Dems Closing Ranks

Don’t like to write some of this, but…

I almost replied to a post at Brandoland having to do with Paul Hackett’s exit from the Ohio Democratic primary in the election against Repug incumbent Mike DeWine, but I thought it would become really long (we’ll see), so I’m doing so (sort of) here instead.

As noted by Kos from this link, I think the problem was that Hackett waiting too long to announce his candidacy last fall, and that was the first domino, if you will, that fell the wrong way, and Hackett’s pullout this week was the culmination of a bunch of things that didn’t go the way he wanted. As Kos also noted, calling Hackett’s donors and telling them not to contribute is truly ridiculous.

I’m not going to justify that, but I am going to tie in a bit to the Swann/Scranton post below and note that all of these elections are, in large part, a battle to allocate resources as efficiently as possible. It shouldn’t be that way – as many people as possible who meet the candidacy requirements should be allowed into the primaries – but that’s the way it is. That’s why the Repugs here in PA fell in love with Swann so quickly and told Scranton to hit the road.

I do hope, though, that Hackett reconsiders somehow, because I think he’s still an outstanding candidate. I also don’t like to point out anything that can be looked at as negative against him, in part because of his service and also because he’s fundamentally new to this game anyway.

If everyone were to put this episode in the past in as amenable way as possible, that can only help the Democrats. Besides, it sounds like Schumer, Rahm Emanuel, et al were trying to set up Hackett for another go-round against that cowardly stick Jean Schmidt for her U.S. House seat, and a scenario with Sherrod Brown in the Senate and Paul Hackett in the House one day would be a terrific outcome. If all parties can get past the wounded pride and bitter words, that goal can be achieved.

Besides, I believe that in PA, we’re going to be looking at something like a Brown/Hackett scenario, if you will, in the U.S. Senate race against Santorum. As nearly as I can see, Chuck Pennacchio is the better Democratic candidate, and he deserves our support. However, it’s becoming more and more clear that the entire party apparatus will be put to work on behalf of “Sideshow Bob” Casey. I don’t know if that can be overcome, but I’ll be realistic enough to do what little I can for Chuck but prepare myself for the distinct possibility that Casey will be the party standard bearer when all is said and done. There are also three Democratic candidates running against Mike Fitzpatrick for the U.S. House seat, though Patrick Murphy stands as the best one, so I can’t see how we will have any kind of an internal revolt if he eventually gets the nod. However, the goal (and my point) should be that the party emerge from the primary in the best possible shape for the general election in terms of organization, financing, and support of the nominee.

As I pointed out, Hackett is new to all of this, and I sincerely hope he gains an understanding and level of trust with the Democrats once more to the point where he can run again. He offers a lot and could hold a prominent role in a U.S. House with Democrats in charge as the majority party, working on behalf of a progressive agenda apart from DLC conciliation and totally alien to the corporate playpen that it has become under Republican neglect.