Mother Jones --Are Democrats Trying to Shoot Down Paul Hackett in Ohio?

[ohio_liberal]

For a candidate who just lost a congressional race, Paul Hackett has been a popular guy this fall. The tough-talking Iraq combat veteran turned a special-election fight in Ohio’s Second District into this summer’s political sleeper hit, energizing Democrats and converting Republicans in the deep-red counties outside Cincinnati and pulling 48 percent of the vote in a district where John Kerry got a mere 36 percent. Soon the national party came courting: Hackett met several times with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Chuck Schumer, chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), both of whom encouraged him to run for the seat of Ohio’s senior senator, Republican Mike DeWine, in ’06. Hackett said he would—after been told by Ohio Congressman Sherrod Brown that he wasn’t planning to run—and on October 3 he publicly threw his hat in the ring.

Then, last week, his phone rang again. It was Sherrod Brown calling to tell Hackett he’d changed his mind: he was running after all. Then Schumer called, and this time he wasn’t delivering a pep talk. Hackett got the distinct sense that he was being asked to make way for the party insider. “Schumer didn’t tell me anything definitive,” he says. “But I’m not a dumb ass, and I know what he wanted me to do.”

DSCC spokesman Phil Singer insists that “We didn’t play any role in bringing Brown in. We were as surprised as anyone else when he decided to reconsider.” Putting a positive spin on the contest, Singer notes that “six months ago, reporters were writing off the state” for Democrats. “Now we’ve got two excellent candidates who would be good senators and can beat Mike DeWine in 2006.”

Hackett, who says he’s still considering his options, is less sanguine—and less diplomatic. “The Democratic Party is like an addict,” he says. “They’re addicted to failure. I want to help the party. The question is, how do you help someone that doesn’t want help?”

http://www.motherjones.com/news/update/2005/10/hackett.html

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. Lots of DUers seem to want to help Paul

there were two threads about his running for Senator yesterday, one of them getting quite lively. The other suggested that people send him money. The race should be interesting.

[ShaneGR]

2. Gees, Brown's getting a bad rep for this

You wouldn't think that Brown has been reelected like 10 times in a row, or that prior to running for Congress he was one of the last Democrats in this state to successfully win statewide office. Not to mention Brown is fairly young (bout50), articulate, handsome, univerersally liked in both urban and suburban Akron by Dems and Reps and categorically supported by like every liberal organization in this country.

How is that being a failure?

BTW, I don't have anything against Hacket, just a big problem we've had in Ohio in the past is our inability to "slot" our candidates. I think Hacket should run for statewide (Secretary of State, Governor) or for his congressional seat. Isn't he in his early 30s?

[ohio_liberal]

4. Paul Hackett is 42

A Democratic candidate hasn't won statewide in Ohio in 13 years.

[WildClarySage]

10. But, this is a golden opportunity to change that.

[ohio_liberal]

11. With the right candidate, absolutely

:)

[SteppingRazor]

6. The problem for Hackett is...

no matter how good his ideas, he is something of a flavor of the month. He needs to strike while the iron is still hot -- while Ohioans still remember the 2nd district race.
Brown, on the other hand, is a known quantity.

[Divernan]

7. Brown told Hackett he wouldn't run & he should honor his word!

Hackett shook up the whole country and gave heart to all Democrat candidates with his showing in the congressional race. If Brown wanted to capitalize on that to run for Senate, he had a chance but declined. Brown told Hackett Brown was not interested in the Senate race. I very much doubt Hackett would be at all interested in the Senate race even now were it not for Hackett's success. So let Brown stay in his safe congressional seat and Hackett run for Senate. If Brown couldn't build up enough following after 20 years in the House of Reps to have enough confidence and courage to risk a Senate race when given the opportunity(ie Hackett asked if he wanted to run), then he doesn't sound like he would be a very impressive or effective Senator. And if Brown is so beloved in Ohio, let him run for the governorship.

Hackett would make it a very exciting, highly publicized nationally race, and he is the kind of young, NEXT GENERATION, bluntly honest democrat we desperately need in the United States Senate.

[nvliberal]

12. If Hackett couldn't win the congressional race,

it figures he will be buried under a DeWine landslide if he runs for the Senate.

He's not a very experienced politician, which is what we need here.

The only reason some are so big on this guy is that he's a novelty for being an anti-war veteran. That's it, nothing else.

