Paul Hackett Moves On (Sans Org)

Netroot darling Paul Hackett, who lost so nobly in an Ohio by-election, has, per the Times, dropped out of the both the Ohio Democratic Senate primary tussle and all of politics.  Why?  The Dem machine pushed him out:

Paul Hackett, an Iraq war veteran and popular Democratic candidate in Ohio's closely watched Senate contest, said yesterday that he was dropping out of the race and leaving politics altogether as a result of pressure from party leaders.

Mr. Hackett said Senators Charles E. Schumer of New York and Harry Reid of Nevada, the same party leaders who he said persuaded him last August to enter the Senate race, had pushed him to step aside so that Representative Sherrod Brown, a longtime member of Congress, could take on Senator Mike DeWine, the Republican incumbent.

Mr. Hackett staged a surprisingly strong Congressional run last year in an overwhelmingly Republican district and gained national prominence for his scathing criticism of the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq War. It was his performance in the Congressional race that led party leaders to recruit him for the Senate race.

But for the last two weeks, he said, state and national Democratic Party leaders have urged him to drop his Senate campaign and again run for Congress.

Whatever.  We are more intrigued by the reaction of the left blogosphere.  MSNBC tells us that:

Democratic bloggers abuzz over Hackett exit
Activists angry Marine reservist was allegedly pressured out of Ohio race

And MSNBC should know - they quote Kos himself, two other bloggers and a commenter at MyDD.

More reaction can be found at Memeorandum.  Lots more.

And in looking through it, I am surprised by the surprise.

What happened to all weekly conference calls between netroot activists and top Dem strategists?  How could The Machine have pulled the plug on Hackett without even running it by their netroot base?  Where is the L-U-V?  Where is the R-E-S-P-E-C-T?  Where is the courtesy call?

Here are two early reactions from Kos.  He doesn't say he was tipped in advance, and he doesn't say he wasn't.   All very odd.

And his first reaction was to defend and explain the Machine decision.  Maybe he got a heads up, at least.  Who knows?  But perhaps this is a straw in the wind as the Dem establishment tries to regain low earth orbit despite the enthusiasm for interstellar exploration on the part of their netroots.

Comments

[kim]

So why were Reid and Schumer encouraging him last fall instead of backing Brown?
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[kim]

Could it be that they see resistance to the war in Iraq as a dying issue?
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[Dwilkers]

Maybe they didn't know Brown was going to run. Or maybe they've found some weakness in a Hackett candidacy. I can imagine a few different reasons they might want to narrow that field.

I wonder how the Kossacks feel this morning.

[kim]

Yeah, if he's going to throw it all away in a snit, now, he hasn't the moxie to mix it up with the big boys. I like the way Kos talked about him not having any money. Hey, that's your job, Big K. And the confidence with which he was sure Hackett would beat DeWine if he got there. It sounds to me like Brown made the mistake of backing him. And now regrets it, and has whimpered.
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[kim]

Face it, Kos isn't looking for a few good men. And had he been, was Paul Hackett one?
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[kim]

Paul Hackett reporting for duty. What! It's a suicide mission?
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[kim]

Reid and Schumer heard the baying of pighounds.
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[kim]

I blame Kos. His sunshine patriots have led the war resistance, and now they've left another vet up on stage, saluting absurdly.
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[Dwilkers]

I find it funny that Kos goes on about Hackett not making a decision prior to labor day and says that's part of why he got booted, says he was indecisive, etc.

I'm pretty sure Hackett was running for congress last fall. I mean, what was he supposed to do...declare for the senate while he was running for a house seat?

Or maybe Kos doesn't remember all that, or is confused about when labor day falls. ;-)

[kim]

Tyme flyes wen yer hevin' phun.
=================================

[Tollhouse]

It's the new Democratic party, they run for all offices at once.

Still, there seems to be a trend here,

Betrayed by George Bush
Betrayed by the Democrat Party
Betrayed betrayed betrayed.

