Hackett gets praise for directness, but how well does he know issues?

[Algorem]

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060129/NEWS09/601290348/-1/NEWS

Article published Sunday, January 29, 2006

By JIM TANKERSLEY
BLADE POLITICS WRITER

The couple dozen young Democrats at the University of Toledo didn't know what to make of Paul Hackett.

The attorney, Iraq war veteran, and U.S. Senate candidate from suburban Cincinnati had fired up the crowd in the course of an hour earlier this month, railing against Christian conservatives and urging Democrats to stand and fight for their values. And he had doused them, more than once, with attacks on gun control and a pledge to deport illegal immigrants.

Audience members split on his brashness. Some called him "a straight shooter." Others previewed a Time magazine columnist in attendance, who later wrote that Mr. Hackett was "all attitude, all opinions, very little information."

"He doesn't seem to have a lot of empathy," said Frank Szollosi, a Toledo city councilman who supports Mr. Hackett's Senate bid. "He's not a guy who feels your pain."...


• Q&A with Sherrod Brown | 12/04/2005

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051204/NEWS09/512040377

Question: Let's start simply. Why are you running?

Answer: I look around at what's happened to our state, and the last 10 years of failed leadership from Bob Taft, George Bush, Mike DeWine. Too many Ohioans are losing their pensions. Too many Ohioans can't afford to send their kids to college. Too many Ohioans are suffering from high prescription-drug and home-heating costs. This state and this country need a new direction.

Q: Is it fair to group Mike DeWine with Bob Taft and George Bush?

A: When George Bush said I want to attack Iraq, Mike DeWine said I'm with you, Mr. President. When George Bush wants to privatize social security, Mike DeWine says I've already got a bill to do it, Mr. President. When George Bush wanted the Medicare bill, Mike DeWine was with him. When George Bush pushed his energy - his giveaway to the oil companies' energy bill - through Congress, Mike DeWine was right there … On every major issue, Bob Taft and Mike DeWine and George Bush have worked together, absolutely...



• Candidate Brown challenges GOP establishment | 12/04/2005

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051204/NEWS09/512040352

Article published Sunday, December 4, 2005

By JIM TANKERSLEY
BLADE POLITICS WRITER

The room was packed, the lattes foamy, the coffee stamped "fair trade," and the announcement as bold as a French roast.

Sherrod Brown ripped federal free-trade agreements, cheered workers' rights, and lumped U.S. Sen. Mike De-Wine (R., Ohio) with a pair of struggling Republican leaders - President Bush and Gov. Bob Taft - in a formal campaign kickoff at Toledo's Downtown Latte yesterday.

The brief speech, and an earlier telephone interview with The Blade, brimmed with the sort of anti-Bush, anti-free-trade, anti-drug/insurance/oil/chemical-company rhetoric that has drawn Mr. Brown, a Democratic congressman from suburban Cleveland, admiration from labor unions and liberal bloggers - and leaves critics questioning whether he is too liberal for Ohio voters.

Mr. Brown began campaigning for Mr. DeWine's seat in earnest this week. His race begins with a primary against Iraq war veteran Paul Hackett; Mr. Brown yesterday declared himself "proud to carry the progressive banner."...


Article published Saturday, January 28, 2006

Brown slams drug program, calls for improved coverage

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060128/NEWS32/601280429/-1/NEWS

By JIM TANKERSLEY
BLADE POLITICS WRITER

Days before President Bush is set to center his State of the Union address on health care, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate blasted one of the President's signature medical initiatives in Toledo yesterday.

U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown (D., Lorain) called the Bush-backed Medicare prescription-drug plan "the most confusing, corrupt, and costly health-care law in the nation's history" in a visit to a Pharmacy Counter store on Central Avenue...

Mr. Brown, one of two Democrats attempting to unseat GOP Sen. Mike DeWine in November, was joined by a doctor, nurse, and pharmacist. Each ran through a list of complaints about the drug program that have grown familiar since it went into effect on Jan. 1...

Mr. Bush and administration officials said this week that he will offer several related initiatives in the State of the Union. The proposals include expanding individual health savings accounts and limiting noneconomic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits.

[balzac]

1. Brown Should get out of Hackett's Way

Brown should've announced his candidacy before Hackett or not at all.