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Sen. Bayh: Middle Class Leaving Democrats in Droves
NewsMax ^ | 7/17/06 | AP

Posted on 07/17/2006 4:14:49 PM PDT by wagglebee

Sen. Evan Bayh, weighing a run for president in 2008, challenged the Democratic Party to establish an agenda aimed at middle-class voters, a critical constituency that he said the party has let slip away.

"We may consider ourselves the party of the middle class, but too many middle-class Americans no longer consider us their party," the Indiana Democrat said Monday. "They have left the Democratic Party in droves - costing us the last two presidential elections and the last six congressional elections. If we don't learn some lessons, we'll lose in 2006 and 2008 as well, and we must not let that happen."

In his speech, Bayh said the party has focused most of its attention on the needs of lower-income Americans, but it also must address issues that matter to people on the next rung up the economic ladder.

"Without an agenda that speaks directly to the middle class and all who aspire to it, we will no longer be the party of Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy and Clinton. And we will not be a majority party," Bayh said, invoking the names of former Democratic presidents.

Moreover, Bayh said: "The country's not going to fulfill it's potential."

The two-term senator and former Indiana governor delivered what his advisers called a "major address" in Washington and then in Iowa, the first caucus state in the presidential primary process.

Bayh has been a frequent visitor to Iowa as he decides whether to seek the Democratic presidential nomination in what already is considered a crowded field. A recent state poll showed him trailing far behind other potential Democratic contenders.

Bayh dismissed the results, saying polls change over time, and acknowledged that he's considering running for president. He said that should he decide to run, creating opportunities for the middle class will be a focus of his campaign.

"I'm going to make it the centerpiece, not the afterthought," Bayh said as he laid out proposals for making college more affordable, curtailing rising health care costs, strengthening retirement accounts and conserving energy - a full 18 months before the Iowa caucuses.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Extended News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: democrats; election2006; electionpresident; evanbayh; middleclass; partyoftherich
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Let me guess, he wants to raise taxes.
1 posted on 07/17/2006 4:14:51 PM PDT by wagglebee
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To: Clintonfatigued

Ping.


2 posted on 07/17/2006 4:15:21 PM PDT by wagglebee ("We are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom." -- President Bush, 1/20/05)
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To: wagglebee

Gee ya think there MIGHT be a reason for that?

Nah....


3 posted on 07/17/2006 4:15:56 PM PDT by MikefromOhio
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To: wagglebee

TAX,SPEND,APPEASEMENT,TREASON..is no winning platform.


4 posted on 07/17/2006 4:16:25 PM PDT by samadams2000
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To: wagglebee

Xacly.


5 posted on 07/17/2006 4:16:51 PM PDT by samadams2000
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To: wagglebee
"I'm going to make it the centerpiece, not the afterthought," Bayh said as he laid out proposals for making college more affordable, curtailing rising health care costs, strengthening retirement accounts and conserving energy - a full 18 months before the Iowa caucuses.

I have some recommendations:

1)...making college more affordable - Less government intrusion,
2)...curtailing rising health care costs - Less government intrusion,
3)...strengthening retirement accounts - Less government intrusion, and
4)...conserving energy - Less government intrusion.

6 posted on 07/17/2006 4:18:54 PM PDT by Onelifetogive (Freerepublic - The website where "Freepers" is not in the spell checker dictionary...)
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To: wagglebee
I'm going to make it the centerpiece, not the afterthought," Bayh said as he laid out proposals for making college more affordable, curtailing rising health care costs, strengthening retirement accounts and conserving energy - a full 18 months before the Iowa caucuses.

In other words the classic Liberal Democrat campaign. "Surrender all your freedoms and money to us, we will take care of you by massively increasing taxes and the Federal regulatory burden on everyone" Basically he aims to re-run Walter Mondale's 1984 Campaign.

7 posted on 07/17/2006 4:19:35 PM PDT by MNJohnnie (Note to Democrat Leaders. Are you talking to us or running to be President of Iran?)
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To: wagglebee

Note please, the names of the Dem presidents he omitted to mention..


