UPDATE: Hackett made it official this morning -- he's dropping out of the Senate race. And from his statement below, he won't be challenging Rep. Schmidt in the 2nd District.
I do not agree.For more info go to http://www.apartments.waw.pl

UPDATE: Hackett made it official this morning -- he's dropping out of the Senate race. And from his statement below, he won't be challenging Rep. Schmidt in the 2nd District.
I do not agree.For more info go to http://www.apartments.waw.pl

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I met Sherrod Brown when I was in journalism school at Ohio State around 1983. At the time he was education secretary for the the Celeste administration that went down in a banking scandal. At the time Brown was a youthful up and comer. After the Celeste scandal, I did not see Brown pop his head into national politics again until the 2000 Gore election debacle in Florida. rolex replica They were scraping the bottom of the barrel at that time for pols who would take the avante garde in attempting to overthrow the voter counts via the partisan Florida Court system. In short, Brown is the worst conceivable democrat to run against Dewine, who I am no great fan of. Prior to his redeeming performance in the Allito hearings, I was to the point of not voting for Dewine. Schumer, who could not find any part of his anatomy in Ohio, has miscalculated in a major way. I know Paul Hacket and he would have had a chance with his machismo against the wimpy Dewine. As it is the Democrats have matched twit against twit and their corrupt one will loose big. To his credit, Dewine though wimpy is one of the most thoughtful and and clean Republicans in the senate. He will look like a superstar running against Brown. All of us Republicans were seriously scared of Hacket who actually showed guts unlike any of the present Democratic crew. You missed your shot and forced a decent person out of democratic politics for the forseeable future. Thank you Shumer and thank you Cillizza.

re: Republican-friendly Diebold machines

Scootmandubious, on Feb. 13th, posted a true fact. In fact, it's the main point people should be aware of.

Since the Diebold e-slate voting machines are going to be used, which can easily be tampered with by Diebold "technicians".....with permission from Republican officials (a la Sec. of State Ken Blackwell)...as was so obvious during the stolen Pres. election in '04 for Bush...
people need to understand that the Republicans are going to stay in power.

"Those who cast the votes decide nothing....those who COUNT the votes decide everything." ---Josef Stalin

Paul Hackett will not run for the second district because he gave
his word to three of the people now in the Dem primary there.
Unlike many ordinary poiticians , he believes in keeping his word. He believed Sherrod Brown would stand by his, too, when
he said he would not run for the senate. So much for that
promise!

http://www.whereistand.com/5515

I think this sends a bad message for Democrats. Hackett represented change for the Party at a time when the Party needs a fresh message. He was a moderating figure who could gain traction due to his military background. Most of all...he didn't act like a true politican, cause he's not. After the ethics scandal in D.C., Hackett is the kind of fresh face Democrats need. See Bob Casey Jr. v. Rick Santorum for more of this mentality.

As an Ohio Democrat, I am outraged at the treatment of Paul Hackett. Isn't it just like us- we identify a rising star, then shoot him down from behind. Hackett involved young people, and those who had been sitting on the sidelines, which Democrats have been lacking sorely. Our ability to wrench defeat from the jaws of victory never ceases to amaze, confound, and infuriate me. Too many life-long activists are saying that they have had enough of the party of eunochs, and DeWine must be chortling with glee. Brown is a good man, but the way that this was handled will only help the GOP.

I met Sherrod Brown when I was in journalism school at Ohio State around 1983. At the time he was education secretary for the the Celeste administration that went down in a banking scandal. At the time Brown was a youthful up and comer. After the Celeste scandal, I did not see Brown pop his head into national politics again until the 2000 Gore election debacle in Florida. They were scraping the bottom of the barrel at that time for pols who would take the avante garde in attempting to overthrow the voter counts via the partisan Florida Court system. In short, Brown is the worst conceivable democrat to run against Dewine, who I am no great fan of. Prior to his redeeming performance in the Allito hearings, I was to the point of not voting for Dewine. Schumer, who could not find any part of his anatomy in Ohio, has miscalculated in a major way. I know Paul Hacket and he would have had a chance with his machismo against the wimpy Dewine. As it is the Democrats have matched twit against twit and their corrupt one will loose big. To his credit, Dewine though wimpy is one of the most thoughtful and and clean Republicans in the senate. He will look like a superstar running against Brown. All of us Republicans were seriously scared of Hacket who actually showed guts unlike any of the present Democratic crew. You missed your shot and forced a decent person out of democratic politics for the forseeable future. Thank you Shumer and thank you Cillizza.

