A Weblog of Centrist Voices in American Politics
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A Weblog of Centrist Voices in American Politics | |
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February 14, 2006Let me explain how Washington really works, Mr. HackettCompletely disgusted by the national leadership of the Democratic Party, Paul Hackett gave up his quest to challenge Sen. Mike DeWine (R-OH) yesterday. Not only did he leave the Senate race, this former "rising star" also announced he was leaving politics. Before you start asking "Wasn't this?", "Isn't this?", I'll just spare you the trouble--Yup, this is one and the same. This is Paul Hackett, the much celebrated Iraq War vet who came home to run in an overwhelmingly Republican Congressional District and nearly won the race. This is the Paul Hackett, the "new face" of the Democratic Party. Embraced by the bloggers, lauded by the New York Times, and toasted by party leadership, Hackett was touted as the future of the party. No doubt overwhelmed, and mostly likely thrilled with the endless words of praise, Hackett was all to willing to latch onto Chuck Schumer and Harry Reid's dream of a Democratic Senate Majority. At their urging, he jumped into the race against DeWine at a time when the Republican Party of Ohio was in shambles. With the backing of the Senate Minority Leader and the head of the DSCC, what could possibly stand in his way? Well, as we all know, promises from (most) politicians mean nothing. In the last several weeks, Hackett was urged to withdraw from the Senate race to make room for Rep. Brown (D-OH). "Just switch back to the House race," he was urged, "You'll be a shoe-in." National Democrats, it seems, had now determined that Brown had a better chance of unseating DeWine. While that may be a possibility, the real concern was Hackett. According to today's NYT, Democratic leaders were terrified of the very thing that made Hackett so popular--his "straight talk." In all fairness, Hackett has certainly crossed the "decorum" line more than once, using an expletive to describe the President and comparing GOP Religious Right leaders to bin Laden. While that may be somewhat regrettable, it's not like he's the first person to go down that road. Harry Reid himself has referred to Bush as an "idiot"--hardly a compliment--and numerous Democratic leaders have made the analogy between the far right and the Taliban (or Iran, etc.) Because of that, it's certainly a stretch to say these two comments are what made Schumer and Reid skittish. Paul Hackett was a straight shooter. Like it or not, he was going to tell the voters what he thought of something, and as we all know, that's not a quality that will endear one to the powers that be. In the last several weeks, Hackett discovered that the very same people who had pushed his candidacy were now phoning his donors to advise them against further support. Refusing to go back on his promise that he wouldn't enter the Congressional race, he pulled out of it all yesterday, another embittered casualty of a system more concerned with control than service. Posted by Abel Rabinowitz at February 14, 2006 10:51 AM Comments
New face, meet the old face. Posted by: Dave Schuler at February 14, 2006 12:07 PMYeah, I'm afraid so. Posted by: Rafique Tucker at February 14, 2006 01:08 PMHmmm... Throwing out the more moderate, pro-gun, Iraq veteran who has shown he can get Repulican votes in a red state, to make way for a left-wing, establishment, liberal Congressman... Brilliant, just brilliant. One can't blame him for walking away. Posted by: Mathew at February 14, 2006 01:58 PM"Throwing out the ... Iraq veteran" I think there's way too much of Democrats defining their foreign policy as "I won three purple hearts." As for being a straight shooter, it's possible to talk straight without being a loose cannon. Something Hackett apparently hasn't gotten. (Hat tip: Greg) Posted by: Scott Smith at February 14, 2006 02:39 PMIt's possible, just not if you don't know when to shut up. Posted by: Tully at February 14, 2006 05:03 PMIn Minnesota, Patty Wetterling had announced that she would seek the DFL nomination for the Senate seat that is being vacated by Mark Dayton. She had earlier told the DFL candidate in the MN-6th, Elwyn Tinklenberg, that she would not challenge him for that nomination. Tinklenberg then donated money to Wetterling's Senate campaign, only to see her drop out of that race and announce her intention to seek the nomination for the 6th. Tinlenberg showed up at her announcement and took over the microphone to complain about the move. He also complained about the fact that his own money would be used in the race against him. If Wetterling has any decency, at least she will give back that money. Posted by: Todd Pearson at February 14, 2006 05:08 PMWelcome to political calculus 101 - which everyone does BTW. Ruthlessness and triage are the order of the day and have been ever since Caesar said "What the fuck Brutus?" Frankly it's a good move for the party overall. Brown gets to go against a weakening GOP opponent with millions more dollars in the till. You won't have 2 democrats doing the circular firing squad and wasting valuable resources, not to mention giving the GOP political ammunition. That's perhaps the biggest disappointment to the GOP partisans here....awwwwww. One thing - Hackett has said that he will not run again against Schmidt despite request from the Democratic Party. I hope he reconsiders his decision. He's a known quantity in that congressional district, popular, and he has a whole army of people wanting him to take on Schmidt in November who were probably disappointed in his Senate run. If Hackett continues his recalcitrance look for a draft Hackett campaign to start in March. uh, btw, that's subpoena......sorry Heard Hackett on the Randi Rhodes show, sounds like he'll put this past him and work for electing Democrats. the guy is really straight up. I do hope he runs agains Schmidt. Posted by: Marcus at February 18, 2006 02:48 AM |
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