With Hackett departure, old politics win

[ECH1969]

With a shove from party leaders, Iraq war veteran Paul Hackett abruptly quit a key Senate race in Ohio and further exposed a disconnect between the Democratic establishment and Internet-fueled challengers. The political novice withdrew under intense pressure from party leaders in Washington, clearing the field for Rep. Sherrod Brown - a 30-year veteran of Democratic politics with more than $2.5 million in the bank.

Phil Singer, spokesman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said Hackett's decision to quit gives the party a better chance of beating two-term GOP Sen. Mike DeWine in November. Hackett drew his strongest support from Democratic activists outside Washington and Ohio who donated money and time via the Internet, including many who considered his military record an asset against DeWine.

"Hackett would have probably won this seat," David Nir, one of three founders of the liberal Web site SwingStateProject.com, contended in a blog posting Tuesday. "It's much harder for me to envision the 'northeastern Ohio liberal' Sherrod Brown breaking the 49-percent barrier, particularly with DeWine moving to the center."

"Establishment Democrats are still more powerful than we are, by orders of magnitude," Stoller wrote. "While we can put tens of thousands into a race, they can dwarf that with millions."

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