Senator Andre Carson???

There's a buzz around D.C. today that President Obama is seriously considering Senator Evan "Willow Tree" Bayh as a replacement for Senator Judd Gregg (who was a replacement for Gov. Bill Richardson, who was a replacement for Karl Marx, who sadly is deceased) as a nominee for Secretary of Commerce.

I think this is absolutely brilliant, and not just because "Willow Tree" supported Hillary during the primary, thus giving credence to this alleged "Team of Rivals" our Community Organizer-in-Chief is building (and not just because Bayh might have actually paid his taxes).

It's brilliant for several reasons, but try and follow my logic (for graduates of Perry Meridian High School, I'll go slowly):

1) This might come as a shock to many, but Bayh is in serious danger of losing his seat, which is up in 2010. This would spare him the embarrassment of being the second "Birch Evan Bayh" to lose to an unknown Republican.

2) As you might have learned from the recent Illinois debacle, our governor would then be able to select Bayh's replacement, who would then face re-election in 2010.

3) My Man Mitch should select Congressman Andre Carson to fill the seat. I'm not kidding. Think of how bi-partisan and forward thinking Mitch would be to name Indiana's first black Senator. What a legacy.

4) Carson would then be forced to run for re-election to his new Senate seat in 2010 (as mentioned), which is a problem for him for a host of reasons:

• He has absolutely no chance of ever winning a statewide election in Indiana. Frankly, Gabrielle Campo could beat him for that 2010 Senate race. This has little to do with his race, but more because of his power base (outside of Lake County, the Carson Machine wouldn't be able to pull off their normal shenanigans). It has everything to do with his Marxist views and the fact that the media isn't as likely to give him a free ride during a Senate race the way they have during his Congressional campaigns.
• There would then be (another) special election to fill Andre's now-open 7th District seat. Without the Carson Machine delivering ballots to the counting place four hours after polls close, or opening ballot boxes right at the precinct, or the other usual tactics they have patented, the Marion County Republican Party would have the chance to put a real challenger in that race, instead of un-employed recent college grads.
• After Andre loses his Senate re-election bid, he'd be forced to raise even more money during a presidential cycle to run against the incumbent Republican who now holds that seat. Considering 2012 will be a much better year for the GOP (hopefully they actually run a Republican at the top of the ticket this time), it will be quite a challenge for Andre to get his seat back.
  

Your thoughts?


Cross-posted at CircleCityPundit.com