Jesus could be the dem. candidate in Ohio & I would still pick DeWine

[LynneSin]

Honestly, all this arguing we're doing about who should be the democratic candidate in Ohio and how there should be a primary and to be honest it all doesn't matter.

Ohio is controlled by Diebold voting machines which Ken Blackwell, Ohio Secretary of State, republican governor candidate and direct descendant of Uncle Tom himself.

DeWine is winning Ohio because Diebold owns those machines. The best we can hope for is that Brown has a large enough polling numbers that we could turn around and question those numbers when DeWine wins.

And the sad thing is the Ohio republican party continues to fuck over the citizens of their state and I don't think there is anything we can do about it!

[IndianaGreen]

1. So why did Emmanuel, Schumer, and Reid undermine Hackett?

You are undermining your own argument!

[LynneSin]

3. Because Brown is polling a hell of alot better

and hopefully could at least go into the general election with enough margin over DeWine that maybe we can prove the fix.

Wow, never realized how much you really hate pro-choice, pro-environment, anti-war, anti-patriot act candidates. I guess you'd rather have someone who sides with the right-wing extremists on immigration there in the US Senate. Never figured you out for a democrat like that

[IndianaGreen]

5. I didn't realize you hated having the voters CHOOSE!

Sherrod Brown is not the issue here! It is what the Beltway Boys have done!

[LynneSin]

8. THEY HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING

I know I don't want some wimpass representing me that can't learn how to say fricking "NO".

No gun was held against his head. They're doing the same thing to Chuck Pennachio in Pennsylvania but at least Chuck has the balls to tell them to "fuck off"

If anything this takes this previous 'Casey-leaning-because-he-beat-Santorum' democrat and puts me solid into the Chuck P category.

HACKETT DROPPED OUT. Yes, they gave him pressure and Hackett decided he couldn't handle it. NO MY PROBLEM but if he can't take the pressure of Schumer & Reid and don't even want to think what this idiot and former republican would do with the pressures of the Senate Republicans.

All I can say is good riddance!

Just because someone slaps the label "grassroots" on their campaign doesn't make them somehow better than the other candidate. He was a good choice for the conservative OH-02 and probably could have beat Schmidt if he had run again. But we have enough wimpy democrats in the US Senate

[wakeme2008]

21. READ KOS those were BROWN paid polls

:grr:

[Norquist Nemesis]

2. So, either way a Dem seat is lost?

Is that what you're saying?

[LynneSin]

4. No, the seat is already in republican hands

I'm just saying that we have a better chance of defeating Orrin Hatch in Utah than fighting diebold.

And maybe if enough of us get pissed by what I said we'll fight harder knowing the odds we're going up against!

[Norquist Nemesis]

6. Yes, it is.

It is already in Republican hands both as an incumbent and the voting machines. So the Democratic Leadership has effectively given up a Democratic seat. (Or does Brown retain his seat in the House if he would lose to DeWine?)

[jackbourassa]

7. Jesus?

Brown has a huge lead over Hackett in the primary polls. Let's not turn this into something it's not. Hackett is behaving so childish here. So he can't be a Senator in 2006. He might have ruined his chance to run in 2008 too.

We can only have ONE candidate. Both Brown and Hackett would have made excellent choices. But Brown is the one with the network. Hackett undermined himself. Hackett is the one who went negative against Brown and began turning off a great many Democratic voters in Ohio. Hackett is starting to get a "Jesus" complex about himself I think.

There was a filing deadline in two or three days in Ohio and the Washington leaders asked him to run for Congress instead. Since he was certain to lose the race to Brown and THEY WANTED HIM IN WASHINGTON. He could have run for the Senate again in 2008. I'm the first one to attack the Washington Democrats, but in this case I support them.

So instead of being a big man about this. Hackett is behaving like a child. Saying that if he can't have the Senate, he doesn't want anything.

Well, be careful what you wish for.

[mikehiggins]

14. So if someone pulls out of a race after being sold down the river

by the Beltway Dems who first encouraged him to run, HE is the one at fault.

If he honors his own personal pledge NOT to run against another Dem in the Congressional primary he is a)naive and b)a wimpy quitter.

I guess that's the way it is in the Democratic Party these days. I guess that also might be one of the reasons the Democratic Party is in the minority, and will most likely stay there.

