissues.org/Senate/Evan_Bayh.htm

http://www.vote-smart.org/voting_category....can_id=CNIP9107

Economy
http://bayh.senate.gov/issues_economy.html
Energy
http://bayh.senate.gov/issues_energy.html
Trade
http://bayh.senate.gov/issues_trade.html
Agriculture
http://bayh.senate.gov/issues_agriculture.html
Terrorism
http://bayh.senate.gov/issues_terrorism.html

ROBERT NOVAK, January 30, 2005, Chicago SUN-TIMES
Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana, feared by Republicans as a dangerously moderate presidential candidate for the Democrats in 2008, surprised colleagues by joining 12 left-of-center senators in voting against confirmation of Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state.

In declaring his opposition to Rice's confirmation, Bayh told the Senate on Tuesday: ''I believe she has been a principal architect of policy errors that have tragically undermined our prospects for success in this endeavor [the military operation in Iraq].'' Bayh's statement follows support for Bush's Iraq policy during his re-election campaign last year.

I just got done watching Bayh on C-SPAN for the J/J dinner and i have to say, he was awesome! He spoke very well and i haven't heard him speak against Bush like that ever... he really took him to town.

Oh yeah and by the way, i've heard from numerous Republicans that Bayh is one of the few Democrats that they actually fear. Watch out, here comes Bayh :football:

Here is an excerpt from his prepared text:

Let me begin with some good news: In three years, the Bush era will be over.

I want to have a conversation about our future, what comes next and the leadership we need to forge a better and more secure tomorrow.

We live today in a truly transformational time. It's a time of unrelenting change and challenge. Together, we must chart a course to restore the promise of America. How do we do that? It begins with leadership based on four values at the heart of America's promise: unity, opportunity, real security and accountability.

We cannot meet the momentous challenges of our time as deeply divided as we are. When the history of our time is written, I believe it will judge as one of President Bush's greatest failings that he sought our highest office pledging to be "a uniter, not a divider" but instead divided America more profoundly than at any time since the Vietnam War.

Restoring the American promise means having a government capable of providing real security for its citizens from threats abroad and calamities at home.

One of the great missed opportunities of this administration was revealed in the immediate aftermath of the attack on 9/11. You may remember what it was like. In Indianapolis I had people literally coming up to me on the street asking, "What can I do? I want to do my part to help my country. Tell me, what can I do?"

The president was asked that question about a week or so following the attack. Do any of you remember what he said? "Go to the mall and go shopping." That is not leadership.

I reject the notion that as Democrats, we can only win in the so-called Blue States. We win when we stand up for American values, for the American promise that is the birthright of every child born in this nation and every person who comes here.

------ End of article