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Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid

by BooMan
Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 12:23:25 AM EST

Update [2006-2-14 0:55:9 by BooMan]: Okay. I have to revise this whole post. Hotline didn't have the story right. The New York Times has the whole sad story. It looks like Schumer and Reid tried to play hardball with Hackett and asked him to go back on his word of honor. Hackett had promised other Democrats that he would not run for Schmidt's seat, and Schumer and Reid asked him to double-cross them. That's pathetic. Schumer is really starting to piss me off. I don't hold this against Brown though. He is still a great candidate. Maybe Hackett will forgive the party one day when we have better and more principled leadership.

From the Hotline:

Great news for Dems in OH; if Paul Hackett sticks to his plan, the party has killed two problems with one deft withdrawal.
Vet Hackett (D) opts to run against Rep. Jean Schmidt (R), the freshman he nearly beat -- and Rep. Sherrod Brown (D) can concentrate on building a case against Sen. Mike DeWine.
We're told that Hackett plans an official announcement tomorrow, unless he changes his mind.
Make no mistake: Hackett's chances of defeating Schmidt are at least fifty-fifty, and Dems have credibly expanded the field of competitive races by one. (Can Dems clear the primary in OH-2?) Hackett's re-re-recruitement is the second major success for the DCCC in recent days: they just recruited ex-Rep. Ken Lucas to challenge Rep. Geoff Davis in KY-4.

Jean Schmidt, as you might recall, is the women that questioned the courage of Rep. John Murtha on the floor of the House and almost got assaulted by Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. She narrowly beat Hackett in the special election, and her chances of beating him again are diminished.

By giving up his Senate run and focusing on the house seat, Hackett is doing a double favor to the party. Sherrod Brown can now concentrate on beating the very vulnerable Mike DeWine, and it puts an additional House seat in play.

Hackett has more starpower in the blogosphere than Sherrod Brown. But, Brown, if he wins, will probably be one of the body's more progressive senators.

Here is a good article on Brown.

I'm pleased with this development...should it turn out to be true...

Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid | 48 comments (48 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (4.00 / 2)

NY Times says he's pissed at the Democrats and dropping out of politics forever link (reg. req.)

Help me raise money for Jay Nixon, the next Democratic governor of Missouri

by maryb2004 on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 12:35:16 AM EST

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 0)

Not, of course, that they are consistantly correct. But that's what they say.

Help me raise money for Jay Nixon, the next Democratic governor of Missouri

by maryb2004 on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 12:35:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 1)

Mr. Hackett said he was unwilling to run for the Congressional seat because he had given his word to three Democratic candidates that he would not enter that race.
"The party keeps saying for me not to worry about those promises because in politics they are broken all the time," said Mr. Hackett, who plans to return to his practice as a lawyer in the Cincinnati area. "I don't work that way. My word is my bond."

Help me raise money for Jay Nixon, the next Democratic governor of Missouri

by maryb2004 on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 12:37:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 1)

Sounds ugly:

"This is an extremely disappointing decision that I feel has been forced on me," said Mr. Hackett, whose announcement comes two days before the state's filing deadline for candidates. He said he was outraged to learn that party leaders were calling his donors and asking them to stop giving and said he would not enter the Second District Congressional race.
"For me, this is a second betrayal," Mr. Hackett said. "First, my government misused and mismanaged the military in Iraq, and now my own party is afraid to support candidates like me."

He says Schumer and Reid pushed him to step aside to avoid a messy primary. Reid wouldn't comment for the story.

Help me raise money for Jay Nixon, the next Democratic governor of Missouri

by maryb2004 on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 12:44:40 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 0)

He says Schumer and Reid pushed him to step aside to avoid a messy primary.

He says operatives were calling his contributors and asking them to stop funding his campaign. Brown was my favorite candidate in this race and, from his voting record he looks to be an excellent senator if he can make it past the difficulties with the voting machines and the (cough) new no recount law. But, you know what, that's pretty damn low of Schumer.

by the other colleen on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 10:26:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (4.00 / 4)

from NYT:

Mr. Hackett said Senators Charles E. Schumer of New York and Harry Reid of Nevada, the same party leaders who he said persuaded him last August to enter the Senate race, had pushed him to step aside so that Representative Sherrod Brown, a longtime member of Congress, could take on Senator Mike DeWine, the Republican incumbent.

