Profile 08: Evan Bayh

There are a couple of front-runners for the 2008 Presidential Election on the Democrat side. This "series" is meant to show where these potential candidates stand on the issues. The first Democrat I will preview is Evan Bayh.

Evan Bayh, Senator Indiana, former Governor.Brief Bio: Born December 26, 1955, Evan Bayh has been involved in politics since 1984 when he was part of the Wayne Townsend Gubanatorial Campaign. He was Indiana Secretary of State from 1986-1988, Indiana Governor from 1988-1996, and Indiana's Junior Senator from 1998-present (he won reelection in 2004 by 25 percentage points). Bayh received degrees from the University of Indiana and the University of Virginia and is currently married with two children. He currently sits on six Senate committees and is an active participant in the Senate. Beloved by the people of Indiana, Bayh is viewed as a Moderate and won all but six counties in the 2004 Senate Election.

Votes in the Senate:Continue affirmative action programs without quotas. (Jan 1998)
Rated 50% by NARAL, indicating a mixed voting record on abortion. (Dec 2003)
Expand embryonic stem cell research. (Jun 2004)
Balance debt reduction, tax relief, & policy investment. (Jan 2001)
Voted YES on restricting rules on personal bankruptcy. (Jul 2001)
Broaden use of death penalty. (Jan 1998)More funding and stricter sentencing for hate crimes. (Apr 2001)
Voted NO on increasing penalties for drug offenses. (Nov 1999)
Undecided on School Prayer Amendment. (Jan 1998)
Voted YES on funding smaller classes instead of private tutors. (May 2001)
Firmly opposed to Bush’s voucher proposal. (Jan 2001)
(Not really a "vote" but Rated 91% by the NEA, indicating pro-public education votes. [Dec 2003])Voted NO on drilling ANWR on national security grounds. (Apr 2002)
Voted YES on Bush Administration Energy Policy. (Jul 2003)
Voted YES on enlarging NATO to include Eastern Europe. (May 2002)
Progressive Internationalism: globalize with US pre-eminence. (Aug 2000)
Free & fair trade is key to economic growth . (Jan 2001)
Voted YES on banning "soft money" contributions and restricting issue ads. (Mar 2002)
Voted YES on $40 billion per year for limited Medicare prescription drug benefit. (Jun 2003)
Private self-managed accounts OK. (Jan 1998)
Voted NO on using the Social Security Surplus to fund tax reductions. (Jul 1999)
Voted YES on $86.5 billion for military operations in Iraq & Afghanistan. (Oct 2003)
Iraq was not reconstituting its nuclear program. (Jul 2004)
Iraq was not developing its biological weapons program. (Jul 2004)
Iraq was not developing its chemical weapons program. (Jul 2004)
Iraq was developing missiles, but not to reach the US. (Jul 2004)
Fully fund AmeriCorps. (Jun 2003)SOURCE FOR VOTES: ON THE ISSUES

Advantages and Disadvantages: Appeals to moderates, electable, "charming." Bayh will definitely win Indiana and its 11 EVs, and will also give the Republicans a run for their money in Ohio, Iowa and Kentucky. If the Democrats run Bayh, a life-long Midwesterner, they will likely cement their base in the Upper Midwest (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan). Bayh is well spoken and has a tremendous TV prescence. But he is viewed by many Democrats as being "too Republican," although the ACU rates him as a very liberal senator (only 30 out of 100 on the "Conservative Scale"). But many Democrats and Republicans are alike are impressed with his reign as Governor of Indiana, balancing the budget, leaving the state with a surplus and making it a great place to live.

My Verdict: Ehhh, I'm not sold on Bayh. Although he is very electable, that's not what the Democrats need. Hey, John Kerry was the most electable and look at where that got us in 2004. What we need now is a person with a great, strong and unwavering message. I don't know if Bayh can bring that to the table, but he has four years to prove to me and America that he is presidential.

WMDs

It's really shocking and angering that no one seems to care about the fact there are no WMDs. I mean, we went to war over the WMDs that we can no longer find. And no one cares. No one also seems to notice that Bush announced this after the election, not before. Hmmm...what would have happened if this was announced before the election? Probably...nothing considering people seem to care more about Michael Jackson than the "missing" WMDs. Does anyone find it alarming that we, the world's most powerful nation, were unable to find weapons in a country as small as Iraq? But, the most alarming thing of all could be that these weapons might have never existed. Assuming that last point is true, does anyone give a hoot that the Bush Administration LIED to us? Let me quote USA Today...

"There is no doubt he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies and against us," Vice President Cheney said in August 2002. Six months later, Secretary of State Colin Powell made the case, including satellite photos, to the United Nations. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld scoffed that even "a trained ape" knew it was true.

What can Bush do now that it's over? What can he say to the families of troops? What can he say to the world? What can he say to us? What can he say for himself? Will we ever be able to trust him and his administration again? Were we ever able to trust them?

American Funding for Tsunami Relief

There's been a lot of discussion about this on this site. I definitely feel that our govenment's funding has been severely inadequate. I don't care how many hundreds of millions of dollars we've "pledged". It's not enough. We shoud be giving billions. And, as I said in my last post, not only to the tsunami relief effort. We're doing nothing for Africa, while that's where the real international problems and devastation are. I feel like Bush pays more attention to Antarctica. In fact he probably does. Drilling there might be profitable. Anyway I think it's shameful that we give tsunami relief funds X hundreds to the war in Iraq.