[Divernan]

17. Hackett came VERY close in the most conservative district

and Bush's numbers have been falling a lot since then. The Republican incumbents are running a lot more scared now than then, and with good cause. Derek Obama wasn't a very experienced politician either, but he has great appeal, and so does Hackett. Brown has stayed in his safe seat and initially told Hackett Brown would not run for the Senate seat. I would like to see both of them run, but not against each other. That just provides sound bites for the Rs in November and uses up precious campaign funds on in-fighting. The one thing we know for sure is that out-of-state Rs will be pouring funds into Dewine's coffers. I think Hackett will attract a lot more out-of-state money and national press coverage, which in turn generates more contributions. And in Senate races, you have got to spend big bucks.

[1932]

14. I think it's fine that voters have a choice. Regardless of his word,

Democrats at the very least should be happy that they have a primary where they can chose between these two guys.

Don't you think it would be a decent thing if we heard what each of these candidates stood for and we picked the one we thought would do better for America?

[ohio_liberal]

15. That's all fine and good

But ya know, the DSCC leadership apparently doesn't want a contested primary. The voters might not have a choice of candidates.

[1932]

23. Regardless of what the DSCC wants, Brown is entitled to run and the voters

benefit from having a choice and an opportunity to hear what each of these guys believes.

[1932]

13. At the very least, you'd think that people would think that it was OK

for both to run in the primary, just so long as the don't try to bloody each other up.

[Kralizec]

21. Let Brown run for the next Ohio Senatgor seat. I don't like it when people

go back on their word. He told Hackett he was out and Hackett got the wheels rolling. That's enough show of his character for me.

[ohio_liberal]

22. Cripies, Hackett spend $130,000 on a bus to tour around Ohio

He obviously thought he was in. That makes me a little angry.

[1932]

24. So he wouldn't have run if Brown told him that he was going to run?

Wouldn't that suggest to you that the voters might be better off if Brown is running?

[ohio_liberal]

25. No, it doesn't tell me that at all

It tells me that Paul Hackett starting spending money for this race thinking he was the DSCC's candidate. Paul Hackett was the only one interested in running until Brown decided to waters were warm enough to jump in. Christ, he told Hackett absolutely that he wasn't running. It pisses me off.

[1932]

29. Shouldn't we care more about Ohio than about Hackett?

If he's the better candidate, the $130,000 in donations his campaign spent on the bus will still be a good investment.

If you're saying he wouldn't have run had Brown told him his plans earlier (or he wouldn't have put the money in the bus if Brown was running), I'm not sure if that's the right prioritization of concerns. it stinks for his campaign, but Ohio definitely deserves the candidate with the best chance of winning, regardless of what the candidates have spent their money on so far in the campaign. It's not like spending a lot of money entitles you to the nomination. Being the best candidate with a chance to win the general election should be the thing that entitles you to the nomination.

I should also note that if you're upset about the $130,000 it's important to remember that even if it was his personal money, he can get the campaign to reimburse him, so, be happy that Ohio has an opportunity to get the best candidate to run against DeWine and donate some money to Hackett so that his campaign doesn't go into debt paying for the bus.

[ohio_liberal]

31. Oh Please

I care about Ohio, that's why I want Paul Hackett to run!

[Jon8503]

3. Does anyone have Hackett's email address or website where you

can send him a email of support. He is what we need in this party not the wimps we presently have.

[ohio_liberal]

5. VolcanoJen says she thinks he reads DU

I don't know of an email addy yet.

[Jon8503]

26. Hey, thanks, ready to give whatever support could here to him.

[Webster Green]

8. He is anti-chimp, but he is pro Iraq war...

He wants to stay and "finish the job".

What fucking job, Paul?

[ohio_liberal]

9. Not so

He says it's over, time to bring them home

:hi:

http://onegoodmove.org/1gm/1gmarchive/002309.html

[Webster Green]

16. Good to hear, I guess he's changed his mind...

Thanks for the update. I heard him interviewed a couple of times before his election, and I wanted to strangle him.

I guess if he's flip-flopped on the war, then it's good, but what the fuck took him so long to figure it out, especially since he was there?

[Jon8503]

27. That's right, heard him on Bill Press one morning as a guest. N/T.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

18. Oh how I wish...

...that this were all just a very clever ploy to get Republicans in Ohio to think that the Democratic party establishment hates him, and thus make them more inclined to vote for him.

Sadly, it's not.

[ohio_liberal]

19. Oh they loved him for all of 3 months or so

Hackett is right. The Dem leadership is addicted to losing. :(

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

20. No, they're addicted to fundraising,

and they still don't get that fundraising isn't 100% of winning elections.

[Zinfandel]

28. Fuck Brown and Schumer! Support Hackett!!!

[1932]

30. Even if that fucks Ohio? How about we just listen to what the candidates

have to say and pick the most liberal candidate who can beat DeWine, regardless of what Schumer said in his phone call to Hackett.