Sounds all too familiar for my PA-resident ears. I'm not very knowledgable of the OH race and not even Hackett himself even with his fairly high profile, for one reason or another, I wasn't paying that close attention to his race last time around. But that he is actively being pushed out by Schumer and Reid makes me so fucking pissed off.

--
Albert Yee
Philadelphia, PA
http://dragonballyee.com/blog

by albert (dragonballyeeATgmail.com) on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 12:45:15 AM EST

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (4.00 / 4)

Hackett doesn't strike me as someone who is likely to backdown and renege on his word...I suspect the rosy scenario of another run against Schmidt may not come to pass.

It sure looks like another Casey-Pennacchio fiasco...just another example how how the system is perverted and broken. Is the D leadership really this stupid?...to pressure this man to the point of withdrawing completely is spitting in the face of all progressives and liberals.

Peace

lTMF'sA...the revolution will not be televised...Peace

by dada on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 01:06:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 1)

Any chance the other candidates would voluntarily withdraw and leave the field to him?

Help me raise money for Jay Nixon, the next Democratic governor of Missouri

by maryb2004 on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 01:10:10 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 0)

That's a complete mystery to me, I don't know who the others might be. I'm not in Ohio and was following the Hackett primary bid because of his initial showing against Schmidt.

I'm sure some of our Ohioans will weigh in on this soon.

Peace

lTMF'sA...the revolution will not be televised...Peace

by dada on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 01:14:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 0)

Yeah, exactly what dada said, and then some.

Nonviolent Action information available here

by NorthDakotaDemocrat (NorthDakotaDemocrat at yahoo dot com) on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 01:10:55 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (4.00 / 2)

Agree. What they said. (WTS). Makes me think that D party has become some corporate enterprise. Maybe that is how I've ended up with a choice in MI-08 between R1 and R2. Oh no. I know. It's my fault for not being more involved with the party. I suppose if I was fighting for a progressive anti-war candidate in marginal district, there would be no party pressure by use of money and influence to ensure R2 gets nomination. More evidence that we are in system failure IMHO.

"Have you no sense of decency, sir. At long last, have you left no sense of decency?" -- Boston Attorney Joseph Welch, taking down Sen. Joseph McCarthy.

by BostonJoe on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 07:29:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (4.00 / 3)

Oh look, a pattern of behavior by Reid and Schumer. Smash the progressive candidates out of the race.

Assholes.

by CabinGirl on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 07:34:29 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 1)

Stoller calls it "ugly", kos defends the dems. Can't blame Hackett for systemic political corruption.

by rba (nearnight12@yahoo.com) on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 09:05:38 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 1)

Smash the progressive candidates out of the race.

In this case, unless you know something I don't about Brown's voting record or character, I don't think this is true. Indeed Brown strikes me is very progressive. The unfortunate tendency of the Dem leadership to try to control primary races by any means necessary is true, of course.

by the other colleen on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 10:32:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (4.00 / 2)

I realized after I hit post that I made a bad choice of words there. Sorry!

It's really the systematic elimination of voter choice in the primaries that I'm pissed about, anyway.

by CabinGirl on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 10:34:25 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (4.00 / 2)

It's really the systematic elimination of voter choice in the primaries that I'm pissed about, anyway.

No need to apologise at all. I was a rabid supporter of Howard Dean 2 frickin years before the '04 election and have been critical of the DLC for about a decade and so completely understand your anger.
I'm hoping they don't do Jon Tester (who is rapidly gaining ground in Montana) in and the the slimy Schumer does not succeed in his attempt to take Eliot Spitzer down. (I don't expect he will, I expect that Spitzer's popularity far exceeds Schumer's) I do not buy any of the rationales for promoting Casey in PA and believe that to be the worst bit of political strategy since the party backed Zell Miller.
It's just that I don't see Brown as a bad candidate, at least we were spared that.

by the other colleen on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 10:57:01 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 1)

Now that I've read about Brown (CG hangs head sheepishly)...I agree with you about him.

The Casey thing makes my blood boil.

by CabinGirl on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 11:33:53 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 0)

Is the process open for him to get on the ticket as an Independent or other?

by rumi on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 01:18:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 0)

That would probably go against his pledge not to run against the other Dem candidates.

Help me raise money for Jay Nixon, the next Democratic governor of Missouri

by maryb2004 on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 01:24:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 0)

Yeah, it's likely not to be an option but I would say all deals are off, now. I haven't looked closely yet but my guess is he won't just sit around.

by rumi on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 01:32:35 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 0)

According to the NYT article, the deadline for filing is 2 days away so I would assume that is not an option.

