Bayh's retirement suggests two possible patterns of behavior: 1) he will be more of an asshole and go down the Joe Lieberman track, not having to worry about pesky bloggers on the Left or 2) free from having to pander to his red-leaning state, he can stand with President Obama and the Democratic agenda with no political consequences to fear. Perhaps the latter is more likely if the following article is to be believed.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/18/bayh-open-to-reconciliati_n_468064.htmlRetiring Senator Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) left open the door to supporting the use of reconciliation to pass health care legislation, though he did not address whether the parliamentary procedure should be used to pass a public option for insurance coverage.
In a Thursday interview with NPR, the Indiana Democrat, who will not seek reelection in 2010, said that he would be comfortable using reconciliation. But only if it was clear that no Republican votes (which are needed for passage outside of the reconciliation process) were forthcoming.
"It may be that that has to be ultimately resorted to because something to improve health care is better than nothing," he said.
Bayh went on to note that using reconciliation would have "very real consequences" for future legislative activity, in part because Republicans "would react very vehemently to" its use and take out their anger on other reform efforts.
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