OH-Sen: The DSCC Wants Hackett (From Daily Kos)

[Pirate Smile]

I'm very surprised not to see this news posted on DailyKos. Via the good folks at Our Senate comes word from The Hill that DNC officials, as well as Harry Reid and DSCC chairman Chuck Schumer have been encouraging recent OH-02 candidate Paul Hackett to run for Senate against Republican Mike Dewine. This is big and encouraging news for Democrats in Ohio and across America.

More after the flip...

HellofaSandwich's diary :: ::
From The Hill:

"Democratic leaders in Washington are aggressively courting Iraq war veteran Paul Hackett to challenge Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) next year.

Democratic National Committee leaders were expected to meet with Hackett yesterday in Washington. So, too, was Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), has called Hackett more than once in the past few weeks to sound him out about a run in 2006.

Members of Ohio's congressional delegation also have urged Hackett to run or, at least, spoken with him about the race. JoAnna Kuebler, communications director for Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who had been touted as a possible Senate contender himself, said Brown and Hackett had discussed the "incompetence and corruption" that, she said, stems from one-party rule -- in Columbus, Ohio, where Republicans control the state government, and in Washington.

"Senator Hackett, it's got a nice ring to it," Hackett said in a recent interview.

It all started a little more than a month ago, when Hackett, a Marine who had recently returned from the Middle East, narrowly lost his House bid in Ohio's strongly Republican 2nd District.

The Democrat gained national attention by being the first veteran of the war to run for office, while slamming the commander in chief for invading Iraq and being, allegedly, a "chicken hawk."

...

Now Democrats are training their sights on DeWine. The senator alienated conservatives earlier this summer -- first backing a bipartisan judicial-nominees pact and then opposing a gun-liability bill pushed by the National Rifle Association. Ohio Gov. Bob Taft (R), meanwhile, is under an ethics investigation; Democrats have promised to tie DeWine to him.

What makes Hackett so attractive, Democrats say, is his strong fundraising potential -- Schulman said he garnered nearly $900,000 for the abbreviated special election -- his colorful story and his willingness to speak his mind, like Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)."

The article suggests that Hackett appears "eager" to throw his hat in the race, but wants firm commitments from national donors before he decides to mount what will undoubtably be a very expensive campaign against Senator Dewine (a Hackett candidacy would surely scare the national GOP into dumping millions to defend this highly vulnerable incumbent).

Imagine seeing Paul Hackett elected to the United States Senate, and being invited to the same Sunday morning talk shows that that windbag Biden hogs every week. Imagine Americans from coast to coast getting the chance to hear cogent, lucid, and fierce arguments from a real "balls out" Democrat -- one who isn't afraid stare GOP propaganda in the face and smack it down mercilessly. Imagine Senator Hackett helping inspire other Democrats to find their spines and the courage to fight the Republican machine head-on, full-on, locked 'n loaded.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/9/7/201453/7427

[Gloria]

1. Frankly, if I were Hackett I'd think twice...the kind of party behind

him is not exactly the most ...."courageous"

[safi0]

2. I don't know why

You'd be surprised about this. Although its infuriated some people on this board and in our party, Schumer's only criteria for recruiting a candidate is if that person can win. Its why he recruited Casey in PA, McCaskill in MO, etc., etc. I don't think there's anyone who doesn't think Hackett can win this race, so he fulfills Schumer's criteria.