Peace

lTMF'sA...the revolution will not be televised...Peace

by dada on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 01:27:46 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 0)

I think for Inds it might be May 1
2006 Ohio Congressional and Statewide Races
Primary Filing Deadline: 2/16/06, Primary: 5/2/06, Independents Filing Deadline: 5/1/06, General Election 11/7/06,

by rumi on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 01:35:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 0)

spot on and profound, brother, right on. Thanks. Love the sig, Gil Scott-Heron is quite the fine prolific urban poet.

by concerned on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 03:00:48 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 0)

Actually no. To pressure him to withdraw is spitting in the face of grassroots activists. The difference is really important. A lot of misunderstanding has occurred over the Hackett-Brown thing because people believe Grassroots = Progressive and Beltway Insider = Centrist. It's often that way but not this time. This time you had Grassroots Centrist Hackett and Progressive Insider Brown. No matter the outcome in this primary, we Progressive Grassroots people were going to half win and half lose. In that way, it is not like PA at all, where Grassroots Progressives lose out completely if/when Bob Casey gets the nomination.

Secondhand Sun

by furryjester on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 10:31:13 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 0)

that's what I keep telling my friends here in PA. Casey wasn't picked for his positions, but with no regard to his positions.

Brown would be the most progressive Senator since Wellstone. But people don't know him. Schumer just forced a fighting Dem out for a leftie.

The point is, let's the voters decide. But in this case, we win. Hackett might have been effective as a partisan, but we have no idea how he would have voted.

by BooMan on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 10:43:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 0)

Yeah I am not disappointed with this outcome at all. And a lot of people in Ohio know and like Sherrod Brown. (I actually spent some time in Ohio and talked to them so I'm not just pulling that out of my ass.)

But I can understand why people to whom the power struggle is more important than the ideology struggle - OR people who are grassroots activists on the ground in Ohio - feel shat upon. It's not a nice feeling at all.

Secondhand Sun

by furryjester on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 10:52:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 1)

I think the party leaders screwed up on this one big time. We lost a good man and a viable candidate to their stupidity yet again.

Doing My Part For The Left,Left Of The Rainbow

by refinish69 (refinish69 at gmail dot com) on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 03:56:01 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (4.00 / 3)

This pisses me off to no end.

I was still at dKos when he ran against Schmidt. It was exciting to see the enthusiasm involved in the online fund raising that happened live.

The Ds leaders/consultants are killing off the enthusiasm of the grassroots. Who will be the new party members and activists. If they keep this up they'll end up like with nothing but oldtimers involved. Not a way to build a party.

Nonviolent Action information available here

by NorthDakotaDemocrat (NorthDakotaDemocrat at yahoo dot com) on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 01:10:04 AM EST

Hell, let's save a ton of money (4.00 / 2)

and totally eliminate the primaries. Let's just have the Party Powers-That-Be tell us who we're supposed to vote for, and all fall into line like sheep...or in the case of the Democrats, lemmings.

Reminds me of an old story of a Party election in Communist Russia. A factory worker showed up at the polls, was handed an envelope, and told to put it in the box. He was curious as to who he was voting for, and began to open the envelope. Horrified, the Party boss in attendance stopped him: "What do you think you're doing? Don't you know that this is a secret ballot???"

We're not quite at that point...yet...

This really sucks...Sherrod Brown might be a great guy, and a hell of a lot more progressive than DeWhine. But I have a very dim view of anointed candidates...if they can't stand up to a primary challenge, how the f*ck are they going to do when facing the Republicans with a full slate of dirty tricks?

'Nuff said...I'm depressed now...

Not one dollar more...

by Cali Scribe on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 01:12:13 AM EST

Re: Hell, let's save a ton of money (none / 0)

The Ohio election process has deteriorated since the 04 election. I doubt that anything but someone new could beat a Republican. They still have the Diebold edge.

by rumi on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 01:16:23 AM EST
[ Parent ]

My letter to Paul Hackett (4.00 / 2)

If you're so inclined, contact Paul Hackett here

Our country needs you. I implore you not to quit the field of politics. If you're not good enough for the DLC and Harry Reid, then to hell with them! Run independent then!

I was at dKos during the online fundraising efforts for your last campaign. Now the DLC/Reid crap on all that enthusiasm. Where the hell do they think the next generation of democrats is going to come from.

