The last ever, final, end all, post on Hackett's senate withdrawal.

[farmbo]

Many people are rightly upset that Maj. Paul Hackett chose to withdraw from the Ohio Senate race in favor of political veteran Cong. Sherrod Brown. Ed Schultz has been throwing a week-long hissy fit over his withdrawal, turning the normally local interest story of the Hackett-Brown dust-up into a National issue.

But how has it played out here in Ohio among activists in the progressive community? My humble observations follow.

First...Sherrod Brown CAN BEAT Mike Dewine. Check out yesterday's Hart poll:

http://www.dscc.org/news/oh/20060215_brown/

A new poll conducted for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) shows Democratic Senate candidate Sherrod Brown beating Senator Mike DeWine in the race for the Ohio Senate seat. Brown is beating DeWine by 3 points – 44% to 41%.

“This poll confirms what all the other public polls have been saying about the Ohio Senate race for the last few months. Mike DeWine is vulnerable and Sherrod Brown can beat him,” DSCC spokesman Phil Singer said. “The fact that Mike DeWine has been losing so far out from Election Day reflects his failure to serve the people of Ohio. Sherrod Brown will bring new ideas to the Senate that are aimed at helping average Americans and will be the next Senator from Ohio.”

Sherrod Brown...41

Sherrod Brown (lean)...3

Mike DeWine...38

Mike DeWine (lean)...3
<snip>

Second, Paul Hackett (bless his heart) was like a shot of Wild Turkey to an Ohio voting populace that is partial to near-beer.

In his Columbus Dispatch interview with Joe Hallett in January, Hackett called the 62% of Ohioans who voted in favor of the Constitutional Amendment outlawing gay marriage "absolutely Un American."
He also asserted that "...the Republican Party has been hijacked by the religious fanatics that, in my opinion, aren’t a whole lot different than Osama bin Laden and a lot of the other religious nuts around the world."

http://www.dispatch.com/editorials-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/01/15/20060115-B5-02.html

Sound arguments all, but each would go over like a turd in the punchbowl during the general election. Arguably, they would have insured his defeat.

Finally, Maj Hackett's campaign failed to extend common courtesies to the Ohio press and electronic media during the campaign. For example, Ohio political reporters were outraged when Hackett gave an exclusive on his withdrawal ...to the New York Times.

Spiteful,knit-picky, to be sure, but this is an irrepressible reality in any statewide campaign; cultivate your strongest relationships with local media first.

I have supported both Hackett and Brown financially and would have rallied behind either candidate, but on balance believe Sherrod Brown has the greater potential for success. The fact that he has ten times more money on hand says less about Brown or Hackett than about our country's regrettable state of campaign financing. Brown knows he will need upwards of $10 million to counter the campaign sleaze which a well-funded Dewine campaign has in store for him. Not only does Sherrod have the capacity to raise those amounts, he has the courage to vote for meaningful campaign finance reform if he is elected to the US Senate.


A final note on the alleged SwiftBoating.

I remain to be convinced that this actually occurred or if it did, that a Brown campaign operative was involved-- we in Ohio are blessed with an active, well-financed rightwing disinformation infrastructure.

But if it did-- even through a casual whisper campaign-- it is utterly unacceptable and the responsible person must be fired immediately and publicly.

Paul Hackett may have some shortcomings but lack of honor isn't one of them.