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.
because nothing’s lonelier than a diary without comments.
Don’t want to leave you lonely ;o)
Is it feasible now or in the short term future to bypass these assholes and fund progressive candidates independently? The problem is when they begin to get national attention and start needing the big bucks to compete.
My opinion?
The system is fucked and needs to be challenged from the outside.
So yeah….I’m a dreamer.
Or we need to reach for the gold ring and get the gold out of politics.
Find the Row V Wade equivalent(s) that allow corporate participation in politics (not just elections) and start a national movement (ala Right to Life) to get a constitutional amendment to repeal the suckers. If they have some interest to promote, they have to use the same methods we do, convince real live persons to call their congresspeople.
Asking Congress to reform campaign finance is like asking the bulls to muck out the barn.
Just a modest proposal.
There is a lot said here. Loniness is not good, but neither is betrayal. Paul Hackett feels betrayed. That is not a good thing. It can cut deep and lasts for a long time. The ones who started this, the whole cast of caracters are to be shamed for that which they did. It has caused me to pause and regroup my thoughts on this cast of caracters and who I really will vote for in the end of all this that is coming out. What has come out is that they are doing this to us the voter on a daily basis. NO wonder that we are angry.
They need more than to be shamed; they need to actually pay. At a minimum, that means that reform-minded Dems need to make sure that Reid and Schumer get strong primary challenges, and that they know why.
I wish there was some effective way that Ohio Dems could strike back at Reid and Schumer for essentially manipulating elections in a state they do not represent.
You bet they need to pay an dpay a dear price. HOever, this comes hard to do with this group of lionhearted politicians that think their poo poo does not have an odor. All that they can do is try to stand tall to whom ever will listen to them and I am quite sure the DLC is listening if not writing the script. What a royal pain in the butt these ppl have become…right? :o) NOw besides fighting the republicans we have to end up fighting against the dems who do not lead or get the picture at all. Why are they trying so damn hard to make life miserable for us all. Do they get brownie points for this?
Screw that. Reid and Schumer need to lose their seats. Having Republicans in those seats would probably be less damaging than keeping these two clowns in poqwer.