cross-posted at the new, improved skippy the bush kangaroo (now with 30% more snark!)
tho the brou-ha-ha over paul hackett’s withdrawl from the ohio senatorial campaign has died down, the persistent rumors of backstage manipulations have not. david goodman in mother jones tells us:
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.”
more after the jump:
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.”
mixner added, “i don’t think it’s inappropriate to call me. what’s inappropriate is that the people calling me were the same people who asked him to run, and now they wanted to push him out. that’s what made this unique.”
hackett was infuriated by the subterfuge. “i felt like i got fucked by the democratic party because they enticed me in and then they pulled the rug out from beneath me. it sounds eerily familiar to sending in the military to iraq, which was a misuse of the military, and then not giving them what they need to fight.”
tho both schumer and reid have publicly denied telling donors not to contribute to hackett, we’d still like their response the above allegations.