[...]

I am in contact with a wide variety of ND democrats, ages 75 to 25. And I'm an active blogger on www.boomantribune.com.

Whether locally or on the blogs I have never in my life seen such a level of frustration with the actions of the leaders of the Democrat Party.

People like you give us hope that our republic's democracy can be saved. Those who are aware of the true condition of the country's situation are appalled and at the breaking point.

Please don't give up. I recall the immortal words of John Paul Jones, "Surrender, hell, we've just begun to fight!

Well, give'm hell Paul, give'm hell!

Sincerely,

Xxxx X Xxxxxx (NDD)

Nonviolent Action information available here

by NorthDakotaDemocrat (NorthDakotaDemocrat at yahoo dot com) on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 05:05:40 AM EST

Re: Hackett (4.00 / 2)

What a pathetic state we are living in. So much for We the People folks. They are blatantly shoving candidates of their choice in our face. Well I say fuck them. I will write Paul and encourage him to run as an Indy candidate. That ought to get Shumer really pissed. Break your promise Paul? It's done all the time? Anything to get elected? Bullshit!

Frodo failed...Bush has got the ring.

by alohaleezy on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 08:38:35 AM EST

This could work to advantage (none / 0)

if it's true -- Hackett came /this/close to beating Schmidt in '04, and I'm sure her antics questioning John Murtha's courage (not to mention the guy she "quoted" claimed he never said any such thing) displeased many of those who voted for her, even considering that the average American voter has the attention span of a poached egg. He's built up name recognition in that neck of the woods.

What I don't like is that this move may be under pressure of the Democratic Party, and not Hackett's own move. Smells like another anointing...and I don't like voters being told who they have to vote for -- let Brown stand or fall on his own merits in a primary against Hackett...

Not one dollar more...

by Cali Scribe on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 12:30:11 AM EST

Wow, glad I stopped by before bed (none / 0)

There is some serious ugliness going on about this roundabout the other blogs, and I was going to go to sleep all depressed. I feel marginally better now. Ta.

The public wants what the public gets, but I don't get what this society wants. -- Paul Weller

by jamfan on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 12:31:19 AM EST

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 1)

Read at dKos that Hackett was pissed, and not interested in running for House seat because he had made promises to candidates in those races that he wouldn't be running. And when told by Dem leadership, it is okay, we all break those promises, he declined.

Just what another blogger said, so far as I read.

"Have you no sense of decency, sir. At long last, have you left no sense of decency?" -- Boston Attorney Joseph Welch, taking down Sen. Joseph McCarthy.

by BostonJoe on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 12:34:35 AM EST

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 1)

From Rolling Stone

The real issue, it seems to me, is that Hackett is a loose canon. He swears. He says impolitic, un-poll-tested things. He criticizes the party leadership for steering the Democrats into an electoral ditch.

Sherrod Brown? He is nothing if not a "safe choice."

Committing to a candidate like Hackett means committing to changing business as usual -- and despite their mounting losses, the Democratic establishment seems to have an unholy commitment to the status quo.

The thing that bothered me was in the NYTimes article when Dem staff were calling Hackett's supporters asking them not to donate to him. Isn't there a diary here about the inability to volunteer for the dems?

...maybe Hack will get the urge to run as an Independent...that'd be great!

by rumi on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 01:13:02 AM EST

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 1)

Same New York Times as above

"Hackett is seen by many as a straight talker, and he became an icon to the liberal bloggers because he says exactly what they have wished they would hear from a politician," Ms. Duffy said. "On the other hand, the Senate is still an exclusive club, and the party expects a certain level of decorum that Hackett has not always shown."

emphasis mine.

"level of decorum," fk that, what we need is a George Galloway type level of decorum from our D Sens, and Hackett may well have provided that.