8 posted on 07/17/2006 4:19:43 PM PDT by ken5050
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To: samadams2000

TAX,SPEND,APPEASEMENT,TREASON..is no winning platform.
----
Precisely. The libs are nothing but a bunch of power-mad socialists that care nothing about this country, other than sucking the lifeblood out of it in exchange for POWER AND CONTROL. They do not care how much crime, lying, treason they commit to do it either. Just read the NYT.

They also would NOT defend this country from its enemies. It is bad enough with what we have now, with open borders, hoards of unknown ILLEGALS AND CRIMINALS pouring into our country -- God only knows what would happen with the socialists in control.

Subject matter for a very bad dream ---


9 posted on 07/17/2006 4:20:25 PM PDT by EagleUSA
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To: samadams2000

You forgot more abortion, banning Christianity and pushing homosexuality down our throats.


10 posted on 07/17/2006 4:20:33 PM PDT by wagglebee ("We are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom." -- President Bush, 1/20/05)
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To: samadams2000

"TAX,SPEND,APPEASEMENT,TREASON..is no winning platform."

Rum, Sodomy and The Lash ain't big winners with Ma and Pa in flyover country either.

(yeah, I know that was Churchill's take on The Royal Navy)


11 posted on 07/17/2006 4:20:34 PM PDT by VOA
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To: wagglebee
Moreover, Bayh said: "The country's not going to fulfill it's potential."

Sounds like Senator Bayh needs to go back to grammar school. He can't even spell "its" correctly when he talks.

12 posted on 07/17/2006 4:20:42 PM PDT by Brilliant
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To: wagglebee

They can continue to lose as far as I am concerned. Just desserts, as they say.


13 posted on 07/17/2006 4:20:56 PM PDT by KStorm (One thing the DU denizens don't have to worry about: the theft of their intellectual property)
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To: samadams2000

Makes a neat tagline


14 posted on 07/17/2006 4:20:59 PM PDT by MNJohnnie (Democrats, TAX,SPEND,APPEASEMENT and TREASON..is not a winning platform.)
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To: wagglebee
We may consider ourselves the party of the middle class, but too many middle-class Americans no longer consider us their party," the Indiana Democrat said Monday. "They have left the Democratic Party in droves - costing us the last two presidential elections and the last six congressional elections. If we don't learn some lessons, we'll lose in 2006 and 2008 as well, and we must not let that happen."

Meanwhile the MSM will tell us that the Democrats are due for a tidal-wave like win this fall.

15 posted on 07/17/2006 4:21:11 PM PDT by SoftballMominVA
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To: wagglebee
They have left the Democratic Party in droves - costing us the last two presidential elections and the last six congressional elections. If we don't learn some lessons, we'll lose in 2006 and 2008 as well, and we must not let that happen."

The clear lesson for the Dems, which they appear to have learned and are working assiduously to implement, is this: "Marginalize the middle class."

16 posted on 07/17/2006 4:21:51 PM PDT by Pearls Before Swine (Is /sarc really needed?)
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To: wagglebee

Gun grabing, class warfare,welfare state, homo centrism...we could go on for hours.


17 posted on 07/17/2006 4:22:08 PM PDT by samadams2000
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To: wagglebee
It's been obvious for years that the RAT party is becoming the party of the super wealthy and the dependent poor.

Anyone with half a brain knows that prosperous Americans have no need for elected RATS. Unfortunately, there are still too many who have not caught on to the RATs lies.

18 posted on 07/17/2006 4:22:45 PM PDT by Conservativegreatgrandma
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To: wagglebee

It wouldn't surprise me if he suggested a raise in taxes to help the deficit. One thing that really has the middle class furious is the price of gasoline. And unfortunately for Bayh, the middle class is pointing their collective middle fingers at the Democrats, because they are the most to blame for a failed energy policy. So screw Bayh. He has no answers, he has no plan. He's just another hack who wants power so he can vex the middle class some more.


19 posted on 07/17/2006 4:22:50 PM PDT by Enterprise (Let's not enforce laws that are already on the books, let's just write new laws we won't enforce.)
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To: wagglebee

Possibly because he and other senators on both sides of the aisle have sold the middle class down the river to appease their corporate donors by giving them cheap labor through free trade and non-enforcement of immigration laws? Just a thought.


20 posted on 07/17/2006 4:23:48 PM PDT by Rockitz (This isn't rocket science- Follow the money and you'll find the truth.)
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