Good riddance - this guy was bound to implode. He actually had a decent chance at the beginning and then he became another angry loudmouth for the lunatic left.

Good riddance - this guy was bound to implode. He actually had a decent chance at the beginning and then he became another angry loudmouth for the lunatic left.

Silly me. As a registered Democrat in the state of Ohio, I thought it was going to be up to those of us who vote in this state to choose the candidate to run against Mike DeWine. And all along, the choice was Chuck Schumer's, Rahm Emmanuel's and Harry Reid's. I was looking forward to voting for a fresh face, a non-politician, a man who spoke his mind and stood by what he said. He said he wasn't running for the Second district seat, and now that other Democrats have lined up to run, he's keeping his word. Too bad Sherrod Brown didn't do the same. He wasn't going to run for the Senate, either, until after Paul Hackett declared his intentions and polls showed that DeWine might be vulnerable. So here were are again...stuck with a professional politician who is is a bonified member of the "old boys network", and who has the ability to raise money but doesn't really stand for much, and whose word doesn't mean anything.

Today's a really good day......for Mike DeWine.

The Ohio Democratic Party is COMLETELY inept.

By forcing Hackett out, they just made sure a lot of liberals won't be supporting Brown in protest. In fact, a lot say they'll vote for DeWine.

Plus, because of Ted Strickland's role in this debacle, he's losing support in the governor's race.

truth hurts huh vivabush? Ohio will be blue for a long time and you know it. Bush cheated to win in Ohio and we true americans know it Your neocon fantasy land is crumbling and you are frightened.Another neocon coward. Shame on you

Hackett was doomed to lose because of lackluster fund raising and little statewide support outside of the UAW.

He also actually used the label "un-American" in regards to the gay marriage ban.

While "un-American" is a subjective term, the word "bigot" would have been more precise if you use the true definition.

One can only assume that he was referencing the founding principles of the Consititution of the United States and its call to "...secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and posterity...", which of course was hardly fully practiced at the outset, i.e. rights of women, slaves, etc.

Of course the perception and spin is a different story.

"Opinion, whether well or ill founded, is the governing principle of human affairs." -Alexadner Hamilton, 1778

The only thing I can say is that most Democrats are deeply upset that Hackett was forced out. Some are more philosophical that Hackett had little or not chance.

But his depature likely means that there will be less fundraising in the primary, fewer new donors will get on board and carry over to the winner in the fall...and that DeWine now has a fighting chance to retain the seat.

Some further thoughts from the GOP trenches of NEOH:

Previously on this blog I stated that it was my hope that Brown would beat Hackett in the primary, albeit a nasty and costly one, in order to face off with Senator Dewine. Well, we got our wish albeit, without the DIM primary.

Whatever fallout comes from this I do not believe it will adversely affect Brown or the party in any way. True Hackett's backers will be pissed but how many of them could actually vote for him. AS a military vet, gun owner and a moderate of sorts, Hackett was the better candidate against Dewine, not Brown. Brown has a far-left, pro-union, anti-war record that will not play outside the 13th District. Brown is just slightly to the right of Dennis Kucinich and Stephanie Tubbs Jones, neither of whom could beat Dewine either. Hackett, unlike Brown, could run as an outsider too.

I believe that the Dims handled this race badly, afterall Hackett was the main guy before Brown changed his mind and decided to run. This is a waste of a fine Dim candidate who is left with a bitter taste in his mouth for the way he was treated.
Given that Hackett was previously a good guy, if I were State GOP chair Bob Bennett I'd be on the phone asking Paul to come back to his roots and cultivate a futre GOP candidacy for 2008.

Sidenote to Chris C. Look into the 13th District U.S. House race now that Lorain Mayor Craig Foltin jumps in and consider adding it to your Top 10 of Seats likely to flip from Dim to GOP.