Nonviolent Action information available here

by NorthDakotaDemocrat (NorthDakotaDemocrat at yahoo dot com) on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 01:18:51 AM EST

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 0)

From a while ago in Mother Jones

Paul Hackett is out for one last day of pressing the flesh.
It's August 2, Election Day, and the lanky, blond, 43-year-old Marine has taken up position outside the polling place in Loveland, a burg on the outskirts of Cincinnati, flashing his toothy smile for the early risers. Hackett is dressed smartly in a blue shirt and striped pastel tie. His khaki pants hang loosely from his wiry, 180-pound frame.
"That's low politics, punk!" a heavy-set man sneers as he marches toward the poll.
Hackett wheels around. "Pardon me?"
"You know, that radio ad that says, `You don't know Schmidt.'" He's talking about one of Hackett's attack ads against Republican Jean Schmidt. The man spews a stream of epithets, and Hackett lets out a crybaby whimper: "Waaaaaaa!"
"What's that, punk?" the big man growls.
A TV crew is setting up nearby, but Hackett doesn't seem to care. "What's your fuckin' problem?" the candidate snaps. "You got something to say to me? Bring it on!" Hackett, all 6 feet 2 inches of him, is nose to nose with the heckler. "Problem?" he taunts. The man turns around and storms away.
"These guys in the Republican Party adopted this tough-guy language," Hackett tells me, still steamed, an hour later. "They're bullies. They're offended when somebody takes a swing back at them."

by rumi on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 01:24:13 AM EST

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 0)

That is by far my favorite Hackett story.

by rba (nearnight12@yahoo.com) on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 09:10:01 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 1)

Yeah, that one rolls up supporting freedom of speech and a strong defense for America into a neat soundbite.

I think the dem party minders have underestimated this guy's poularity. He is the only candidate I would mention to my nonpolitical but concerned for our future relatives in Ohio as one to watch for.

His language is no worse than Birdshot's and Paul is smarter about gun safety.

The dem minders also need to embrace the principle of respecting in disagreement.

I'm pretty sure Hackett promised only not to run in that particular race.

by rumi on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 09:22:58 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 0)

i dont think its ever a good thing when the party elites take power away from the people.

what are they afriad of?

this is what we have primaries for....to decide who we want to run in elections.....all this meddling is not good for us in the long run...we need to be motivating and inspiring people to get out and vote and become involved at every level of govt....50% of the people in this country dont vote in major elections and they dont vote because they dont feel empowered....like it will mean anything...and they are right.....it doesnt mean anything when elections are rigged and no one fights to fix them....it doesnt mean anything when party leaders meet behind closed doors and decide which candidate will get support and which will be fucked in the ass....volunteering, contributing, voting mean nothing when the outcome is decided or when the two choices are indistiguishable...and that is what we have here....nd the answer is not "lets just win then we can change it from the inside when we are in power"....the people in power never want to change anything.

Edible panties taste like crap.

by anna in philly (jrsygir1@aol.com) on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 08:19:40 AM EST

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 1)

Don't be so quaint. We don't have primaries so people can vote on candidates they like </snark>

I've never been so freaking disgusted these past couple of days. Just when it can't get any worse. It gets worse.

"Have you no sense of decency, sir. At long last, have you left no sense of decency?" -- Boston Attorney Joseph Welch, taking down Sen. Joseph McCarthy.

by BostonJoe on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 09:02:24 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 0)

I am running for Congress myself and I have met Paul. We met during the special election when I was still considering if I should run. He had Max Cleland and John Glenn at the same event with him. We talked about changing things and if enough of us could get in, we could make a difference. I was shocked that he was running for Senate and not against Schmidt when I initially heard it, but never doubted that Paul would be a good Senator. I am not surprised at all that he would not run for the House in the 2nd, and I don't think he is out of politics forever.

When I was asked to run for Congress by other regular people like me. I thought, 'we will put this campaign together and once the powers that be see what we are doing they will get behind it.' That has been my justification for answering the people's request to run against Mike Pence here in Indiana. Now I am wondering what will happen when the powers that be see how big our little campaign has become, because it is not one that is in control of the party. It is generated by the people. I don't think the powers that be really want that.

After seeing all of this in Ohio, I realize that no matter what, our's will be an 'outsider' campaign, and now I am going to be really ok with that!!

Barry Welsh IN 6th District Congressional Candidate

A member of The Democratic Wing of The Democratic Party

by Barry Welsh (barry@barrywelsh.org) on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 10:56:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]

I don't want Hackett to be a quitter. (none / 1)

This is bad news this morning. The Democratic Party is really broken. Why can't they let voters decide whether they want the "uncouth" upstart guy or the smooth, cog-in-the-machine guy? Maybe Hackett would have lost but Reid and Schumer didn't want to take the chance that he might win... and change the party.

by sjct on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 08:50:53 AM EST

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 0)

Schumer is backing Suozzi in the primary against Elliot Spitzer. Wants to knock Spitzer down a peg. Might interfere with Schumer's ability to play rainmaker here in the Empire State.

