Opinion

GIVING O A BAYH

IF you’re going to have a member of your own party go rogue, you could do worse than Sen. Evan Bayh.

As the week began, speculation was rampant that moderate Democrats in Congress weren’t too keen on key parts of President Obama’s agenda starting with his budget.

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) complained about raising taxes during an economic downturn and chided President Obama, “Before we raise revenue, we first should look to see if there are ways we can cut back on spending.” Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) said the budget proposal was simply too large.

So, Bayh’s announcement Wednesday morning of a group of 16 Senate Democrats who’d be caucusing in the name of moderation seemed to suggest real trouble for the White House. In reality, they’re more likely to help than hurt the administration.

But that’s not how it sounded when Bayh broke the news on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

Host Joe Scarborough hailed the announcement as exciting news for those seeking to stop the liberal rampage of Nancy Pelosi and “left-wing elements”; his colleagues Lawrence O’Donnell and Pat Buchanan chimed in.

Bayh said nothing to let the air out of this balloon. But I doubt the group which Bayh dubbed “the Practicality Caucus” is really going to turn the Senate upside-down.

Or as a senior Senate Democrat told me, “This group doesn’t have the backbone to say ‘screw you.’ ”

Leading this posse with Bayh are Tom Carper of Delaware and Arkansas’ Blanche Lincoln. The rest: Sens. Michael Bennet (Colo.), Mark Begich (Alaska), Kay Hagan (NC), Herb Kohl (Wisc.), Mary Landrieu (La.), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Ben Nelson (Neb.), Bill Nelson (Fla.), Mark Pryor (Ark.), Jeanne Shaheen (NH), Mark Udall (Colo.) and Mark Warner (Va.).

Another Democratic insider with close ties to the group griped that Bayh mangled the rollout and “some of the other senators were not pleased with the way that he characterized this. . . . This is not a bloc in any way interested in thwarting the progress of Obama’s agenda.”

All these senators hail from red or reddish states. They need to be able to convince their constituents that they’re having a moderating influence on legislation. They also plan to work together to frame issues for their more middle-of-the-road audiences.

They’re not out to stop legislation but to shape it (particularly in the areas of energy, health care and the budget) and to present it in ways that speak to their constituents.

It’s no rebellion. The group got Majority Leader Harry Reid’s blessing last December when Bayh hatched the idea. Most of them (except Bayh and McCaskill) voted for Obama’s $410 billion omnibus spending bill.

That’s not to say that there aren’t real disagreements between Obama and these members. Indeed, they’ll be able to get concessions. But to have real power, they’d have to be a cohesive voting bloc which seems unlikely.

Bayh’s own spokesman says, “Speculation that the group will oppose health-care reform or try to bring down the budget is way off the mark. . . . The moderate working group is committed to getting 60 votes to advance legislation, not obstruct it.”

In other words: They want to weigh in, not blow things up.

At least, not for now.

kirstenpowers@aol.com