Hackett was just another foul-mouthed jerk, good riddance. A successful campaign has to be based on more than just "the Christian Right is no better than the Taliban."

Hackett was promising, but he needed more seasoning for a senate race. Too bad, he couldn't see the advice he was getting to run for the House would be better for him, the party, and the country (not necessarily in that order).

Larry is a certifiable nut case undeserving of the cogent response from RMill.

There is no doubt that the Hackett and Fingurehut withdrawls help the Dim ticket as it allows them to avoid a costly primary and marshall their resources for November.

Betty Montgomery did not need to be coerced out of any race for governor. She is a smart woman who could see that the poll numbers were low as well as the $$. She had the sense to change direction and file for Attorney Gneral which she should win.

Speaking of primaries, the 13th District, Brown's seat will have a real bloodbath between former rep Betty Sutton, the labor candidate, former rep Tom Sawyer, millionairess Capri Cafaro who moved to Lorain County and Elyria Mayor Bill Grace.
On the GOP side, popular Lorain mayor Craig Foltin will have minimal primary opposition and take on whoever's left standing in the general. The DIMs will HAVE to spend big bucks for a seat for which they never had to spend a dime on.
Thank you Sherrod for giving us your seat and losing to Dewine. How can you say "GOP WIN-WIN?"

From the Ohio 13th District....

Larry-

I do not know how you cannot come to terms with the fact that Ohio is not Blue.

Voter registration of both Dems and Reps in Ohio is dwarfed by Independents (as it is in much of the country).

In the 2004 Primary, total registration reached 7.2 million. Only 2.365 million voted in the primary (793 K for R's and 1.221 M for D's).

Registration increased to 7.97M by November and 5.72 M voted in the General election.

In Ohio, party affiliation is fluid, and can change from primary to primary. However, these numbers mean that 3.3 M voters who did not register party affiliation by voting in May, came out for the General election.

Whatever your analysis of the results, party registration is not dominated by either D's or R's.

Current registration is around 7.68 M.

I cannot find any hard facts to support the fact that Ohio is not dominated by Republicans and has been for over a decade. Whatever your hopes or opinions for the future, Ohio cannot be considered a Blue state based upon verifiable facts.

While I can share those hopes that Ohio is ripe for change and I believe there will be a significant shift, at the moment, is just speculation and hope and not grounded in actual fact.

Winning statewide in Ohio is based upon the ability to persuade independent voters, not by those swearing fealty to one party or the other.

Dear Tom: please go back on your meds. Thanks,

Paul Hackett fought for God and Country in Iraq.

Now he is turning his back on God, being brainwashed by the "Democrat Culture of Death," and trying to take advantage of political opportunism and his own selfishness.

It is amazing how quickly the Immoral Democrat Leadership can turn a decent person against God and God's Moral Laws.

This is all very inside baseball which will not affect most voters' decisions come November.

And the GOP does do the same thing (Montgomery was cajoled out of her bid for Governor this year) and have for some time (Taft was talked out of a challenge, they have been holding Blackwell and Petro at bay for a few cycles too) and it hasn't hurt their statewide chances.

Wow, the democrats actually did something that made sense. Hackett called any Ohio voter who opted to support the definition of marriage as that between a man and a woman a "bigot". Since he insults 70% of voters with that, he was doomed to lose. DeWine has badmouthed BUsh enough to win. Brown is not a charismatic personality. The WaPo has to deal with another one the candidates they were actively supporting (Hackett) dropping out.

If it is true that Sen. Reid had a hand in pushing Mr. Hackett out of the race I think he needs to step down. This is just embarassing. As an independent who leans left I can't see how this helps the Democrats recenter themselves. The Hon. Mr. Brown is not going to win, not after this fiasco. Hackett did his party a disservice on a local level, but a huge service on a national level: pointing out the shady internal workings of a floundering party.

Lark, I don't think it was the state Democrats as much as the National democrats. Also, you don't think the GOP does the same sort of thing. If not you're very naive. I mean one must have a really short memory to forget what the GOP did to Sen. Dewine's son when he ran.

