Did You Think Things Could Only Get Better With Bayh's Retirement? Think Again: Brad Ellsworth Will Be The Democratic Anointee

There's good news and there's bad news coming out of Indiana: Blue Dog shithead Brad Ellsworth is running for the Senate seat being vacated by ConservaDem Evan Bayh. No one would ever know Bayh left if Ellsworth gets the seat, although Ellsworth may be slightly more right-of-center and, primarily because he's newer to Beltway politics, not nearly as steeped in the kind of ungodly corporate corruption that defines Evan Bayh. Many think Bayh's announcement was timed to allow the Democratic Party to pick Ellsworth without a primary and to leave the Republicans with a gaggle of weak and ridiculous candidates (with no ability for any of their strong and ridiculous candidates, namely Mike Pence and Mitch Daniels, to get in on the action).

Ellsworth, handpicked and nurtured by Rahm Emanuel, was first elected in 2006, in a landslide victory over longtime incumbent, the certifiably insane John Hostettler, not just one of Congress' worst extremists but widely considered to be so obsessed with homosexuality that his mind has been warped beyond repair. Ironically, he's a candidate-- albeit a minor one-- in the GOP primary for the Senate seat as well.

IN-09, all of western Indiana save the heavily Democratic northern, industrial part of the state, is very Republican. The PVI is R +9. In 2004 Bush beat Kerry with 62% of the vote and 4 years later when Obama was winning statewide, IN-09, which includes Evansville, Vincennes, Greencastle and Terre Haute, only gave him 47% of the vote, while re-electing the unabashedly conservative Ellsworth with 65%. Ellsworth, in fact, is about as socially conservative as Hostettler! And he has one of the most unabashedly homophobic voting records of any Democrat anywhere. Hostettler rested his whole career, other than opposing aid to Katrina-stricken New Orleans, on religionist buffoonery and homophobia-- sponsoring a bill passed by the House to repeal a D.C. law that allowed city workers to register domestic partners for health benefits, sponsoring a bill to permit churches to engage in political campaigns without losing their tax exempt status, sponsoring the so-called "Marriage Protection Act" to prevent federal courts from ruling on same-sex marriage licenses, etc. Could Ellsworth really be as bad? Yesterday at Huff Po Indiana Democrat and gay activist Bil Browning went into Ellsworth's disgraceful record.

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest LGBT political organization, ranks Ellsworth as one of the ten worst Democratic Congress members when it comes to LGBT issues; he scored a meager 30 out of 100 possible points.

...Ellsworth's schizophrenic voting record on LGBT issues indicates that he is not a reliable friend to the LGBT community. In 2007, he voted against a Republican attempt to kill hate crimes legislation, but then voted against the hate crimes bill when it came to the floor... When I questioned Ellsworth about it later that year, his candid response took me by surprise. He admitted that he voted against the bill because he knew there were already enough votes to pass it and anything seen as pro-gay would be unpopular to a large part of his conservative and rural district.

At the same time, Rep Ellsworth confirmed to me and the crowd gathered around that he would vote in favor of ENDA, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would outlaw workplace discrimination against LGBT people. Ellsworth cited his record as Vanderburgh County sheriff, where he implemented a non-discrimination policy that included sexual orientation.

While he did eventually end up voting in favor of a version of ENDA that stripped out transgender people, he also voted in favor of a Republican-led attempt to kill the legislation before the final vote by sending it back to committee for further study. Ellsworth hasn't co-sponsored the trans-inclusive version of ENDA currently sitting in committee and is one of only a few House Democrats not to publicly support the measure.

A member of the House Armed Services Committee, Ellsworth has also refused to state his position on repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The Representative isn't co-sponsoring any other LGBT-positive legislation nor has he put out any statements indicating he would support any of the current pro-LGBT legislation awaiting action in the House.

Obviously this race isn't going to rest on which candidate is more homophobic, especially since they are both very anti-gay. But on the tough, substantive votes when he was most needed by Democrats, Ellsworth has been a dependable vote-- for John Boehner. The GOP may will try to paint him as a rubber stamp but he's only been with the Dems 35.82% of the time on these tough votes in the 111th Congress, just slightly better than fellow reactionary Blue Dogs Baron Hill (33.33%) and Joe Donnelly (26.87). All three, for example, voted for the anti-Choice Stupak Amendment, which may make it difficult for Ellsworth to muster much enthusiasm from women or progressives. Last year he also joined the Republicans to vote against the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act and lots of other populist legislation that would play well in Indiana this year.

It looks like, for progressives, this will just be about having to decide whether or not to vote for someone with a "D" to prevent someone with an "F" getting into office. It sure didn't work in Virginia or Massachusetts! Here's his uninspiring, dull, it's-all-about-me statement on his decision to ascend to Bayh's seat.

"After many conversations with Hoosiers this week, and with the love and support of my family, I have decided to run for the U.S. Senate.

"The best years of my life are the more than two decades I spent in the local Sheriff’s department. Sheriff is a job that comes down to protecting families from harm, helping folks solve their problems or resolve their disputes, and just being willing to put your fellow citizens' best interests ahead of your own. When I look at the U.S. Senate these days, I sure think they could use more folks with those same qualities. And that's something I hope I could bring to the U.S. Senate – an independent voice to help Indiana through these tough economic times, and get things done for everyday folks who are really struggling."