The Centrists Are Revolting, Sir

"Well of course they're revolting, have you ever looked at a centrist like Evan Bayh?" (h/t TPM)

Before the budget even comes to a vote, however, the 2009 spending bill must be taken care of -- and one of those centrist Dems, Evan Bayh (IN), is urging Obama to veto the $410 billion measure in a Wall Street Journal op-ed today. From Bayh's piece (emphasis mine):

The omnibus debate is not merely a battle over last year's unfinished business, but the first indication of how we will shape our fiscal future. Spending should be held in check before taxes are raised, even on the wealthy. Most people are willing to do their duty by paying taxes, but they want to know that their money is going toward important priorities and won't be wasted.

Does that fiscal-discipline argument against the spending bill sound familiar? Ah, right, House Republicans made it last week. Also, could someone remind Bayh that he voted against the Bush tax cuts that he's now unwilling to see expire?

BooMan also has more on Bayh's Backbencher Blue Dog Bunch.

It's looking like Obama has something of a problem. While Blue Dogs in the House can't really outright stop legislation, Bayh's Bunch certainly can kill anything in the Senate. They could very well exact a steep price for their votes from Obama, forcing him to cripple legislation more effectively than the Republicans could dream of. It's clear they expect to have massive influence over both the omnibus bill still on the table and the budget for next year.

In other words, six weeks into the President's term, Evan Bayh is already running on an anti-Obama ticket for reelection in 2010, and he's recruited a hefty chunk of backbenchers to help him...including Joe F'ckin Lieberman.

Things might get pretty stupid from here.

[UPDATE] As StarStorm reminds me in the comments, Bayh was on the short list for Obama's Veep at one point. And as I said back then on a number of occasions that Bayh was a truly rotten choice for his Centrist bullcrap.