Tsunami..............Africa

Ok so I'm back again. What's up few people who will read this? Pretty much I'm posting again because something's bothering me. How many people died in the tsunami? Over 150,000, a lot. A horrible disaster. But let's take a look at another death toll for a second. How many people have died from African civil wars, diseases, starvation, etc? Millions upon millions. Donating to the tsunami relief effort is wonderful. I think everyone should. But is that necessarily the most important cause right now, even within international relief? I think it was the Nigerian president who pointed this out, saying that 4 million people have died in his country from the civil war, and no one is helping there. By the way he didn't even get that much press coverage when he said that. And 4 million! In one country! From just the civil war! I understand that tsunami relief is the fad in charity right now. And it is a great cause, but is anyone giving to Africa? The media should really be taking this opportunity to point out the importance of that effort too. The effects of the tsunami will eventually be cleaned up and most of its devastation will be left in the past, but right now there is no end in sight to the African chaos, death, and destruction.

I believe this is actually one of the major reasons for our complete diversion of charitable attention away from Africa. We, as human beings and especially as Americans, are inclined toward, and have a deep need for, instant gratification. If you give money to the tsunami relief effort, you immediately feel like your money is going toward bringing in water and cleaning up the shores. You can see it happening right before your eyes. If you give money to groups working in Africa, you will have to wait many years to see any kinds of results. But it's worth it.

I also understand that there has been no single, major event in Africa that has boggled the minds and moved the hearts of people around the world. But the sheer magnitude of the plight of the African people should be enough to motivate and mobilize the masses.

Peace in Sudan

"Sudanese First Vice President Ali Osman Taha on Saturday declared as complete a peace accord to end 21 years of civil war in the south." (Sudanese Tribune) This is great news, but this peace treaty does not include the region of Darfur. Finally, Africa's longest running civil war has come to an end. Over 2 million people had been killed from this civil war. The civil war was between the Christian South and the Islamic Government. In 2003, another civil war broke out, in the region of Darfur. There is still much work to be done in Sudan in order to stop the genocide and create peace - but this is a giant leap in the right direction.

Death Toll in Tsunami

CNN is now reporting that the Tsunami death toll tops 135,000 people. More updates as time goes on.

Introducing the new Governor of Washington...

...Christine Gregoire. Well all I can say is it's about time. After three recounts and millions of dollars spent, Democrat Christine Gregoire has been certified by the Republican Secretary of State as the winner of a race that was the closest in gubanatorial history. Gregoire beat Dino Rossi, the Republican candidate, by only 129 votes in the hand recount. Although she has been certified, Rossi has not conceded. According to CNN, "Rossi had been using the title "governor-elect," and his family even toured the Governor's Mansion." It's amazing to think of how only 129 votes can make the difference in an election where 2.8 million were cast. This race is definitely symbolic of America right now - split right down the middle with no one backing away. It's very good, though, that the Democrats won this battle, for there will be more serious and more important ones they will fight in the next four years.

Setting The Record Straight

"France has already pledged over 22 million euros (30 million dollars) in aid." (From the Turkish News) Not "$177,000." And that's just for now - France is expected to donate even more money. So much for "America leading the way." America, as of today, has pledged 35 million dollars. Bush made the announcement that America would send more aid from his ranch in Crawford. The man is on vacation when there was a natural disaster that might kill 100,000 people.

Please donate.

CT Governor Has Surgery

Last weekend, M. Jody Rell, the new Connecticut Governor, was told that she had breast cancer. Yesterday, she underwent surgery to remove her breasts and hopefully, her cancer.
(Yesterdayis the day when the press found out about her diagnosis.) This is extremely shocking, but sadly, it really shouldn't be. Every 2 minutes an American is diagnosed, while every 13 minutes an American dies of this horrible epidemic. Although, luckily, Rell's cancer was cought early while receiving a routine mamogram. But, unfortunately, breast cancer is not caught early for many, many women and men. Something has to be done about this terrible disease that claims the lives of hundreds of thousands every years. But still, Bush&Republicans have done nearly nothing dealing with breast cancer. A bill with 61 cosponsers that examines how breast cancer is related to the environment was not voted on, because Republicans refused to bring it up for a vote. (This research is desperately needed, for 90% of breast cancer cases are caused by the environment.) During his first four years, Bush also ruined the patients bill of rights (after lying, on the 2000 campaign trail, about passing a Texas Patients Bill of Rights, when he actually vetoed it). The Patients Bill of Rights that Bush proposed favored the drug companies/insurance companies over the patients. Hopefully the diagnosis of Rell, a Republican who took over after Rowland resigned, will open the eyes of Bush, the Republicans and America to this horrible disease. Something must be done, but I fear that something can't be done with Bush in office.

Horrible Natural Disaster

It's so horrible. Over 40,000 people have died from this tsunami from Indonesia to Africa. Over 1/3 were children. Something really needs to be done. What I would like to see is Bush donate all of the money for his innaugural ball ($30 million - $40 million) for relief. America has only pledged $15 for disaster relief. Can you see something wrong with that? Although I'm sure Bush would never do it, it's an idea that would help thousands upon thousands of people.