I think he would still be in the race for a seat if he did one of two things--announced earlier (which would have kept Rep. Brown out of the race) or ran again for Rep. Jean Schmidt's seat in the House. Given his lack of experience governing and the chance to take a key seat away from the GOP, I think he should have done the latter. At least his family is happy! :-)

I am very disappointed that Mr. Hackett is not running. Very upset with the state Democrats who forced him to withdraw. I always vote, but at present, I am so upset that I may vote for DeWine.

Ohio is an increasingly BLUE state not RED due to statewide Rep corruption. Ohio will be blue for many many years to come and Reps cannot win pres election without OHIO. Kerry won in Ohio by at least 500000 votes cheating is not winning neocons.Dems have a big edge in voter registration here also. Where do you find info that Ohio is increasingly RED? From drug addict Rush Limbaugh or from pervert OReilly you uneducated neocon"s favorite source of news.Brown will also defeat DeWine easy check Zogby poll

Brown is long serving but hardly establishment. He is often criticised as too liberal!

This helps conserve campaign dollars for a competitive shot at DeWine. Irrespective of the opinions of the above posters, one person is not as certain of his future this morning and that is Mike DeWine.

Hackett may still change his mind and run but it is clear he is not enamoured with National or State Democrats. The whole thing was badly planned and handled. Some coddling and a $1 M check from DCCC may change his mind.

And with Fingerhut out of the Dem primary for Governor, who also says he is not running for anything else, could similar indiucements convince him to run against LaTourette in the 14th? Some wheeling and dealling behind closed doors is taking place in the next few days that could Ohio GOP a lot of campaign cash to defend "safe seats".

Chris,
Hackett has officially stepped out and will NOT run for the OHio second.
http://www.hackettforohio.com/newsroom/128/thank-you
All I have to say is read what he wrote and then tell me that this is not the type of person we NEED in Washington. If I were a voter in Ohio I would give serious thought to writing him in for the Primaries or the general election. If the parties won't let democracy work then people have to take it.
I really don't know if this helps the Democrats as a whole. With Hackett on the ticket they could have taken it to Dewine on the Iraq War without the risk of backlash.

Anybody read Joe Klein's article in Time a few weeks ago where he criticized Hackett for not having a good grasp of issues?

Personally, I think this is a mountain being made of a molehill. I agree with Q that DeWine is going to keep his seat.

Schmitt will lose to McEwen in the Republican primary. She was a surprise winner in the primary for last year's special election. Her win in that primary was the result of the two strongest candidates, McEwen and Tom Brinkman, taking each other out. But Brinkman is not running in this primary, and is backing McEwen this time. The Wicked Witch will have a short say in the House.

Hackett's decision to run for the House instead of the Senate makes sense to me. There is a very good chance of a Democratic pick up here with Schmidt the opposition (let's face it if he can't win there, he'll be swamped in the state). Democrats like Hackett should avoid pelican strategies, "whose mouth holds more than their belly can." The financial state of his campaign makes that a double imperative. In this case I agree with the Emanuel strategy about the importance of winning, not just moral victories. He also may be joined by a class of 2006 Democratic Congressman with experience in Iraq similar to the 1974 Vietnam-era class of Democrats. A building block for the party's future with a fresh infusion of energy and critical mass for future reform.

This is going to make my early Nov. CSPAN addiction even stronger. Great news for political junkies!

Candidates like Brown never win. The whole Democrats complaining about how free trade is hurting America has got them nowhere. Kerry harped on about how jobs were being lost and Ohio still voted for Bush. The reactionary approach of people like Sherrod Brown to trade is not a vote getter. People want to know what you'll do about job losses and opposing trade agreements is not a viable plan. DeWine might get dragged down by Bush and the Ohio GOP's scandals, but I just get the feeling he'll narrowly hang on. Ohio is a swing state and DeWine has positioned himself as a moderate, while Brown has positioned himself as a liberal. In a swing state or a national election, if one candidate captures the center, they almost certainly win. Clinton took the center in '96 and Dole was only left with the right, and he lost. Tim Ryan would have been a much better candidate because he'd have won the NRA endorsment over DeWine. Brown might be able to ride Republican problems and the NRA and conservatives' anger over DeWine into the Senate, but DeWine probably has the edge so far.

