Democrat Party purging progressives...Hackett

[LeftHander]

Everyone is in shock from the latest outrage, that outrage being the forcing of Paul Hackett out of the Senate race in Ohio.

It should BE VERY CLEAR to any Democrat that holds true to progressive values that the party DOES NOT WANT to hear from you.

Hackett is the kind of man that if in the Senate would be come a national leader. A leader that could derail the centrist democrat leadership control. If ANY progressive Democrat can't clearly see the strategy now then you are either brain dead or on crack or a centrist that has drank the GOP kool-aid one to many time.

The Democratic party leadership is MORE THEN WILLING to lose than give progressives any real chance at controlling power within the party.

Think long and hard about where your loyalties lie my friends. Look at the state of chaos on this board. Look at how many have left.

Change is coming.

There is no stopping it now. It is going to hurt for a while but you know what? It is going to be good for America for progressives to take a stand together for a change.

Even this site is going to have to decide where it really stands.

[BushOut06]

1. Isn't Brown to the left of Hackett?

I honestly don't know much about either one of them, but many posters on this board have commented that Brown is actually further to the left than Hackett is.

[Pirate Smile]

2. Isn't Sherrod Brown actually MORE progressive then Hackett?

I believe so.

[onenote]

21. yep, but knowledge about Democrats is not a strong suit of some DUers

Amazing how many of the posters complaining that Hackett didn't get support think he's the progressive candidate and Brown is a centrist.

onenote

[shoelace414]

3. Democratic party

[shoelace414]

10. Wow.. thanks for the heart whoever got one for me!

[Stephanie]

18. it's kind of a giveaway

no?

[LeftHander]

30. Yeah I'm a hugh Freeper...

LOL

[WinkyDink]

22. EXACTLY! Who writes "Democrat" as an adjective, hmmm?

[mattclearing]

4. Democrat is not an adjective.

And progressive isn't the first word I'd use when describing Paul Hackett.

[LeftHander]

29. typo.......missed that DEMOCRATIC PARTY

I have been typing Progressive Democrat alot lately..... :)

[mattclearing]

31. .

:)

[Skinner]

5. While I think it was a mistake to push Hackett out of the race...

...I think it is incorrect to paint this as a progressive v. centrist issue. It is not at all clear that Hackett is more progressive than Brown. On many issues he is not.

[LeftHander]

19. Explain why else would they force him out....?

As I see it he represents the future and real progress in America. A change in the status quo...

This type of politician cannot be held back for long. We may not see hackett on the stage again....but someone else will take up the call. And MILLIONS will be ready to support.

I can see why so many jumped on this post. Because it is dangerous.

Imagine when the realization finally dawns on Democrats that there never was an intention of doing anything other than allowing the GOP to take charge. Letting them win while maintaining the K street and corporate money machine.

THose Senate and Congressional jobs are good jobs....who would want to give one up?

Even Fiengold couldn't limit his own number of terms....after he was in.

[Kire]

24. He was 20 points behind in the polls

He was going to lose. Got a better reason?

[warrens]

33. Dangerous?

Hackett could have and probably should have run for the House seat he nearly won last year. As a populist type he would have been great in the House. As a one-trick pony, he was not a particularly strong candidate statewide against a well-known incumbant. Just because you like someone does not mean the rest of the Democratic Party should just step aside. Brown is a fine candidate, and smearing him as a right-winger while promoting the far more centrist Hackett as a progressive is, how I hate this word, disingenuous or uninformed.

[madaboutharry]

6. Brown was my congressman when I lived

in Ohio. I think you need to do more research before you jump to conclusions.

[madaboutharry]

27. Thanks for the heart. Someone made me smile.

:)

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

7. Hackett is no progressive. Please do some research and see what he

has to say. He's a middle of the roader, and during a debate with Schmidt said our troops were in Iraq to protect our freedom.

[400Years]

8. He's got a mind of his own and therein lies the threat

[wisteria]

9. Hackett leaving was nothing more than the best strategy

for winning the race. It had very little to do with him being a Progressive IMO. Our party just wants to win some races and it appeared as though Hackett wasn't going to be able to win.