Schumer also leaked the name of Bob Menendez as Corzine's choice for the latter's former senate seat. Wants to knock Corzine down a peg. Might interfere with Schumer's ability to play rainmaker in the US Senate.

Now he's knocked Hackett down a peg. So far, in fact, that Hackett is leaving politics altogether. Way to go Chuck!

Remember, folks: It's all about Chuck.

You know what? FUCK CHUCK SCHUMER!

My automatic vote for his re-election just went permanently Green. In the Democratic primary? I'll vote for my neighbor's dog before I vote for Chuck Schumer.

He is politically dead to me.

"If Adolph Hitler flew in today, they'd send a limousine anyway" -- Joe Strummer

by urizon (cognitivediss@gmail.com) on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 09:47:53 AM EST

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 0)

Without hijacking the diary, are there any opinions of Clint Curtis entering the race to oppose Tom Feeney in Florida?

by rumi on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 11:01:58 AM EST

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 0)

that should make for interesting theater.

by BooMan on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 11:06:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid (none / 0)

Just another one of yer average lifelong Republican got disgusted turned Democrat election race....ha!

by rumi on Tue Feb 14th, 2006 at 11:09:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Hackett Rumored to be Dropping Senate Bid | 48 comments (48 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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by Raji Chandrasekaran.

On BooMan’s shelf:

The End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Created a War Without End
by Peter W. Galbraith

This looks interesting:

Adventure Divas
by Holly Morris

Here’s a good one from
Elizabeth Gilbert:

Eat Pray Love
by Elizabeth Gilbert

"Crash" * Best Motion Picture, Academy Awards * Only $11.79 at Overstock * 2006 SAG Winner, Best Ensemble

Check out
Powell's new section:
NEW FAVORITES
Selected new arrivals at 30% off

Recommended by Indianadem and ejmw:
The Conscience of a Liberal
by Paul Wellstone

From northcountry’s bookshelf:

The New Golden Age:
The Coming Revolution Against
Political Corruption and Economic Chaos by Ravi Batra

A novel about contractors in Iraq from the woman that runs The Spy That Billed Me:

Outsourced: A Novel
from RJ Hillhouse.

Download Sleeper Cell on iTunes

(Better than "24") Download Weeds on iTunes

(Hilarious 1/2-hour adult comedy starring Mary-Louise Parker) Download Late Nite with Conan O'Brien on iTunes

Download South Park on iTunes

James Hunter - People Gonna Talk:

Great Deals
----- * ^ * -----

Find mystery novels by Nancy Pickard ("Kansas")

Challenging Empire: How People, Governments, and the UN Defy US Power by Phyllis Bennis (interviewed on DN!)

Featured by Keith Olbermann, New (Powell's Sale): Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower by William Blum (whose other books merit serious consideration)

"Explosive" State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration
by James Risen

The book the CIA doesn't want you to read: Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander
Larry Johnson's review

BT's all-time best seller:

PERMACULTURE:
A Designers' Manual
$79.95 * Sale: $59.95

Unequal Sisters: A Multicultural Reader in U.S. Women's History (Third Edition)

The Undercover Economist: Exposing Why the Rich Are Rich, the Poor Are Poor And Why You Can Never Buy a Decent Used Car!

The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
by Timothy Egan

Green Press Initiative
----- * ^ * -----

Journalistas: 100 Years of the Best Writing and Reporting by Women Journalists by Eleanor Mills * NYT review

Bury Me Standing: the Gypsies & Their Journey

1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus

Brokeback Mountain
by Annie Proulx
----- * ^ * -----
Check out Powell's
"At The Movies"

Imperial Ambitions: Conversations on the Post-9/11 World by Noam Chomsky (Power & Terror: Post 9-11 Talks)

The Price of Privilege:

How Parental Pressure and
Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of
Disconnected and Unhappy Kids
by Madeline Levine

Save 35-70% on
name brand clothing,
footwear, and outdoor gear
at SierraTradingPost.com
:

We listened to PEN American Center's "State of Emergency" and found 1940s books by Curzio Malaparte only at Alibris. (Selection (MP3) excerpted from "The Skin.")

Banned Books * Are you a fan of Film Noir, Art House, Documentaries or Hong Kong Action? * Searching for a long-lost children's book or a first printing of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue on vinyl? Find it at Alibris!

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