Democratic Shennanigans in Indiana - UPDATE

When news broke yesterday of Evan Bayh's retirement from the Senate my initial impression was Bayh was leaving his party in the lurch by making his announcement the day before the deadline for candidates to register for the race.  Dan Riehl, however, made an excellent point that the move cleared the way for the Democrats to do a little king making by appointing a candidate.  Ed Morrissey thought this would lead to the appointment of a liberal  ideologue, not a winner in Indiana, which it would if the state Democrats were left to their own devices.

Enter Tamyra d'Ippolito, a political newbie and hapless cafe owner who was 500 signatures short of getting her name on the ballot leaving the Dems stuck with her as their candidate.   A rallying cry went out to the right to help d'Ippolito meet her goal.  A little chaos amongst the Dems is a good thing.  Today d'Ippolito is claiming the White House and Rahm Emmanuel have been working secretly to put Baron Hill, an Indiana Blue Dog on the ballot:

However, d’Ippolito said she was informed Monday that Hill, a blue dog who represents Indiana’s 9th District in the House, already has the necessary signatures and is sitting on them until the deadline. She accused White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel of colluding with Hill and the Democratic party county chairs to secretly supplant her as the nominee.

“I can’t confirm so I’m working feverishly to find out if this is the deal. If it is, there’s something unethical going on in Indiana politics,” d’Ippolito said. She then referenced Emanuel’s  at a fundraiser for Hill in Bloomington and accused the president’s top political aide of playing kingmaker during that visit.

“Don’t you find that strange, Rahm Emanuel coming to Indiana?” she asked, adding that Emanuel was sent by the White House to “find a blue dog to put into power.”

Would anyone put it past this group of Democrats to have conspired against other Dems if they thought it would give them a leg up in a race?  Nothing would surprise me from this crew.  Personally, I hope d'Ippolito gets her signatures whether Baron Hill, the 9th Congressional Dist. Blue Dog, gets his in on time or not.  If d'Ippolito runs a campaign anything like she runs her restaurant we've got nothing to fear from her.

If the White House has conspired with Bayh to keep others off the ballot hoping to put Baron Hill on the ballot, they might have done a little better by picking someone who hasn't voted for the health care bill that has put the Democratic majority in such peril.  Opposition to health care has a strong correlation to voting behavior and nothing makes that case like Scott Brown's election in Massachusetts.  While d'Ippolito's progressive ideology makes her a bad choice for the Dems, do they seriously think anyone believes there are moderate Democrats anymore?  When push came to shove they all voted with Pelosi or Reid, though some demanded a higher price tag for their vote than others.

Ed Morrissey reports d'Ippolito has the signatures and it appears the Democrats are buying themselves a whole lot of scrutiny in the process.
Via Memeorandum

UPDATE:   She missed the deadline according to an official in a key district.  Does this surprise anyone?