Once More, Say Bayh To Dem Credibility

I don’t have a lot to say about this, but I just wanted to point out something.

I don’t know what’s going to happen in Massachusetts today in the way-too-close Senate race between Martha Coakley and Scott Brown (and more related videos are here), though I’ve been reading that the turnout is good, which usually favors the Dems. However, a story in the New York Times yesterday about this contest included the following quote from Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana…

I do think there’s a chance that Congressional elites mistook their mandate,” Mr. Bayh said. “I don’t think the American people last year voted for higher taxes, higher deficits and a more intrusive government. But there’s a perception that that is what they are getting.”

“Congressional elites”? You serve in the U.S. Senate, dude. That’s about as “elite” as it gets!

And in the matter of supposedly voting for higher taxes, this USA Today story from a little more than a year ago tells us the following…

WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama's $825 billion plan to jump-start the economy and create or save up to 4 million jobs includes twice as much money for spending as for tax cuts, setting up an early battle with Republicans in Congress who favor a different approach.

…

Much of the $275 billion in tax cuts would go to middle-income families in the form of $1,000 tax cuts ($500 for individuals). An array of business and other tax cuts would make up the remainder.

If anything, our economy continues to stumble after being pulled back from the precipice because there was too much of a tax cut at the expense of measures that would stimulate job growth (more substantial infrastructure investment, “cram down” relief for homeowners who could have restructured the principal amounts of their mortgages, possibly a second stimulus, using leftover TARP funds for job creation, etc.), not because there wasn’t enough of a tax cut. And as far as Bayh’s ridiculous comment about “higher deficits and more intrusive government,” such pants-wetting parroting of “conventional wisdom” doesn’t deserve a response.

It is a source of continual disgust to me that I have to share a political allegiance with life forms like Evan Bayh who, along with former Sen. Bob Kerrey, are apparently the Times’ most favorite Democrats when they are in need of a quote to validate their narrative (and another episode of “old gray lady” wankery involving Bayh is noted here).

Update 1/23/10: Of course this is more Bayh wankery (h/t Atrios), but pay particular attention to the shockingly sensible comments of Rob Andrews at the very end here; between this and calling out that tool Gregg Jarrett over Jarrett's "tenther" BS, Andrews has done a good job of working his way back into our good graces, IMHO (John Adler should take copious notes).

Update 1/31/10: More of the same from Bayh here...