Hackett, My Senator....

[mikelewis]

If Hackett truly believed that he could represent my views, he would have never given up his run. I want a Senator who will stand up for what's right even if it means pissing off the party. Hell, I have no problem pissing off the party and I want my Senator to do the same thing. Hackett could have run in the Primary in spite of the lack of Leader support. If he won the primary, the Party would have had to support his run. But he didn't, he admittedly backed down when it really mattered. And to top it off, he goes out and embarrasses us with his decision to cave into the pressure. History is made by men who refuse to give up on their dreams; in spite of the odds. Hackett backed down to Schumer and Reid. If he backs down to Schumer and Reid, how can we expect him not to back down to the Neocons? Hackett could have been my Senator if he had chosen to run. That was his choice. Mr. Hackett, "If you give up the fight, I will not follow you." It's as simple as that. Hackett is a good man and a great candidate but he gave in. It was his choice and none others.

Now, Mr. Reid and Mr. Schumer, Kindly butt the fuck out of Ohio Politics. It was our decision on who we send to your August Body of Democratic Senators; not yours. When you deny me my choice in a primary, you are effectively disenfranchising my political views. I would have voted for Brown anyway but I would kindly appreciate the opportunity to debate the issues and make a rational choice. My hope was that the debate may have forced Brown to adopt some of the issues that polarized Hackett's support. Hackett may have won the primary, I don't know but there is no benefit for me when you stick your nose in where it doesn't belong.

Honestly, this is an uninvited intrusion into the politics of my state. Please allow me to participate in my own democracy. If you want to help my state, please fix this nightmare of an election process we have here. Give us the ability to decide our own future and we will show you the integrity and honor that lends itself to the American dream. With our rigged voting system, we have people like Taft, Noe, and Blackwell making the decision for us. That is not Ohio. Ohio is so much better than this. Use your Federal influence to ensure me an open and honest election and I will deliver the very best Ohio has to offer; whether his name is Hackett or Brown.

[The Witch]

1. Yes, k&r. Criticism of the dems' actions isn't criticism of brown.

Brown supporters need to realize this so we can have a discussion about this move without it being related to Brown or Hackett. This was just a sick thing to do, period. Doesn't matter who it enables....

[mikelewis]

2. Absolutely...

Brown is a great candidate. He has the experience and the temperment to see a fight through. When he announced his run, I was excited about the primary debate. That would have been a sight to see. I doubt I would have changed my mind but I would have loved the opportunity to witness the exchange. Reid and Schumer had no right to do what they did. It was the wrong thing to do no matter how you look at it.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

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[Kolesar]

4. Kind of off-topic and deflect-ish. Welcome to DU on your 2nd day

[VolcanoJen]

9. Oh, c'mon now

You're seriously not helping.

[Garbo 2004]

5. Did Hackett's polling numbers also have something to do with his

decision to pull out of the race? That's what John Nichols suggests in The Nation:

Paul Hackett, who has dropped out of the race for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination with his usual theatrical flourishes, says he quit the contest because of the pressure he claims he felt from national Democratic bigwigs.

That may well have been a factor in Hackett's decision.

But it appears that an even bigger factor was a poll that showed Hackett trailing far behind his progressive primary opponent, U.S. Representative Sherrod Brown. With the filing deadline for the May Democratic primary rapidly approaching, Hackett was confronted with new numbers from his own pollster, which showed Brown was ahead among likely voters by an almost 2-1 margin -- 46 percent for the congressman to 24 percent for Hackett.
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion?bid=15&pid=59896

That and the prospect of not being able to raise the kind of money he'd need to run a viable statewide primary campaign with Brown in the race may have been the writing on the wall for Hackett. Rather than he "backed down" to pressure, he may have just recognized the bottom line realities of whether or not he could run a viable and successful primary campaign.

I recall when Bob Matsui died, by the time his wife declared for his seat out here in California a few days later, she had the backing of party leaders and major donors. While we had long time local Dem pols who wanted to run and would have made good candidates (fairly safe Dem seat), it was made clear to them that they wouldn't get funding or support or the gratitude of their party if they ran. So they didn't. Some of us would have liked to have at least had a choice in the candidate but that's the way it went down.

[mikelewis]

6. Of course they did...

Hackett is a good guy but he's not a recognizable political name in Ohio. Just because he says many of the things I like to hear is no guarantee that he'd do the right thing. He has no history from which to base a decision. Serving in Iraq and working hard has afforded him a seat in Congress but not the Senate, not yet at least. I wish he'd run for an open house seat and get some votes behind him. They'll be another Senate vote in 2010 which is plenty of time to earn his spurs.

Like I said, he's a good guy but an unknown quantity when it comes to Progressive values translating into Progressive votes.

[FreedomAngel82]

8. If that's true

why did he act like a baby about it all instead of being honest? He could've just said that he agreed with Reid and Schumer about the poll numbers and amount of money and just said so and that's why he was dropping out.

[VolcanoJen]

10. A.... baby?

Paul Hackett acted like a baby? Paul Hackett, the Iraq War Marine Veteran is a big baby?

Do you expect anyone to take you seriously with that kind of slam? Are you helping to bring Ohio Democrats together or are you just contributing to pissing more of us off?

You don't really think that The Nation has the inside scoop here, do you? Maybe the polls played a part in some kind of general decision by somebody, but you don't have the facts and you really shouldn't be slandering Democrats who have the guts and gumption to run for public office.

What do you think about Howard Dean's charges of "skullduggery"?

[mzmolly]

11. I'm sure it all played a role in his decision.

:shrug:

[FreedomAngel82]

7. Good post

I agree all around. If Hackett really wanted to change DC and help out he wouldn't have backed down. If he can't handle members of the party how is he going to handle big boys like Specter, Sessions etc?