Screwed by the Dems

Feb 14 19:49 UTC 2006

Tuesday, February 14, 2006; Posted: 10:53 a.m. EST (15:53 GMT) 
NEW YORK (AP) -- Iraq war veteran Paul Hackett, a Bush administration critic
who had been recruited by top Democrats to run for U.S. Senate, said Tuesday
he was dropping his campaign and declared his political career over.

Hackett said he was pressured by party leaders to drop out of the Senate
primary and run for the House instead.

National Democratic leaders, especially Sen. Charles Schumer, chairman of the
Senate campaign committee, had told Hackett's top fundraisers to stop sending
money, Hackett told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

"My donor base and host base on both coasts was contacted by elected officials
and asked to stop giving," Hackett said. "The original promise to me from
Schumer was that I would have no financial concerns. It went from that to
Senator Schumer actually working against my ability to raise money."

Schumer, who represents New York, was not immediately available for comment.

"I made this decision reluctantly, only after repeated requests from party
leaders, as well as behind-the-scenes machinations, that were intended to hurt
my campaign," Hackett said in a statement announcing the end of his campaign.

The deadline for candidates to file for the May 2 primary is Thursday.

Hackett, a Cincinnati attorney and Marine Reservist, captured national
attention last summer by blasting Bush's war policies, raising huge sums on
the Internet and capturing 48 percent of the vote in one of the country's most
conservative House districts. Republican Jean Schmidt won the special election
in a tight race.

Hackett had declared his candidacy for Republican Mike DeWine's Senate seat
after it appeared Democratic Rep. Sherrod Brown would not run.

A few days afterward, Brown announced that he would run, and national
Democrats privately began urging Hackett to step aside for the more seasoned
politician.

Democrats also considered Schmidt vulnerable in a rematch against Hackett.
She was widely criticized for saying in a House floor speech about a troop
pullout recommendation by Rep. John Murtha, a decorated Vietnam veteran:
"Cowards cut and run, Marines never do."

But Hackett said he had already told other Democrats he would not enter the
congressional race.

"I said it. I meant it. I stand by it," Hackett said Tuesday. "At the end of
the day, my word is my bond and I will take it to my grave."

"Thus ends my 11-month political career," he said.

Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern said Hackett still has the
popular support to have an impact.

"It is my hope that whatever disappointment he might feel about these
circumstances, that he will seize a different moment in the future," Redfern
said in a news release.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/02/14/senate.hackett.ap

response 2 of 133:

Feb 14 20:25 UTC 2006

They're the Romulans in a Klingon world!  Surely Grex understands this
analogy.

response 4 of 133:

Feb 14 22:10 UTC 2006

Republicans == Ferengi
Democrats == Vulcans

I find both equally dispicable.

response 6 of 133:

Feb 14 22:44 UTC 2006

Democrats only have sex once every seven years?

response 8 of 133:

Feb 15 00:42 UTC 2006

#0's article does not tell the whole story.  It is quite slanted.  Paul 
Hackett has never run statewide in Ohio, his only race was for Congress 
in a congressional district in southern Ohio where he lost.  If you 
know anything about Ohio politics, and I do since I spent some time 
there with the Kerry campaign in November 2004, you know that it is a 
polarized state.  The southern part of the state, where Hackett is 
from, is strong republican, the northern part, Cleveland and that area, 
is blue collar Democrat.  

Put simply, Hackett was from the wrong part of the state. To win a 
statewide race is very difficult in Ohio for Democrats right now even 
under the best of circumstances.  But the best of circumstances for 
Democrats means VERY strong turnouts in the northern part of Ohio.  
These are people who might well not come out for a southern Ohioan 
moderate ex-military who could come across to them as more republican 
than democrat.

Hackett got a lot of publicity because of his congressional race, and 
as a result of the national media attention, had party leaders like 
Harry Reid and Schumer saying they would welcome his interest in a 
Senate candidacy.  

There is a BIG difference between "welcoming one's interest" in a 
candidacy, and deciding in the end that this person has the best chance 
to win and deserves the DSCC's support.  The DSCC took a long hard look 
at Hackett's campaign, realized that he's not well known enough and 
doesn't have the progressive credentials they want in the northern part 
of the state where most of the state's democrats live.  Therefore he is 
a real long shot to win, and they want to look at backing somebody 
else, whoever else they think has the best chance to win.

The job of the DSCC is to WIN the races for the Democratic party after 
all.  Not to hold the hands of all potential Democrat candidates.  
Hackett's complaining about this just shows he's not playing the game 
right, and that he's an amateur as a politician.  The DSCC does not 
have any moral obligation to go against the interests of the party and 
back him when they don't think its right, just because he was the 
flavor of the month media darling in the most recent election.

response 10 of 133:

Feb 15 03:54 UTC 2006

To split the difference between richard and kludgie, the bottom line is that
Ohio is an incredibly corrupt state for both parties. It's quite possible
that Bush's 2004 election was stolen through such corruption. However, this
in no way minimizes the Dem problem there. What Richard describes is
essentially "if we can't have a guy in our back pocket, we'll sit this one
out, thank you." This is a perfect example of how the Dems self-destruct.

response 12 of 133:

Feb 15 17:17 UTC 2006

(Will the Demo-wacks apply the same logic to Hillary Rodham?  I sure 
hope not.)

response 14 of 133:

Feb 15 17:53 UTC 2006

re #8
Actually, they just didn't want a Marine cuz he won't be playing by their
corporate backroom bartering.  The only point I found interesting was that
Schumer made calls to all the financial backers to cut him off.  That tells
you volumes about how our millionaire congress runs this country.

response 16 of 133:

Feb 15 18:31 UTC 2006

re #14 yeah thats why the democrats nominated a decorated war veteran last
time around for president, because they hate the military...sheesh

response 18 of 133:

Feb 15 20:39 UTC 2006

That story that said Schumer was making those calls is being stated by Tod
as a fact, when it is just an allegation by a disgruntled former candidate.
Most of the money in this country is in the GOP, not the Democrats, and
everyone knows it

response 20 of 133:

Feb 15 20:48 UTC 2006

RW knows it, but does he have any proof?  (That would be a first.)

response 22 of 133:

Feb 15 21:01 UTC 2006

re #18
 That story that said Schumer was making those calls is being stated by Tod
 as a fact, when it is just an allegation by a disgruntled former candidate.
Actually, numerous sources were told by Schumer's closest aide that he was
in fact pressuring Hackett to withdraw.  Today, Schumer's office is in full
denial, though.  Typical political spin to distance themselves from
their backstabbing of veterans seeking change.

response 24 of 133:

Feb 15 21:39 UTC 2006

I believe in the aide like I believe in my parents