[maryrose]

I can tell you exactly what happened. Initially Sherrod Brown took a pass on running for Senate, probably figuring he couldn't beat Mike DeWine. Then after Hackett's near win , Hackett was on all the tv shows ;Hardball Cnnet al saying he was going to run for Senate. Then Brown thought: Hey who is this Iraq vet upstart who is going to hopscotch over me for the Senate. So then after telling Hackett he wasn't going to run ; he decides to run. Brown also toyed with the idea of running for governor. So in essence Brown stabbed Hackett in the back first. Then Schumer, Reid and Rahm Emanuel pulled the financial rug out from under Hackett and sent it Brown's way. They were angry with Hackett because initially he refused to get out. This illustrates why the dems can't win in Ohio-they are disorganized petty and don't respect loyalty and continually undercut each other. They have a snowball's chance in hell of beating DeWine because in Ohio family values count and that's what DeWine is all about!

[maryrose]

I just read the Kos post. It's wrong about Brown being the first one in. Check The Plain Dealer for accurate info on this. The upside- Brown's rep seat will be open for a republican to pick up. Everyone thinks this Noe scandal has legs- it doesn't. DeWine wins in a walk and we get rid of Brown in the House. It's a twofer.

[kim]

Eating their own. Paul, were you succulent? Was it good for you, too?
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[Beto Ochoa]

Every time the democrats eat one of their own:
A kitten gets a loving home
A puppy learns to hold it til they're outdoors
A drunk sobers up
And an Angel gets their wings

[BurbankErnie]

Kos NEEDS the Democratic Party Heads as much as he needs his Swamp Creatures. Kos has to walk the SAME fine line HRC has to walk... but in REVERSE.
Why would the DEM Money Organisation give Kos money if Kos slams the Dem Money Orginsation?
Poor Kos NOW has to talk out of both sides of his mouth and APPEASE both Swamp Creatures and Big Money Dem Politicians.

VERY fun to watch. Snicker. Grin.

[kim]

Listen to the BE BOp! Hear! Hear the nittypig blow the house down. Clear!.
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[kim]

He bet on the grey mare. He bet on the bay.
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[BurbankErnie]

It is a GIFT to bleed not only the Swamp Creatures, but also to milk the teat of the most powerful Dems in office while bestowing how rotten the DLC is.

Howard Dean has sent a personal "Thank You O' Mighty One" note to Kos.

I thank G-d that Kos "destroyed" the DLC way back when... what? He didn't? Huh? But, he said.... Cha-CHING!!!

[Dwilkers]

Wow, they actually get it.

I just went reading through the comments to Kos's posts - something I avidly avoid doing over there - and they actually understand what Markos is trying to pull.

They aren't as dumb as I thought they were.

[Jim K.]

Maryrose: "This illustrates why the dems can't win in Ohio-they are disorganized petty and don't respect loyalty and continually undercut each other."

Unfortunately, this sounds a lot like the Republican party in New York. They afraid of an actual primary race, and want to handpick the most bland "centrist" (i.e. RINO) candidates, with the mistaken idea that only a Republican who acts like a Democrat can beat a Democrat. Which is why we will continue to have Hillary and Chuck in the senate, and probably Elliot Spitzer as governor.

[BurbankErnie]

Jim K.,

Same Scenario in my State of California.

Only difference here is we have NO VIABLE REPUBLICAN PARTY ORGINISATION. Point Made.

[maryrose]

Sheehan is to Feinstein in an analogy as ; Hackett is to Brown

[rudy]

From the cincy area,
1. Hackett really played down his anti-war views in the election. His TV commercials emphasized his service in the Iraq War, even showed a picture of Bush. The local media barely mentioned his antiwar and anti-Bush views.
2. He's gotten crazier since the election, really emphasizing his hate of Bush. Made many inappropriate statements(Bush is a cokehead), which would come back to haunt him.
3. His polls were awful, much worse than Brown's
4. The rumor I heard was he went to Wash. to be recruited to run and he lambasted Harry Reid for being gutless and caving into Bush; really pissed off Reid. Shortly after that, Brown decided(was encouraged) to get in the race.

[maryrose]

Many of my relatives on my dad's side live in upstate New York. Many times they end up voting for Nader and Perot or anyone who isn't Clinton or Schumer. NYC is responsible for the representation you have in all government levels. I totally believe Spitzer threatened that guy and he ended up with some kind of deal with Rudy's new company. Jim E.- I feel for you . I can't believe Spitzer is on course to be your new governor and that you can't find somebody credible to go against Hillary. Giuliani has bigger fish to fry so you are stuck with a presidential hopeful-who by the way will not give up her seat while she runs for president-because some power is better than none-and get me a microphone-schumer.