[converted_democrat]

16. Riiiight..

Brown is a liberal..Liberals don't do well in state wide elections in Ohio... Hackett lost in the most rabidly repuke district in the rep race by the skin of his teeth.. That means he appeals to both sides of the fence.. Many pukes voted for him.. Brown on the other hand does not appeal in anyway to the other side of the fence.. Brown will not carry Ohio.. Mark my words.. Pukes will not vote for Brown.. We just assured ourselves of another Ohio loss..

[seabeyond]

11. this is factually wrong. surely we are responsible enough to factually

know what we are talking before starting a thread. especially one so divisive. i understand brown is progressive. i imagine and what i have heard from hackett, he is more conservative. being military and the area raised, but..... a moderate at best. did you hear hackett with immigration? personally i like hackett. i gave him money twice from texas for ohio campaign. but this is just false information you are giving

[cali]

12. So how do you explain

the purportedly anti-progressive leadership in Congress supporting Bernie Sanders- a Socialist?
This business with Hackett- one I'm uncomfortable with- has nothing to do with Centrists vs. Progressives.

[SaveElmer]

13. How many posts are gonna get this wrong...

There are like 10 posts all saying the same thing, that have been thoroughly debunked.

[LeftHander]

14. If it smells like progress....

It is progressive.....you need to look at what "Progressive" really means in the context of American politics. As usual the right have defined progressive as left wing radical, socialism. That is simply not the not the case...it is neither radical or entriely socialist.

Hackett was a progressive. He appealed to to broad range of people. A new fresh voice. He does share progressive values we ALL share those values.

http://www.hackettforohio.com/about_issues

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that Hacket was well grounded in progressive values.

Choice, Marriage Equity, Anti-War, fiscal repsonsibility (fair taxation)...

The thing people need to understand is that "progressive" is the nature of the Deomcratic party. Those that forced him out are not progressive at all. They are conservatives pandering to money and coporate influence.

The BIG problem is the Democratic leadership keeps undermining real PROGRESS and REFORM becuase they are in the hip pockets of huge corporations with access to millions of dollars for re-election.


This is INDEED a centrist/progressive issue.

And you know what.....progressives LOST again.

[LynneSin]

34. You know, have you actually LOOKED at Brown's records

and the fact that the Progressive Democrats of AMerica actually support him.

No, you're some guy who sees 'grassroots' slapped on the campaign and get all excited thinking 'OOOhh grassroots - change' just like if you see some sparkly thing dangling in front of you 'Ooooo bright sparkly thing'

Everything you talk about SHERROD BROWN HAS ALREADY DONE! SHERROD BROWN HAS ALREADY VOTED THAT WAY!

He has a track record!

Hackett not only has no track record but he's be on record with some very extreme right views on immigration.

Grassroots is a dumbass tag slapped on to campaigns in hopes of tricking people into think it's something different. Wake up and read the voting record - the most liberal candidate was and is Sherrod Brown

[NWHarkness]

15. That's a wacky way to purge

Asking someone to run for Congress....

[LeftHander]

20. Hackett is no lap dog....

They supported his senate run from the start...then once the power peoople sensed the wind blowing against the direction they chose...they dropped him like a hot potato...know full well he would NOT run for congress....(he would of lost in doing so) Imagine the campaign the GOP would mount....

No this is so clear as to what happened. Hackett was dangerous to the Democratic party's future and had to eliminated. What is another GOP incumbant win anyway...to them they do it all the time....it's easy.

[NWHarkness]

26. Oh please

I think Hackett and Brown are both fine candidates, We don't need this cult of personality nonsense. We can see what it is doing to the GOP, why act that way ourselves?

[Skidmore]

17. I"m not sure what is going on here, but I have heard Sherrod Brown

speak on the floor and he does sound pretty progressive to me. I'm not an Ohioan and I don't know anything about the pecking order in the Ohio political structure. I do like Hackett also and I think he would be a good person to have in national office. I think some of the hysteria going on around this though is some one deliberately trying to push a wedge in the Democratic party. I'm pretty upset with the national party and its priorities now, particularly the propensity of the party leaders to bow to the DLC all the time. It is time for new blood in some of these positions. Brown is a nice guy but he's also someone you don't hear much from. I think Hackett is a leader. I think there should be a run in the primaries. Let the people decide which person best represents the principles of the party.

