Attempts to oust Bauer continue

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Indiana House Minority Leader Pat Bauer is one of the most colorful figures in the Statehouse and has been the point man for Democrats for more than a decade. But his days in a leadership position may be numbered.

Efforts to remove Bauer are continuing, and those efforts come from members of his own party. A number of key House Democrats believe that their chances in the November election will improve if Bauer is no longer their leader.

Some of those members attempted to organize a vote of no confidence on Bauer last Friday. They were unsuccessful because too few of them were available to conduct a meeting. That's not the end of it, however.

Members who blame Bauer for election losses in 2010 and for a walkout strategy that failed are not about to give up.

"We're in the minority. We don't have time to be fighting,” Indianapolis Democrat Ed DeLaney said. “So I think we need to make a decision this week as to whether Pat Bauer can continue to lead or not."

When asked if Democrats could better raise money if Bauer's replace, DeLaney said: "A lot of people think that."

Attempts to reach Bauer were unsuccessful. This all started when some of his fellow Democrats tried to offer more input into election strategy a couple of weeks ago and Bauer apparently rejected their help.

Under normal circumstances there would be no leadership election until after voters go to the polls in November, but these are clearly not normal circumstances.