[maryrose]

rudy:
I saw Hackett on Hardball and he called Bush a cokehead then and when pressed for proof of that allegation by Matthews said he had read it somewhere. My view- Hackett your 15 minutes are up- the dems played hardball with you and you lost.

[Jim Glass]

"Paul Hackett Moves On"

You're a little late ... oh, sorry, thought you were talking about the Jets' departed OC, who many more people here in NYC actually know about. Never mind.

[kim]

He thought they said "Looking for a few good memes".
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[Gabriel Sutherland]

Did Kos already implement his destroy the DLC plan?

If so, why is he cowtailing to the demands of the DLC hero Rahm Emannuel?

[kim]

I suspect Kos was dancing along the sidelines for this one, much to his dismay.
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[clarice]

I think we should renname Kos' site as "The Trust" in honor of the very successful Stalinist ploy where he drew expats into a scheme to overthrown him while all the time controlling the operation and killing them when they ceased being of value to him.

[BurbankErnie]

Just remember, the Dems are the Party of "feelings" and I am getting the "feelings" things are fallin apart for the Donks.

[larwyn]

My head is pounding in frustration
that there are House people droning on about Katrina on CSPAN
- CNN, CNBC (Matthews & the "Money
Honey"((a Soros A--Kisser)) complaining about what they don't
know about Cheney's accident.

What we don't know about 911 and
what we don't want to know about
the CLINTONS are least of our worries.

This is exactly like the parody
on the "Daily Show" last night,
that I posted.

NOW CSPAN HAS PELOSI'S GANG ON
ABOUT KATRINA!

4:19 - CAFFERTY REFERS TO "THE
F-WORD NETWORK" TWICE.

At 4:18EST TIME - MY HEAD IS
EXPLODING!

BRIAN LAMB SHOULD HAND HIS HEAD IN SHAME!

~4:03 CNBC (Olympics on MSNBC)
Matthews has a list of what they don’t know about Cheney
on CNBC - DON’T CARE ABOUT WHAT THEY DON’T KNOW
ABOUT 911 AND THE CLINTONS!

Posted earlier:
It is 3:55pm EST and CSpan channel that covers the House
is showing presser regard Katrina report.

Have not even seen a reference to the Able Danger Hearing
going on in their “capital news” captions.

They’ll show it in wee hours of the morning to make sure
it can be filtered thru the LSM.

CSPAN, THE NEUTRAL (ha!) wouldn’t want to hurt the
Dems or the Clintons.

This is just sick!

Left by Larwyn on February 15th, 2006

[clarice]

Local Ohioans are saying the Dems blackmailed Hackett into leaving, saying they had evidence he'd particiapted in "war crimes"..The netroots are waking up to "The Trust" http://blog.oh02.com/2006/02/15/ed-schultz-on-hackett/#comments

[maryrose]

I'm sure the dems have got oppo research on anybody and everybody that gets in their way. I mean they were actually thinking of having Jerry Springer run for governor Sheesh!
Watch the coverage for Sherrod Brown-his wife is a writer for the Plain Dealer-another conflict of interest because all reporting will favor him not De Wine but everyone who lives here knows what a rag the Plain Dealer has become.

[beautifulatrocities]

What a wuss. Hackett needs to borrow some cojones from Katherine Harris, who stood down Karl Rove & the RNC when they pressured her to step aside for the good of the party.

[larwyn]

BA wrote:
"What a wuss. Hackett needs to borrow some cojones from Katherine Harris"

Could be key to a lot re Hackett.
When people need those cojones and
find mt pants they tend to lash out
at others, while hiding behind someone's skirts.

No fear of real ordnance when throwing bombs on Hardball.

Interesting perspective, tks.

[clarice]

Larwyn, I checked out the schedule and it was all Katrina, Warren Harding and that yutz Pillar. I wrote a blog called "C-SPIN" and if it runs tomorrow, I'll post the link.

[richard mcenroe]

The bouncing of Hackett was Casino Harry Reid showing KOS how to play real hardball. "You do opposition research on me, punk, I chill your candidates..."

[clarice]

You think? I think it was Rove/S/S--that this will reduce turnout on the left and help Blackwell gain the governorship and the Reps pick up another House seat.

