Democratic bloggers abuzz over Hackett exit

MSNBC ^ | Feb. 14, 2006 | Tom Curry

[Anti-Bubba182]

WASHINGTON - The Democratic blogosphere was abuzz Tuesday with the news that one of its heroes, Iraq war veteran Paul Hackett, had dropped out of the Ohio Senate race.

Hackett, a civilian lawyer and a major in the Marine Corps reserves, caused a sensation last year when he nearly defeated Republican Jean Schmidt in a special election in a heavily Republican congressional district in southern Ohio.

At first blush, Hackett’s exit seemed good news for the Democrats since it removed the danger of a costly primary and left seven-term Democratic Rep. Sherrod Brown a clear shot at defeating incumbent Republican, Sen. Mike DeWine.

But left-leaning Democratic bloggers helped lift Hackett to his near-victory last year and some are irate that their man appears to have been squeezed out of the race...."

[Anti-Bubba182]

The top Democrats threw Hackett under the train and he's talking and the Bloggers are buzzing. What fun!

[CheyennePress]

I wonder if anyone could beat Schmidt now. She's a feisty little thing!

[decal]

Does anyone else think Paul Hackett and Mark Warner look awfully alike?

Maybe the Dems got confused and thought Warner was running for Senator instead of President like they want.

[Once-Ler]

The negative reaction to Hackett’s exit “will certainly pass, it may even pass before the next news cycle,” remarked Jennifer Duffy, an analyst with the non-partisan Cook Political Report.

The rats are on a roll. They have lost almost all their power. All they can do is obstruct. They lost the fight against Alito. They lost their fight against the Patriot Act. They have abandoned their attack against wiretapping terrorists. Now they have abandoned antiwar hero Hackett.

The rat politician and rat party phone lines are melting with complaints demanding that they stop colluding with the opposition. The rats are in a lose/lose situation. If they don't placate their base they will lose and if they do what is necessary to placate their base they will lose.

Saddam's execution, and an investigation into which rat Senator leaked the wiretapping story is coming. Their dreams of regaining power in Nov are being dashed by a strong economy. It is a great day to be a Republican.

[Betty Jane]

The Hackett episode showed that party leaders had decided it was worth risking the wrath of pro-Hackett bloggers in order to get the candidate they judged to be the stronger one.

Isn't that what they did when they said Kerry was the only one who could win the White House. They rolled Howard Dean and his internet donors under the bus then, and they're doing it again.

[decal]

"If they don't placate their base they will lose and if they do what is necessary to placate their base they will lose."

They will get more $$ from their base if they do the latter; therefore, that is EXACTLY what they will do.

Watch for the junior Senator from New York to abandon all pretense of "moving towards the center" soon.

[Anti-Bubba182]

I doubt Schmidt would lose in that GOP stronghold. Hackett is a hot head. Unfortunately, he won't have staying power to hurt Dems in Ohio. He will over play his case.

That said, the Democratic tactic of soliciting veterans to run as candidates won't play as well as they think. The people will see through it for the cynical tactic it is.

After John Kerry, they have seen the opportunism in the heavyweight division.

[Berlin_Freeper]

The bloggers desperately need an Iraq war vet to sooth their guilty feelings of backstabbing our country. They desperately need justification and this one soldier was supposed to do it. Now they are left empty handed and exposed in the mirror for the cruds they truly are.

[Anti-Bubba182]

There are others, less Hackett, courtesy of Rahm Emanuel and other Democratic strategists:

Iraq war vets enter US political fray

The Hackett story should give the rest of them pause. When expedient the party will abandon them.

[jennyp]

The rat politician and rat party phone lines are melting with complaints demanding that they stop colluding with the opposition. The rats are in a lose/lose situation. If they don't placate their base they will lose and if they do what is necessary to placate their base they will lose.

When they lose yet more ground in November, the moonbats won't be able to run to Canada. It'll be pointless for them to try to take over the Democratic Party. Maybe we'll see a revitalized Green Party, if not a brand new leftist splinter party.

[ozzymandus]

I love this story! The RATS finally noticed what a pr*ck hackett was, and bailed on him. The best part was dingy harry denying pulling the plug on hackett's funding. Harry is one terrible liar.

[Anti-Bubba182]

I saw that on TV. It was funny! Harry denied cutting off support and Chuck Schumer released a statement through a spokesman. Ordinarily, you wouldn't want to be between Chuck Schumer and a live microphone or you would risk life and limb.

[advance_copy]

What fun!

Yes, yes it is. Moonbats gone wild.

[Rudder]

...Sherrod Brown a clear shot at defeating incumbent Republican, Sen. Mike DeWine.

Brown will not defeat DeWine. What we need in Ohio is a GOP challenger to run against DeWine. But, the country-club GOP of Ohio won't let that happen.

[RedEyeJack]

They have Jim Webb for the time being. Look for him to pull a "Hackett" however, when the party bosses realize that he (Webb) can't be counted on to pull in trace with the party leadership (Kennedy, Clinton, Reid, etc.).

[Carl LaFong]

"left-leaning"?-how about 'pedal-to-the-metal moonbat marxists'?

[Tom D.]

It seems to me from my perspective in North Carolina that the Ohio Republicans have been trying to commit suicide, but that the Democrats keep jumping between the Republicans and the gun that they are trying to kill themselves with.

The Republican politicians there may be dumb, but the Democratic politicians in Ohio are at least a couple of orders of magnitude dumber.

[maggief]

Culture of "skullduggery"!

[Rebelbase]

"Democratic bloggers abuzz over Hackett exit"

He passed away two years ago and they're just now noticing it?

[Rudder]

The Republican politicians there may be dumb, but the Democratic politicians in Ohio are at least a couple of orders of magnitude dumber.

You're absolutely correct. Ohio's GOP is largely a committee-controlled operation, and the committees are typically in the hands of country-club republicans who worship moderate-ism (i.e., RINOS).