Because the Washington media loves those like Bayh who position themselves as bipartisan or centrist (especially when it comes to the issue of the deficit), progressives derided his so-called “centrism” as mere political positioning that helped Republicans obstruct Democratic initiatives, and met his exit with a flurry of blog posts with titles like “Bye, Bayh” or “Bayh Low” (“Bayh” is pronounced “Bye” or “Buy” – thus explaining my overly complicated attempt at a joke in my blog title). Ezra Klein called him an “ordinary politician” and a “minor deficit hypocrite”. Jonathan Chait goes farther, and notes that “If Bayh’s loss is a “brain drain,” then the Senate is in even worse shape than I thought.”

I once had the chance, along with numerous other reporters and editors, to speak with Bayh in an off-the-record context. I’d say the group was quite favorably disposed toward him going into the discussion — here was a young, popular, telegenic moderate Democrat everybody could see on a presidential ticket soon. As far as I could tell, everybody came away thoroughly unimpressed. He said nothing especially disagreeable, it was just that he seemed so mediocre. He expressed himself entirely in terms of platitudes. Not a single interesting thought escaped his lips.

He had no better luck appealing to the other side. The allure of centrism is that it is at the edge between the left-most Republicans and the right-most Democrats, and thus the deals are made and the power is held in the center. Bayh (and Max Baucus, and most Senate Democrats, and even President Obama) have learned the hard way that there is no reason to be centrist if the other side – even at its left-most reaches – refuses to do anything but obstruct. But Bayh wasn’t close to right-wing enough for any Republicans on any key issues, as Ross Douthat says:

His big issue was supposed to be deficit reduction, but you wouldn’t catch him dead proposing anything remotely like Paul Ryan’s fiscal roadmap, with its detailed list of programs to be reshaped and reduced.  (Bayh preferred the “bravery” of punting the issue to a commission.) On foreign policy, he was a liberal hawk on every vote except the hard ones: He backed the Iraq invasion in 2003 and takes a hard line on Iran today, but in the debate over the surge, when being hawkish was suddenly costly, he sided with the doves. Wherever the Beltway conventional wisdom settled, there was Evan Bayh — and he was rewarded for it with endless presidential and vice-presidential chatter, which has followed him, absurdly, even now that he’s announced his retirement.

The incredible thing, however, is what Bayh has done since announcing his retirement.  A two-faced politician of average intelligence to the left and too far left for todays right, Bayh has grabbed the issue of Senate disfunction with both hands. He penned an op-ed for the New York Times on Feb. 20th that outlined his reasons for leaving the Senate, and decrying the “institutional inertia gripping Congress” and the fact that “Congress must be reformed”. Its a remarkably thoughtful document (I would urge everyone to read it through), and one that (in addition to Bayh’s media tour since announcing his retirement) has brought the issue of Senate reform and filibuster reform into the Washington Conventional Wisdom (yes, the CW does need to be capitalized). Bayh’s most important ideas are these:

Filibusters should require 35 senators to sign a public petition and make a commitment to continually debate an issue in reality, not just in theory. Those who obstruct the Senate should pay a price in public notoriety and physical exhaustion. That would lead to a significant decline in frivolous filibusters.

Filibusters should also be limited to no more than one for any piece of legislation. Currently, the decision to begin debate on a bill can be filibustered, followed by another filibuster on each amendment, followed by yet another filibuster before a final vote. This leads to multiple legislative delays and effectively grinds the Senate to a halt.

What’s more, the number of votes needed to overcome a filibuster should be reduced to 55 from 60.

It is not so surprising that many of those voices decrying Bayh’s legislative record and subsequent retirement are now singing his praises. Matt Yglesias and Ezra Klein are the most prominent, with Klein bemoaning the fact that Bayh decided to make Senate reform an issue after he decided to leave the Senate instead of staying in the Senate to fight for those reforms. I’m not sure I agree. I believe the whole saga speaks to my personal view of the Senate, which is that those on the inside of the Senate are unable to see the dysfunctions that cripple the institution. Bayh is probably smarter than I gave him credit for before this weekend – I think his op-ed proves that – but something about being in the Senate, whether it was the constant campaign or the hunt for legislative power, hurt his ability to see the Senate as it really is. The moment he decided to leave the Senate he saw the dysfunction, and despite the jokes about his involvement in the dysfunction he insisted on using that as his reason for leaving. I don’t want you to stay in the Senate, Mr. Bayh. You’re much better off as a living, breathing example of why the Senate needs to reform itself.