Cool!
Great news!
Is it Jim Jones time over at DU?
They're all crying, and the funny thing is, if the Republican lost I know I wouldn't even much care. But they still seem to think praying to their crystals or whatever they do is the path to success...
Whew!
You've done it now.... The who, what, where, and is he a R or D crowd will be along to ask why you didn't tell them that information in the your post. ;-)
GREAT !
Two questions: why was the seat open, and shouldn't the vote have had a higher Republican percentage?
Apparently, the West Coast Offense doesn't win in Ohio.
Now watch the spinmeisters say, "Bush is losing his grip. A safe Republican seat was "almost" lost."
Thanks for the info, I was just asking about this on a thread about Voinivich. Rush was saying that Hackett's campaign to deceive the voters into thinking that he was a moderate Bush supporter was a trial run for Hillary. I think that he got the idea from Voinivich.
CINCINNATI - A Republican former state lawmaker claimed a seat in Congress on Tuesday by narrowly defeating an Iraq war veteran who drew national attention to the race with his military service and a series of harsh attacks on President Bush.
With all precincts reporting, Jean Schmidt had 52 percent, or 57,974 votes, compared with Democrat Paul Hackett's 48 percent, or 54,401 votes. Schmidt's margin of victory amounted to about 3,500 votes out of more than 112,000 cast.
Schmidt, 53, will replace Republican Rob Portman, who stepped down this year after being named U.S. trade representative by President Bush. Portman held the seat for 12 years, consistently winning with more than 70 percent of the vote in the Cincinnati-area district.
Democrats had viewed the race as a bellwether for 2006, saying even a strong showing by Hackett in such a heavily GOP district would be a good sign for them in the midterm elections.
Cnn
Iraq war vet loses close race in Ohio
Democrat in congressional election blasted Bush policies
CINCINNATI, Ohio (AP) -- A Republican former state lawmaker claimed a seat in Congress on Tuesday by narrowly defeating an Iraq war veteran who drew national attention to the race with his military service and a series of harsh attacks on President Bush.
With all precincts reporting, Jean Schmidt had 52 percent, or 57,974 votes, compared with Democrat Paul Hackett's 48 percent, or 54,401 votes.
Schmidt's margin of victory amounted to about 3,500 votes out of more than 112,000 cast.
Schmidt, 53, billed herself as an experienced leader more in tune with the Cincinnati-area district.
Hackett, 43, was trying to become the first Iraq war combat veteran in Congress and the first Democrat to win the conservative district in three decades.
Democrats viewed the race as a bellwether for 2006, saying even a strong showing by Hackett in such a heavily GOP district would be a good sign for them in the midterm elections.
Schmidt will replace Republican Rob Portman, who stepped down this year after being named U.S. trade representative by President Bush.
Portman held the seat for 12 years, consistently winning with more than 70 percent of the vote. Bush picked up 64 percent of the vote last year in the district.
In other races Tuesday, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and former Deputy Mayor Freman Hendrix emerged from a 12-candidate mayoral primary in Detroit, Michigan, to advance to the general election.
Hendrix had a huge lead in early returns over Kilpatrick, who was heralded as Detroit's next great hope when he was elected four years ago at age 31.
But his term has been marred by a $300 million budget deficit, scrutiny over his running up huge bills on a city credit card, and the city's lease of a luxury SUV for his family.
In another race in Detroit, Motown legend Martha Reeves is one of 120 City Council candidates vying for 18 spots in the general election.
Reeves, the lead singer of the group Martha and The Vandellas, is best known for hits such as "Dancing in the Street" and "Jimmy Mack."
Showdown over Iraq
In Ohio, political observers had said a strong showing or victory by Hackett would send a powerful message to Republicans gearing up for 2006.
"If he does well, even if he loses, that could indicate that President Bush's foreign policy may not be playing that well in a Republican district," said John Green, director of the Ray C. Bliss Institute for Applied Politics at the University of Akron.
Hackett, a lawyer and Marine reservist who recently completed a seven-month tour in Iraq, drew national attention to the race with his flame-throwing assaults on Bush.
He was especially harsh of the president for his July 2003 "bring 'em on" comment about Iraqi insurgents, saying such talk merely "cheered on the enemy."
"That's the most incredibly stupid comment I've ever heard a president of the United States make," Hackett told USA Today.
Hackett also referred to the president as "a chicken hawk ... a person who advocates war in a cavalier way."
Schmidt consistently supported Bush on the war and says she shares the "moral values" of the district with her opposition to abortion and to gay marriage.
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
May this victory by Schmidt keep the lefties awake for months and demoralize them to the point of making good on their promise to move out of the country.
Fantastic! Rush said today this election was being helped by Dim higher-ups, kind of a trial balloon to see if running as a "conservative" might help them to win some elections again........oh well.....back to the drawing board.
You can put lipstick on a pig.....but it's still a pig.
I was listening to Rush Limbaugh today and he played the sound bite on Paul Hackett pretending he was with President Bush on the war in Iraq. I am so glad his commercial and his serving in Iraq didn't fool anyone.
Yeah, Democrats are losers so you should maintain your majority.
A SWEET victory!
That was way too close.
Fantastic !!