So in this time of populist resentment and political gridlock comes a man to deliver us. His name is Evan Bayh and he is from Indiana … sort of.
His father, Birch Bayh, was a senator from Indiana from 1963 to 1981. The son served two terms as governor of the state (1989-1997) before moving on to the Senate. He put in 12 years, and his name was routinely included among those of possible presidential candidates. He chose not to run for re-election in 2010 and took a job on K-Street with the McGuireWoods law firm. The work, one assumes, was all indoors and required no heavy lifting. Also, the pay must have been good, since, as the Evansville Courier & Press reports, Bayh and his wife recently bought a four-bedroom home in Georgetown for just under $3 million. The home is described as “an 1820 Federal that was completely renovated with modern amenities.”
The Bayhs sold their home in Northwest Washington, D.C., where they had lived previously, for $2.6 million. And, since there are times when one simply must get out of Washington and recharge the batteries, they bought a “waterfront penthouse” in Key Biscayne, Florida. Bayh also owns a condominium in Indianapolis, which might be the most crucial of his properties, as it makes him a “resident” of Indiana.
The distinction is one that the partners at McGuireWoods could no doubt defend in court (at $1000+ an hour). When asked, Mr. Bayh points out that he pays taxes on the property, that he has a gas bill, and that his driver’s license is issued by the state of Indiana. He therefore considers himself a resident of the state and voters can decide if his heart is where he claims his home is.
The business of “representing” a state to which one is only nominally attached has worked to the disadvantage of other senators whose constituents considered them citizens of Washington and members of the despised political class rather than of their own tribe. Former senator Richard Lugar lost his Indiana seat on the basis of just such a distinction. The voters, presumably, operated on the old biblical teaching: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