[EST]

23. I am offended by the r/w nurdsville subject line of the OP

and was not going to reply. However, this discussion cries out for illumination.
We, collectively, gathered Mr. Hackett to our breasts because of his David-and-Goliath assault on the crisis of corruption republican money machine and his stance on a single issue. He did demonstrate that the fundamental heartless attitude of the ruling organized crime label that best describes the republican syndicate does not include the majority in this country or Ohio. His fearlessness in the face of disloyal opposition provided a much needed shot in the arm for beaten down democrats.

I must admit to some misgivings when he chose not to pursue a seat in the house, almost a guaranteed win, and opted to open a senate campaign, in which he was an under dog even without opposition. When Mr. Brown, whom most of us outside of Ohio know best from his debates in an empty house on evening c-spin programming, announced his own candidacy for that seat, I, again, felt some sympathy for Paul Hackett, given Sherrod Brown's proven record, his time in grade, and his experience with the issues, the opposition, and national politics.

Brown is the better candidate, although there is still a lot of empathy for the upstart, iconoclastic newcomer, and Hackett's "piss on it all" comeback seems to indicate a less than committed attitude toward public service. The one thing the country and the party of 'the people,' as opposed to the party of 'corporate greed,' needs most is someone who refuses to give up.
As much as I championed Hackett's bid for office, I am not particularly disappointed when a "flash in the pan" proves to be just that, early in the process, rather than becoming a republican turncoat in the middle of the game, long after the concerned democrats have given their all to get him elected.

[LeftHander]

28. So integrity has nothing to do with it then...

Hackett said he was not going to run for the house...and now he is sticking to his word so you call that flash in the pan?

Seems to me when the democrats stop playing fast a loose with integrity and flowing with the polls maybe progressive values will actually make a difference in the political make up of Washington.

The overriding aspect of this whole situation is that people in the drivers seat of the Democratic party are not willing to allow the party to adobt a unified voice and are not willing to so what it takes to really throw a wrench in the conservatives agenda.

If we keep asking for bones....that is all we will get.


Hackett wasn't asking for bones he was running on a pretty solid platform of values that we (and many other more conservative Americans ) share.

Feingold is able to win easily in a state that is moving more right everyday. He has shown that people respect integrity and honor.

So the reality is that Democrats can't face the scope of the change that is occurring in the American political landscape. As that landscape is pulled farther and farther right by Bush and religious right the landscape stretches and opposite forces are applied pulling the other way....like a big string of taffy....the middle is being split right now. And it is so clear that some elements of the Democratic party and being pulled to the right. Some are stuck and still in a state of which way they will go....But the Democratic leadership has made it VERY clear which direction they are moving. And that is to the RIGHT...and they are taking potions that go AGAINST the values of the base. The fact is very clear that the American voter will not support popel that lack the character to stand firm to promises and values. You can't be wishy washy with your beliefs in contemporay American politics.

Look a Bush for christ sakes the guy is so wrong to the point even his base refuse to sign on yet they still support him because he "never relents". It is rude and we should live in world that one can wiegh the facts and change positions....but that is not reality in America. So we need to ground ourselves in a core set values and stick to them. those values WE know are what will lead our decendants to a better future and a better world. the right is WRONG.

Party schism is coming. It is happening right now. Right here on this board....it's not going to stop now...the momentum is to the right and many are just not going to go there. Many will drift that way thinking that is a position of strength. Sadly it is not.

[Edgewater_Joe]

25. Paul Hackett Purged HIMSELF

The party would have supported him to run against Schmitt -- you know that and I know that.

We already have one cult of personality in power. Let's not weep over another one.

[LynneSin]

32. I would kill to have a 'moderate' democrat like Sherrod Brown represent me

God forbid this guy votes for choice, for the environment, against the war, against the patriot act, against CAFTA and other free-trade agreements.

I mean, we should hope all our democrat candidates should be as 'moderate' as Brown.

I mean we could have 'liberal's like Paul Hackett who's stance on immigration matches the extreme right.

:eyes:

[Avalux]

35. Locking.

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