[maryrose]

clarice;
As usual you are right again! Cincinnati Enquirer says that Hackett out of the race helps republicans. And Blackwell will probably win with less of a far left turn-out. Every summer DEWine holds a big picnic in Mid-Ohio which lots of people attend. He believes in getting votes the old fashioned way-by letting the folks and not party leaders decide.

[larwyn]

"C-SPIN!"

Brilliant Clarice!

I will henceforth keep notes.

Only if one is aware of the
Congressional Hearings or events that are being held on any day, can you see what they choose to broadcast and what they ignored.

Sure that I am not alone with the
expectation of seeing the ABLE DANGER HEARING today. So, I thank
you for looking into this.

Clarice, how is CSPAN funded??

They are so heavy on any
panel or presser given by those with a LEFT "victim status" and
"progressive" think tanks - it
makes me now wonder where their
operating money comes from.

This AbleDanger thing is just the
last straw for me.

Think a lot of people would like to
know as they are leaning further and further in selection and in
the times they broadcast.

[clarice]

According to Wikpedia:

"Uncommonly for a television network, C-SPAN is operated as a non-profit organization by the National Cable Satellite Corporation, whose board of directors consists primarily of representatives of the largest cable companies. C-SPAN accepts no advertising, instead receiving nearly all its funding from subscriber fees charged to cable and DBS operators. Contrary to popular perception, C-SPAN receives no funding from government sources"

FAIR has accused it of being biased toward Republicans BTW.

[larwyn]

CSPAN:
So it is just that built in J-school elite leaning that is becoming very evident lately.

"biased toward Republicans BTW"
That can be translated that some true Republicans slip thru vs the
Rinos, Mavericks and Liberatarians
that are used in most of the LSM to
represent the right.

To CNN, Hagel vs Biden is good matchup. And MSNBC loves Shrum,
Buchanan and Tucker Carlson as
fair panel.

Whereas the F-WORD network
has actual real Dems - not Dinos.

Wow, even Joe Klein - on Scaborough
right now - is saying the media has
embarassed themselves.

[clarice]

Good. I want Gregory and Moran the butt of a million jokes.

[larwyn]

CSPAN 2 showing House hearing on
Google/Yahoo/MS & China.

When Rep Meeks finally stopped tonights rant on House floor and they closed up shop for the night,
CSPAN jumped right on Able Danger?

NOT! Replaying one of the Katrina
pressers.

Saving Able Danger for middle of the night, sometime in the future.
Not that important I guess.

[richard mcenroe]

Just for the record, my post above should have read Dean, not KOS, in terms of "opposition research", though I'm sure it was meant to send Kos a message as well as to who works for whom in the Democratic Party.

But the really big question is, betrayed by the right, betrayed by the left, which speaking circuit is Hackett going to make a living on now? Which ditch is he going to camp in for justice...?

[MayBee]

richard-
I could be wrong, but I thought Hackett had promised to go back to Iraq if he lost his Congressional bid. Not sure if there's much of a speaking circuit there, though.

[richard mcenroe]

MayBee — Nah, the big speakin' money is in Saudi Arabia...

[maryrose]

" The big speakin money is in SaudiArabia"
Notice how much attention Gore's ANTI-AMERICAN rant got in the msm press. Zero nada zilch. The only program that covered Gore was The OReilly Factor. I wonder why?

[clarice]

[i]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. [/i] http://washingtontimes.com/upi/20060215-025134-6350r.htm

[maryrose]

Good foresight clarice- It's a very real possibility that the angry far left will mount their own candidate and my money is on Russ Feingold. He of course will retain his senate seat in the event that he surely loses but he wants to make a statement louder than his votes against the Iraq war and the Patriot Act.

[clarice]

Will DU and Kos stick with the DLC or run with the third party? If they stick, who will their posrers be?

[kim]

I think the marginalizing effect of the extremism of the anti-war left will marginalize its effect. The War is fast becoming a fait accompli, and before long, they won't have Bush to kick around anymore. They'll have to get a more reasoned voice, or rot in the ditch, weeds overgrowing, and transforming.
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[Toby Petzold]

I want to know whether Reid actually pulled that stunt and asked Hackett if he had actually committed war crimes. Hackett might be lying, but if Reid did do that, it would be incredible.