And maybe its me but I can't seem to locate these polls that get quoted around here claiming that Hackett was 20 pts behind Brown, or any explanation of what those polls might mean. And what polls are being referenced in the first place? Here on DU, where the proper placement of a comma is often accompanied by several citations justifying it being used just exactly there, there seems to be a total lack of references to the polls referenced. Whats that all about?

And what "negative" campaigning did Hackett indulge in? Did he mention that Brown had declined to run before Hackett entered the race? Is that negative?

What I do see is Beltway Dems trying to dry up financial support for Hackett AND letting him know that he isn't going to have the Party's promised support in this race. Maybe all you political experts know better than I do but it seems to me that if you are running in a primary without the Party's support your chances of success range between limited and none.

That is a fact of life, politically, and the idea of just telling the Party Godfathers to F*** O** might sound great, but it is a colossal waste of time. Give Hackett credit for knowing that much about the way things work.

[jackbourassa]

22. Get off your high horse...

He wasn't sold out by anyone. What Reid asks him to drop out and he's sold out? That's not what happened and you know it. Brown had outraised Hackett 10 to 1 BEFORE Democratic leaders predicted to his donors that he wouldn't win. He was trailing 2 to 1 in the polls behind Brown.

This is all an excuse. An excuse for Hackett to leave the primary while saving face. It wasn't his inept campaign that did him in? No, not according to the hero worshippers. It was the betrayal of the Democratic leaders!

That's what infuriates me. He's the one selling us all out. For no other reason than because it makes him look better.

Hackett ended his political career today. The Democratic leaders didn't.

[Norquist Nemesis]

17. Just curious about the 20 pts in the polling

I'd like more info on that. Is that a head to head Brown vs. Hackett? Was it registered Democrats only? :shrug:

In the end, isn't it about Brown vs DeWine and Hackett vs DeWine?

[Punkingal]

9. Well, as I said in an earlier thread....

I am not dissing Brown or touting Hackett...I just am afraid to have the leadership in Washington choosing our candidates. Brown may well be the best, but I don't think I'm too dumb to figure that out for myself. (Not that I live in Ohio.) But this sort of thing goes on everywhere, and it bothers me.

[LynneSin]

10. I've been reading where the pressure was for him to run for the house

because we need 15 seats to win that house and we could have picked up one in OH02 if he ran again.

He's just coming off as a spoiled sport but you make some great points!

[Punkingal]

12. Well, maybe he's telling the truth, LynneSin....

Maybe he did give his word to some other Dems in OH02, and he doesn't want to do to them what was done to him. I don't know what the truth of it is.

[LynneSin]

13. truth is Ohioans are screwed no matter what

because of Diebold.

I'm just hoping that Brown can fight a strong fight, get way up there in the pre-election polls so if the fix is in and he loses at least we might have an argument and proof to go after diebold

[Straight Shooter]

11. Has anyone ever, Repub or Dem, pulled off what Hackett was attempting?

I'm curious. It seemed a mighty leap that Hackett would go for the big enchilada so soon, with such a limited amount of political experience. He seemed infinitely better suited for Representative. How many Senators have been elected that did not pay their political dues by climbing one rung at a time up the ladder? I'm including Senators with extensive politically-affiliated families, who always have more than just a foot in the door.

I'm not saying he didn't pay his dues as a citizen. He served well. Except for the immigration issue, I liked what he had to say, and I donated to his campaign. But, was he trying to go where no man has gone before?

[LynneSin]

15. Well, there are many examples out there

it's not like it's impossible but usually they are someone who has been through extraordinary situations leading up to said election (Probably Hilary Clinton is the best example). Personally, I have worries about Hackett because to me he comes off as very 1-issues with hints out there that maybe he's not left all his republican ideology behind when he switched parties a few years ago.

[mikehiggins]

16. Yeah, just like that Clark guy. Just not pure enough. n/t

[LynneSin]

19. I'm on record as to not being on the Clark bandwagon

I'm not oppose to the guy but it makes me nervous.

But even I will admit that if he would get the nomination I'd vote for him.

[Straight Shooter]

18. Thanks.

It just seems to me that Hackett is charismatic and outspoken, also intelligent. However, his reaction to being pushed away strikes me as a bit immature. On the other hand, being in Iraq probably gave him a different perspective on his priorities.

Maybe in another couple years he can view this situation through more objective eyes, and try again for a seat in the House. BTW, I did not know he is a former Repub. Interesting ...

[foo_bar]

20. so how did Brown win his seat by 67-33%?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/elections/2004/page/21565/