The Fix is INdiana

Yesterday it looked like an unknown feminist was going to be the only Dem candidate for the seat of suddenly retiring Sen. Evan Bayh. Now it's beginning to look like the fix was in all along and Obama's own Blue Dog candidate had been secretly gathering signatures for some time (h/t Hot Air):

Hoosier politics took an unexpected turn Monday night when Democratic Senate candidate Tamyra d’Ippolito accused the White House of conspiring with party officials to secretly draft Rep. Baron Hill to run against her. …

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 Jan. 9 appearance 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.”

D’Ippolito said she asked mutual friends to contact Hill repeatedly on Monday, without success. Hill’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Monday evening. If true, she called the arrangement “a setup”.

There's probably nothing wrong with any of this from a legal standpoint, but it certainly makes Bayh's decision look a lot more like a scripted event than a spontaneous decision.

And you can see some informative video about Rep. Baron Hill here. He didn't seem to enjoy his town hall meeting this past summer.