Am I alone in thinking this story from 2/12 is related to Bayh's decision?

[laughingliberal]

WellPoint Takes Heat Over Rates

By LAURA MECKLER

WASHINGTON—The Obama administration is seizing on a big health-insurance rate increase by WellPoint Inc. in California as fresh evidence of the need for action as it tries to resuscitate its health-care legislation.

WellPoint, the country's largest insurer by number of members, responded Thursday to repeated criticism with a letter blaming the 39% increase in the individual market on the economy and rising health costs. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius hit back with a statement saying she wasn't satisfied.

All week, Democrats from President Barack Obama on down have cited the company's rate plans as a justification for a health-care overhaul that would remake the individual market, where people who don't get insurance through their jobs shop for coverage.

They have made a twofold case: that the Democratic legislation would prevent this sort of price increase, and that insurance companies cannot be trusted and must be controlled with new rules.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704337004575059913178282490.html

Considering his wife is employed by Wellpoint and he has been one of the biggest protectors of the industry during the HCR debate, I see Wellpoint coming under attack as a touchpoint for his decision. It couldn't have made him happy to see their behavior targeted by the administration and his connections to them would certainly give his opponent a lot of fodder. Anyone else think this is connected?

[Jim__]

1. delete - posted in the wrong place - n/t

[groovedaddy]

2. I, for one, did not buy what he said in his retirement speech. This makes more sense. n.t

[rurallib]

3. No you are not

When I heard of the rate hike and a few days later Obama's response my first question to my wife was "I wonder how Bayh will react?" We have a couple kids living in Indy.
Hard to say if it was directly related, but no doubt Bayh must fear that changes will happen now.
And our bet is that he ends up as a lobbyist for good ol' Wellpoint.

[AllentownJake]

4. No polling data

He will have his first competitive race in 20 years and he doesn't really want to mix with the rabble.

[gratuitous]

5. No, that can't be it

It's gotta be those e-e-e-e-evil librul bloggers! And partisanship, always partisanship. By the Democrats.

John Cole wrote about this a year ago, and used a terrific example: You want to go out for dinner with your date. You're thinking Italian; she says no, she'd like to eat tire rims and anthrax. Where do you find "compromise" with someone who is clearly deranged?

[blm]

6. Everything connects. The center-right Dems have been undermining the party, even the center-left

of the party that Obama represents. I think they see an opportunity to work with GOP and corpmedia to make it happen before 2012.

Peruse the headlines since early January.

[OregonBlue]

7. Bayh helped negotiate that hideous jobs bill that Harry Reid rejected. I assumed he was totally

pissed when Reid refused to bring that stinking pile of a bill to the floor. That's why he didn't give Reid any notice. He is very angry with him. Maybe just a combination of a lot of things.

[Myrina]

8. Yes, and he did specifically mention that bill in his swan song ...

... makes sense that poor lil' Evan's feelings are hurt.

[laughingliberal]

9. True. With his lovey's company being attacked and the big tax cuts for bidness being rejected

he must have been feeling a bit piled on about his corporate whoredom.

[OregonBlue]

10. I think the big one was that it extended the tax cuts for the wealthy. Pukes must be fuming that

they didn't get that one through under the radar.

[donheld]

11. I firmly believe that had a lot to do with it.

[Grand Taurean]

12. Typical DLC behavior.

[TexasObserver]

13. It's either a scandal or a buyout by some nefarious interest.

If the GOP thinks they can win his seat, they get someone to buy Bayh with a deal that appears unconnected, but whose real purpose is to open up the seat with an announcement date too late for Democrats to get candidates filed in time.

Rovian.