Monday, July 17, 2006
Bayh's 'middle class' '08 strategy
From The Morning Grind

Sounding more and more like a presidential candidate, Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Indiana) will criticize his fellow Democrats today for losing touch with middle class Americans, in back-to-back speeches to be delivered in Washington and Iowa. The Indiana Democrat will also warn his party that failure to reconnect with middle class voters will result in huge electoral problems in November and beyond.

"We may consider ourselves the party of the middle class, but too many middle class Americans no longer consider us their party," Bayh will say, according to excerpts of his remarks made available by his office. "They have left the Democratic Party in droves -- costing us the last two presidential elections and the last six Congressional elections, and if we don't learn some lessons, we'll lose in 2006 and 2008 as well. We must not let that happen, because the middle class is more than a source of votes for my party, it is a fundamental part of who we are as Democrats and Americans."

"So I offer this advice to my fellow Democrats: without an agenda that speaks directly to the Middle Class and all who aspire to it, we are no longer the Party of Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy, and Clinton. And we will not be a majority party," he will say.

Bayh will also address the 2008 question, saying he hasn't "made a final decision" on running for president.

"But if I do run, creating opportunity for middle class Americans will be a centerpiece of my campaign," Bayh will say. "It's a message I will take across America on behalf of other candidates this fall."
Posted By Mark Preston, CNN Political Unit: 7/17/2006 10:14:00 AM ET | Permalink
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