Senator Retires, and Voters, Too, Grow Dismayed

[SoCalDem]

Senator Retires, and Voters, Too, Grow Dismayed
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/18/us/politics/18indiana.html

By SUSAN SAULNY
Published: February 17, 2010

HAMMOND, Ind. — Brent Kruse, a retired railroad conductor, says he is an independent-minded, loosely affiliated Democrat who “votes for the man, not the party.” In the last presidential election, he said, he flirted with the idea of casting a ballot for a Republican, Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, before throwing his support behind Barack Obama. JoAnna Clay, a homemaker in South Bend, said she was disappointed by Mr. Bayh's decision. Tyler Bergin of Mishawaka said: “I can't understand why he stepped down. It's unfortunate.” Barrett Berry of South Bend said he was troubled by the timing of Mr. Bayh's decision. “This is a Republican state and he’s a Democrat, so that tells you what people think of him,” said Mr. Kruse, 69. “He’s been a very good man for this state, and I do wish he had stuck it out.” “This shocked me. Honest to God, it did,” Mr. Kruse said. “I did not see it coming. And every time we lose a good Democrat, it hurts the system as far as getting anything done.”

snip

What will happen here in the next presidential cycle is anyone’s guess now, as is the more pressing Congressional primary this spring. Kate Blakely, a cafe manager from Mishawaka, struggled with the timing of the announcement, just days before Mr. Bayh was scheduled to film a campaign commercial at her workplace. “One day he was coming, and the next thing we heard, everything was off,” said Ms. Blakely, 25. “It just seemed kind of random.”

snip

Barrett Berry, the chairman of a nonprofit economic development group in South Bend, said he was troubled that Mr. Bayh’s decision did not leave time for anyone to run for the seat. “I’m going to be loyal, but I am bothered that he didn’t give others the opportunity,” Mr. Berry said, echoing concerns of other Indiana Democrats.

snip

Republicans expressed optimism about recapturing a seat in a state that traditionally leans to the right and about possibly adding an Indiana example to a national narrative that shows Democrats struggling to hold on to their majorities in the House and Senate in the 15 months since Mr. Obama’s election.

snip

“Sometimes I get the impression that elected officials are just trying to hold on to their jobs,” said Mr. Houghtaling, who works at a camp for underprivileged children in South Bend and describes himself as politically conservative. “If he really wanted to see change, I’m glad he did something about it” by not running.

snip

For her part, Ms. Clay, 22, said she used to see Mr. Bayh as part of the solution, but not anymore. “True enough, if he felt like nothing was getting done,” she said, “then he should have stayed to get things done.”

[texastoast]

1. In their next life, may all the quitter Dems (all of them) be reborn with this