Posted on 02/15/2006 8:54:01 PM PST by LdSentinal
WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Paul Hackett's angry decision to withdraw from the Senate race in Ohio is a devastating blow for the Democratic Party and may even have profound long-term repercussions on American politics.
It opens the door to the very real possibility that opposition to the war, and to any possible conflict with Iran, will focus on a new Third Party populist movement that could reach the scale of the H. Ross Perot movement in the 1990s but be far more passionate. And that could cripple the Democrats' hopes, and even expectations of regaining the White House in 2008.
It must have seemed like business as usual for the liberal national political establishment of the Democratic Party when they relentlessly built up the pressure for Hackett to withdraw from the race to clear the way for their own favorite, Rep. Sherrold Brown of Ohio in the contest to choose a candidate to run against incumbent Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio.
Brown has been the subject of an increasing number of fawning profiles in the national U.S. press penned by liberal democratic loyalists. And party heavyweights like Sen. Charles Schumer of New York, a close ally of his fellow New York Democratic senator Hillary Clinton, and Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, on Sunday turned on the direct pressure urging Hackett, a political neophyte and a lieutenant colonel in the Marine Reserves, to withdraw for the supposedly "stronger" candidate.
And in the time-honored tradition of politics as usual Hackett was offered all the usual carrots and sweeteners for falling on his sword. Emmanuel urged him to run again for Schmidt's House seat in the Second District instead.
But Hackett was no politics as usual kind of guy. He pulled out of the race all right -- but in an angry statement -- that blasted his many opponents within the Democratic national establishment for undermining his candidacy. "At the end of the day, my word is my bond and I will take it to my grave," he said.
The impact of Hackett's withdrawal is obvious. He may have been a newcomer to the political scene, but he had enormous popularity and potential: He came from nowhere to run Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt a very close second entirely unexpectedly in the race for her House seat. His strong showing confirmed the strength and potential in Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean's strategy of trying to harness popular anger and frustration about the continuing war in Iraq for the Democratic Party by running Iraq War vets like Hackett in House races around the country.
But far beyond that, Hackett's remarkable strong showing against Schmidt and his evident charisma and popularity in the campaign trail gave the Democratic Party the prospect of getting back on the political map in Ohio, the crucial swing state in the most crucial swing political region in the nation.
Hackett was clearly the most popular and strongest candidate the Dems had for taking the open Ohio Senate seat in the November 2006 midterm election. Ohio was the vital swing state that decided the 2004 presidential election and remains essential win territory for a Democratic Party now almost totally shut out of the Republican Solid South.
But Hackett was too successful in breaking the traditional mold of Democratic campaign politics. Despite two humiliating defeats in national presidential elections they had every opportunity to win, and despite six sweeping national defeats in contests for the House of Representatives, the old Democratic liberal establishment showed in its treatment of Hackett that, like the Bourbon kings of France 200 years ago, it had learned nothing and forgotten nothing.
It appears also that the party's ruling elders once again completely failed to appreciate the strength of popular feeling in Ohio and around the country about the Iraq war and the hunger for them to run fresh blood with new things to say and do.
Political blogs across the nation are red hot with debate over Hackett's withdrawal.
"Democrats are shooting their own," Dave Lindorff wrote in International Labor Communications Association Online Tuesday. "... The Democratic Party's killing off of progressive congressional candidate sis something worse than treacherous: suicide."
Lindorff also noted, "Party leaders, including Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., recently pressured Cindy Sheehan (the anti Iraq War activist whose son was killed serving in the conflict) not to mount a primary campaign against California Sen. Diane Feinstein."
Lindorff alleged, "For months, the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee chair Sen. Schumer, have been working behind the scenes to undermine Hackett's campaign in favor of Rep. ... Brown."
And Phil Ewing wrote in the Post Online student newspaper in Athens, Ohio Wednesday, "Not only have Democrats guaranteed another term for incumbent Sen. ... De Wine ... they've extinguished one of the brightest new stars in their party's constellation."
Hackett came from the traditionally Republican southwest region of Ohio and Ewing concluded that his departure from the race in such contentious circumstances "probably will mean a fatally poor showing in the powerful new suburban metroplex along I-75 between Cincinnati and Dayton "
The Hackett fiasco may well doom the Democrats to losing the Senate race in Ohio this November. But it also highlights the broader pattern of the party's liberal Old Guard refusing to open its doors to the new generation of angry patriots like Hackett and Sheehan who had offered their services to it. Far from benefiting from anger against the Iraq war and other policies of the Bush administration, the national Democrats may be fated to become targets for it. If that happens, their many critics will certainly say they have no one to blame but themselves.
Now he is politically DOA and they act like he never existed.
Oh yeah, Rush was talking about this episode on his show Tuesday. It was just too good.
"The Hackett fiasco may well doom the Democrats to losing the Senate race in Ohio this November."
Hear, hear! LMAO...the libnuts are too stupid to realize this gonzo mistake is going to hurt them later this year. They are too focused on slamming a lame-duck VP today. Let's hope they don't realize what this cost them.
It is going to be interesting. I remember all the warnings from the left about the right fracturing and it is suiting that now it looks as if the left is headed for a major breakup. A few more elections down the toilet and what is left of the old guard Democratic machine is going to go for an colonic and have the moveon.org and dailykos flushed out of its system. This year is shaping up to be a bad one for Democrats.
"Just the other day I was going at it with some lefties on another forum about Hackett. They all thought he was going to be the leading savior of the Democrat Party.
Now he is politically DOA and they act like he never existed."
Almost exactly my take on this weeks events, except I was thinking media instead of forums.
Popular Ohio Democrat(Paul Hackett) pulls out of race....-NYT
The rats have lost almost all their power. All they can do is obstruct, and they can't even do that well. 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. Even MoveOn.org has given up targeting Bush to cannibalizing the rat party itself.
MoveOn Ready to Attack 'Right-Wing' Dems
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.
My computer feels dirty after visiting DU.
what's the big hoopla over Hackett? his sole claim to fame is that he lost an off year election to a rather unremarkable and underwhelming opponent.
Winning is never important to a true believer. It's the message that is so much more important than the scumbag delivering it.
IMO, the reason why Hackett got so close was that he was NOT a politician unlike Schimidt and the RINO Bob Taft. Ohioans seem to sick of the political system and Hackett was not from the same mold.
Hereby nominate for Overstatement of the Year.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")
And mainly because Dick Cheney's been burning the midnight oil rallying the Republicans on the Hill around the wiretapping program, with huge success. That's probably three quarters of the reason for all the venom being directed at him over his hunting accident.
The media just keeps writing the Cheney Obituary of the Week, they gloat about how he's so weak and so despised by everyone, yet he just quietly keeps racking up the victories. It's to the point where it's news when the media actually gets something right.
Schumer, Dean, and Biden= dumber then dirt
Very close? It was 52% to 48%, and Hackett was trumpeting his war veteran status more than any Democratic platform.
Sheehan is an angry patriot.
Where is the barf alert.
The Dems are becoming unhinged. CA Boxer voted No on CA Feinstein's asbestos legistation today and apparently Feinstein became unhinged....
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