Paul Hackett

Mother Jones has the skinny on Paul Hackett's withdraw from the Ohio Senatorial race. The article confirms the rumor that the DC beltway crowd was actively trying to shut down his ability raise money. From Mother Jones:

Hackett had demonstrated his ability to shake money from donors during a January fundraising roadshow in California and New York. But he soon discovered that top Democrats were attempting to cut off his money. The hosts of a Beverly Hills fundraiser for Hackett received an e-mail from the political action committee of Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) that concluded, “I hope you will re-consider your efforts on behalf of Hackett and give your support to Sherrod.” Waxman’s chief of staff, Phil Schiliro, said the e-mail was only sent to a handful of people and that “it probably came from a suggestion from the Sherrod Brown campaign.”

Michael Fleming, who manages Internet millionaire David Bohnett’s political and charitable giving, was one of the recipients of the Waxman email. Bohnett has given to hundreds of progressive candidates, but Fleming says, “This was the first time I had ever gotten an email or communication like that. I find it discouraging and disheartening. It’s unfortunate that the powers that be didn’t let the people of Ohio figure this out. We should be in the business of encouraging people like Paul Hackett and viable progressive candidates like him to run. The message instead is don’t bother, it’s not worth your time.”

Sen. Schumer was also reported to be trying to turn off Hackett’s cash spigots. No one would confirm this to me on the record. But veteran political activist David Mixner, who described himself as “a fanatically strong supporter” of Hackett and who helped sponsor a New York fundraiser, confirmed that he “received calls from a couple people in Congress urging Paul Hackett to withdraw or not to contribute money to his campaign. The reasons ranged from he can’t win, to he’s too controversial, Brown has more money, is more centrist, and more appealing. It was that inner beltway circle crap,” said Mixner. “They are people who have no idea what’s going on in the country but believe they know everything.”

While these people were urged not give Hackett money, it doesn't look like any of them heeded the advise. Like I said before, if DC knuckleheads sway your support of a particular candidate, your support wasn't that strong in the first place.

The reality of the situation was that Hackett wasn't going to be able to catch up to Sherrod Brown moneywise, and he was behind Brown by about twenty points. It just doesn't make sense to continue the campaign unless you are using it as a stepping stone to improve your name ID for a future run, and Hackett has repeatedly said he wasn't a career politician.

There's still a lot of misplaced anger out there from the far left, which in the end got a candidate closer to their ideals. I've been getting e-mails inviting me to protest everything from Young Dems events to Franklin County Democratic Women's Club Campaign Kickoff.

There is an event tomorrow, so I'll check it out to try to get a better sense of this.