Hackett has withdrawn from the race, claiming Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer - who had both courted him for the Senate race - turned on him. And it doesn't look like he'll run for the House of Reps. seat, as his unit might be going back to Iraq, and he's firing shots at the Dems for "betraying" him.

But really, would he have won in an increasingly-conservative state with his sharp-talking liberal views?

Intrepid Liberal,

While it is true that the people should chose the candidate, it should be apparant that the Democrats both in the Senate and the Congress must work together. Such a race (with Hackett) in the running for Congress will force Republicans to spread their resources and allow Democrats to consolidate theirs. Hackett's switch can only be viewed as a good move for the party.

http://democraticway.blogspot.com/

jlspruil,

No. I am not "THE NOAH WEBSTER." I assume that's a blogger. I wish I were the real Noah Webster, because I would be raking in the dough from the dictionaries, but then again I would also be dead.

Every time someone describes what Sherrod Brown did for Hackett during the special it gets bigger and bigger.

I think its disgraceful that the party machine forced Hackett to step aside. Telling his donors to cease contributions. Parties try to stifle competition too much. If I were an Ohio Democrat my attitude would be: "I'd like to have the right to choose for myself. So, stay the hell out of it."

http://www.intrepidliberaljournal.blogspot.com

Is that Noah "THE NOAH WEBSTER." If it is you're just like the weathermen--- "here,there and everywhere."

Daedalus,

Why is this eating their own? This opens up the possibility for gaining two seats as opposed to just one. Both Brown and Hackett have equally good chances of beating DeWine, the only difference being funding, in which Brown has a distinct advantage. On the other hand, Hackett is the only Dem who can really mount a challenge in the OH-02, whereas Brown's seat will likely stay blue no matter what. It's a win-win situation!

Besides, you can't really get more progressive than Sherrod Brown, and he's been a wonderful team player for the entire state. He essentially loaned his staff to Hackett for the special election in August.

Another case of the establishment Dems eating their own. It's as if they LIKE losing. Frankly, I am sick of it, and I am sick of establishment Dems like Brown constantly trying to push out newcomers.

The Republicans have handed the Dems several wins in November, but the Dems just won't take it.

www.washingtonrox.blogspot.com

Elrod,

I am not sure about South Carolina, but in Oklahoma the contested Senate primary hurt Coburn. He was in a considerably weak position coming out of the primary and this made him have to climb a long way to win. If you mean that the best candidate came out of the process, that may be true, but that is hardly the case in every primary.

Noah

I think this is too bad. Hackett has a better chance of winning the Senate seat than Brown. Hackett is the true "straight talker"; he doesn't back down from controversial remarks and he takes the fight to the opponent instead of looking for safe, poll-tested talking points. I don't think Hackett can win OH-2. He came close in a special election, but in a regular Congressional election there is a good chance the Republican wins handily. If McEwen wins the primary he will destroy Hackett. If Mean Jean Schmidt wins it then Hackett has a chance. I also think contested Senate primaries are a good thing. Look what it did for the Republicans in OK and SC in 2004. The Dem was leading in the polls in both cases as the Republicans badgered each other. The more extremist Republican won in both cases and carried that momentum to victory in November.

With Diebold in control of the vote, is there anybody who seriously thinks that the GOP will let the vote go any other way but theirs?

So what is the point of even speculating who will run unless we start talking about how to guarantee the true election results cannot be tampered with.

For starters, how can anyone allow a company with a publicly partisan polticial agenda to be in charge of machines that are capable of being manipulated?

Troy,

If you think that objective analysis cannot find that it is extremely likely Democrats will win seats this year, then you should look at Jay Cost's article on the subject at Real Clear Politics.

Chris,

Wasn't there already a former military Democrat running? Also, would this still be a Democratic pick-up opportunity if Schmidt loses in the Republican primary.

Noah

The Fix is getting out of hand with its pro-Democrat analysis. I can't believe you'd devote a whole posting to a small piece of irrelevant heresay. Obviously you get alot of excitement about commenting on anything at all which looks good for the Democrats' chances. Your piece last week which said, "The question is not if, but rather how many seats Democrats gain in November" really hit your credibility significantly.

I'm this close to abandoning your blog altogether.