Somebody named Don Bates, Jr. announced a run for U.S. Senate this weekend.  According to his hometown newspaper in Richmond, Bates is a banker, a Republican, and he didn’t get an endorsement from the local Wayne County GOP Chairwoman.

The Bates announcement at the Wayne County Fair is no surprise to political insiders.  Bates campaigned recently at the state GOP Dinner.

But his approach is hardly conventional.  A Saturday announcement with just one appearance on the border of another state and no statewide news release is not a recipe for success, especially for a guy with no name recognition to speak of outside Richmond.

 By the way, Evan Bayh (the Democrat Bates hopes to unseat) gets the headline on the Richmond Palladium-Item website this morning.

Maybe you already thought of this but current events in Washington are a great lesson in democracy.

It’s government action bracketed by two elections.

Barack Obama seeks the change he was elected to deliver in 2008 through cap and trade legislation and health care reform.   He feels he has a mandate.   He is making good on campaign promises, at least attempting to make good. 

Meantime, members of Congress look ahead to the 2010 election and how it will affect them, not Obama.  Rep. Baron Hill (d-Seymour) endorsed Obama early on and supported him on cap and trade.  Now, with Republican Todd Young showing fundraising success in Hill’s 9th District and the GOP questioning campaign contributions to Hill on the eve of the cap and trade vote, he announces opposition to the current health care reform bill.  The President needs to help him now.

Sen. Evan Bayh, enthusiastic in support of Obama at Indiana rallies last year, is suddenly his old, cautious self again.  Republican Senator Richard Lugar beat him to the punch announcing support for Sonia Sotomayor.  Bayh won’t take a public position on cap and trade or health care reform.  The Democrat is on the ballot in 2010 and, though a prohibitive favorite for re-election, is taking no chances.  He’s guy in the spotlight now.

The policy issues of 2009 will be campaign issues in 2010 and Barack Obama is not on the ballot.  But, maybe you already though of that.

Topics today on Indiana Week in Review:

Evan Bayh’s fundraising success

Why Indiana is a health care reform battleground

5th District GOP fundraising

Tuition hikes at state universities

Wishard Hospital referendum plans

John Dillinger exhibit at the state library

Evan Bayh’s quarterly FEC report is ready for filing tomorrow.  It shows cash on hand of more than $12 million (12,159,525.99 to be exact.)

Bayh raised almost $796,000 during the second quarter. 

Those are numbers that will cause Republicans looking to take on the incumbent Democrat to have second thoughts.  I’ll report on the prospects for a real Senate race in 2010 on 24 Hour News 8 at 6.

State Senator Marlin Stutzman sent out a Facebook posting tonight to announce that he has an exploratory committee established to run for U.S. Senate. 

The Howe Republican wanted to announce in May, waited because of the Special Session, and clearly feels he can’t wait any more.  Taking on Evan Bayh is more than a notion.

Will Weaver of the Weaver Popcorn family will continue to talk to Republicans about a possible run for U.S. Senate in 2010 but he’s not ready to make the leap yet.

Weaver says he is still learning about the task of taking on #Evan Bayh and not ruling it out.

Indiana Senators Evan Bayh and Richard Lugar are two of 9 targets of a television ad campaign pushing Health Care Reform by a group calling itself Health Care for America Now!  Here’s the text of the ad:

“Right now in Washington, Congress is working to fix health care.

And as a doctor, I know what’s most important is that you and I get to

make decisions about your health – not insurance companies.

That’s why you should have a choice. Keep the insurance you have now

or join a new public health insurance plan. With good benefits. At a

price you can afford.

So we’re no longer at the mercy of insurance companies making decisions you and I should be making together.”

Former GOP state Representative Dan Dumezich has been laying some groundwork for a run for the U.S. Senate in 2010 and suddenly, a couple of other Republicans are also looking at the opportunity to take on Democrat Evan Bayh in an off year election.

State Senator Marlin Stutzman (R-Howe) says he will make a decision on a run in May.

A businessman who is a political novice (but with automatic name ID) is also reported to be considering the race.

What if the 2008 election for governor took place this month?  Would Mitch Daniels survive 9% unemployment and a 10% drop in tax revenues?  Would Jill Long Thompson know how to take advantage of the circumstances?

What if lawmakers acted last year to fix the unemployment insurance system?  Would anyone’s re-election be reversed?  Would the recession be deeper?

What if  we really need the federal stimulus money to balance the state budget after all?

What if Evan Bayh wasn’t on the ballot in 2010?  Would he still be opposing President Barack Obama’s spending proposal?

What if Indianapolis had a downtown casino?  Would it solve the stadium funding issues?  Would it attract more conventions?  Would it put the racinos out of business?

What if Mike Pence gave a speech and no one was there to hear it?  Is that the definition of Congress?

Indiana Senator Evan Bayh says his back is sore because he’s “too cheap.”  He didn’t want to spend $30 to hire someone to shovel snow at his home.  So, he and a son did the work, instead.

Bayh will tell you his frugal spirit guides his attitude toward a $410 billion dollar spending plan in Washington, DC.  Today, the Senator told me the so-called omnibus spending bill “increases spending across the board by many times the rate of inflation.”  And that, he says, is “incredibly tone deaf” when so many people are struggling.

Bayh said he objects to $7.7 billion dollars worth of earmarks, political pet projects, in the bill.  “The government just goes on as if its impervious and above the problems that ordinary people have.  No wonder they get upset.  At this time, we ought to take those specially-appropriated earmarks out of there and we ought to look for ways to economize.”

Bayh is one of the Senators saying they will vote “No” on the bill when the time comes.  Fellow Democrat Russ Feingold of Wisconsin says he also plans to vote “No”.  He’s another of the few Democrats who say the spending bill is too expensive.

Republican leaders admit some members of their party may vote for the spending bill — because they want the earmarks.  

On Face the Nation, recently, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel dismissed concerns about these earmarks as “last year’s business.”  I asked Bayh about that comment.  “It may be last year’s business,” he said.  “But it’s this year’s money — and it’s our childrens’ debt that they’re going to have to pay off with interest to the Chinese, someday.  So, look, this is real money.  This counts and it’s got to come from someplace and that means a bigger deficit.”

Bayh said probably every government department could find a way to cut one or two percent from their budgets.  He said he prefers that to approach to the increases in the omnibus bill. 

Indiana Republican Chairman Murray Clark says watching Senator Bayh “is confusing.”  He released a statement chiding Bayh for supporting stimulus spending and then deciding to “backtrack on this recklessness” in the earmarks.

Bayh said in Clark’s “capacity as the partisan leader of the other party, he’s going to be against me no matter what I do.”  So, Bayh said he considers a ”No” vote the right thing to do.

But, the Senator may have learned a lesson about the difference between political and personal austerity.  Considering his back pain, he said: “Next time, I’ll pay the guy” to shovel.