MSM Joyously Hypes Evan Bayh Senate Run; Skips ObamaCare Switch

July 11th, 2016 8:53 PM

He voted for the bill before he was (sort of) against it.

Today much of the mainstream media jumped for joy when announcing that the Democrat Senate nominee in Indiana, Baron Hill, would step aside in favor of former Senator Evan Bayh to once again run for his old seat. Missing in all the happiness was any mention that Bayh, whose Senate career was rather undistinguished except for being the crucial 60th vote that made Obamacare possible, subsequently voiced extreme dissatisfaction with that same bill. Perhaps Bayh and the MSM hope that Bayh's radically shifting attitude would be sent down the memory hole but let us review some of the former senator's comments on this topic once he thought he no longer had to face the voters. Perhaps the most bizarre of the reasons he gave for his Obamacare vote which he later came close to recanting was so as not to see smug Republican faces as related in the New York Times:

Mr. Bayh said that the health care measure was the kind of public policy he had come to Washington to work on, according to officials who attended the session, and that he did not want to see the satisfied looks on the faces of Republican leaders if they succeeded in blocking the measure.

So after avoiding having to see those satisfied looks on Republican faces, Bayh almost sounded like he was disavowing the very bill he voted for as you can see in this 2013 video:

CHRIS WALLACE: You're nodding in agreement, Senator. I hate to note that back in 2010 you voted for Obamacare. Has it worked out the way you thought it would?

EVAN BAYH: No, not so far, Chris. Clearly the rollout has been a disaster and it's still a work in progress. I think we need to separate this into the short term and the long term. Short term very problematic and first impressions tend to be lasting so it's going to take some time in the court of public opinion to turn this thing around. 

Um, so senator, how does Obamacare now stand in the court of public opinion? Do you consider it a success since you made that statement nearly three years ago?

Also strange was a claim by Bayh, also made by many conservatives including Rush Limbaugh, that puts him at odds with the presumptive Democrat presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton:

The far left may not want to solve some of the problems because they really would prefer to have a more expansive government-centered program.

Which is exactly what Hillary now wants:

In another nod to primary rival Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton is proposing to increase federal money for community health centers and outlining steps to expand access to health care across the nation.

Clinton's campaign says the proposal is part of her plan to provide universal health care coverage in the United States.

The presumptive Democratic presidential candidate also is reaffirming her support for a public-option insurance plan and for expanding Medicaid by letting people age 55 year and older opt in.

So that would mean Hillary Clinton is "far left" according to Evan Bayh or is he going to pretend that her proposal isn't really a "more expansive government-centered program" even though it obviously is?

The friendly MSM has yet to bring up Bayh's Obamacare quandary but there is no escape. It will be fun to watch the 60th vote to make Obamacare possible twist himself into a pretzel trying to explain himself on this. 

So enjoy your moment of brief glory, Evan. Just keep in mind there is no escaping the Obamacare buzzsaw in your future no matter how much aid and comfort the MSM gives you.