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This Is the Race

A candidate whose record demands progressives’ support

By David Sirota

As anyone who’s spent time working on Capitol Hill knows, Washington, D.C., is really just an elaborate pressure system designed to turn corporate money and conservative conventional wisdom into congressional votes. With nearly every bill, there is a disconnect between what lawmakers tell the public they are doing and what they are actually doing and why. In such a corrupt… return to article

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    If the man truly is progressive he probably doesn’t have a chance.  Sorry to be pessimistic, but as you say the system is corrupt.  Therefore, it’s corrupt people who succeed through a corrupt system.  Look at the inevitable burying of Dennis Kucinich in the last presidential primary season.  I would like to plead with everyone:  to me, the only cure for where we find ourselves is massive reform of our electoral system.  I wish we would all drop everything and do nothing but work to change the electoral system.  I don’t see much hope, realistically, in putting energy in the rare occasional decent human being progressive candidate.  They’ll either get beaten to smithereens, or if they happen to win by some miracle they’ll be the one lonely voice in a huge sea of corruption that has no integrity.

    United States Posted by mfogler on Nov 21, 2005 at 6:44 AM

    Actually, mfogler, a Columbus Dispatch poll (which are reliably accurate despite the paper being a terrible right wing rag) just found Brown leading Sen. DeWine by 4 points (35-31).  The same poll found DeWine leading Hackett 32-31.  Brown was first elected to the Ohio House of Representatives at about age 22 in 1974.  He was elected Ohio Secretary of State in 1982 and 1986.  Taft unseated him narrowly in 1990, and Brown has represented the 13th District in Congress since 1992.  I plan to support Brown.  I’ve seen him speak and met him in person.  It’s an incredible opportunity for us to get a real progressive like this in the Senate.  And Brown can most definitely beat DeWine.

    Canada Posted by Sandwich Repairman on Nov 22, 2005 at 3:31 PM

    Mr. Sirota,

    Your observations pertaining to Mr. Hackett are salient.  Sherrod Brown has the pedigree and record championing economic and social justice as well as progressive American values.  Mr. Brown merits our support.  He certainly has marshalled mine.

    United States Posted by 14Justice on Nov 24, 2005 at 11:50 AM

    This is just another very sad example of Progressives and Democrats turning into enemies at the precise time that the alliance can least afford it.

    The primary fight between Brown and Hackett is clearly going to be an all-out, no holds barred affair and super expensive to boot.

    As a result of the idiocy that thoughtlessly pits two prime Democratic candidates from opposite wings of the party against each other in a primary fight, DeWine WILL BE RE-ELECTED.

    Surely the powers that be in the Dem. party the progressives and mainstreamers can come together to find a way to avoid this pointless battle. Ohio is big enough that one man should be persuaded to run for a different political office, at which point they can graciously endorse each other and helpe each other to victory like allies are supposed to do.

    I will never understand this aversion to victory that so many progressives have, and the willingness mainstream to indulge it

    United States Posted by johnnyincentx on Dec 3, 2005 at 5:19 PM

    Hello,

    Point well-taken...whom would you support for Senate?

    United States Posted by 14Justice on Dec 3, 2005 at 6:31 PM

    If there ever was a reason for not voting this is it.

    A vote for either will be a vote for the eventual LOSER in the general election, because neither Brown nor Hackett will have sufficient resources to fight and win a general election against the incumbint Repugnican DeWine.

    A vote in this primary election also encourages the idiots who are trying to paint this primary as a good thing for Dems.

    Progressive, liberal, moderate, centrist or otherwise. It simply is NOT a good thing to pit two upcoming stars against each other in a multi-million $$$$ contest that will leave the winner too weak to win the general election.

    Only if one of these guys decides to further his political career by pursuing a different office in Ohio can either expect to win.

    I would have no appetite for contributing to the stupidity of primary battles like this by voting in it.

    I’m stunned to read an article that virtually salivates at the opportunity at the opportunity to “prove” something.

    In my book it proves one thing. The Repugnican success of the last several years is due to the Dem. party’s inability to stop the stupidity rather than Repugnican genius. sigh.

    Maybe one day the Dems. will find a way to spend the resources wasted on encouraging and justifying such idiocy . towards defeating the Repugnican opponent.

    How any sane Democrat Progressive or Moderate Etc. could view this as an “opportunity to prove something” is incomprehensible to me. It’s just electoral suicide.

    Anyone with the Progressive agenda in mind would be smart to use any and all resources to find a way to avoid this battle., and instead devote all energies towards getting both Brown and Hackett to sit down with appropriate Dem. party mediators and find a way to do just that. 

    In a state as big as Ohio there has two be two roughly equally prestigious seats in contention that both can run for and have a good chance at winning. If such a situation were pursued, we’d all enjoy the treat of waching Brown and Hatchett act like the allies they are supposed to be and work to elect each other to the office they chose instead of destroy each other in a primary fight for a single office.

    United States Posted by johnnyincentx on Dec 4, 2005 at 2:57 AM

    A candidate will vie for the seat against the Republican incumbent.

    “In my book it proves one thing. The Repugnican success of the last several years is due to the Dem. party’s inability to stop the stupidity rather than Repugnican genius.” I would also suggest the opposition candidate have the aptitude to inspire.  Brown’s policy positions inspire.

    “…avoid this battle., and instead devote all energies towards getting both Brown and Hackett to sit down…” Agreed.

    United States Posted by 14Justice on Dec 4, 2005 at 10:03 AM

    HEY THE DEMOCRATS ALMOST GET IT RIGHT ON BROWN IN THE OHIO SENATE RACE.

    Sen. Shumar and Sen. Reid successfully applied pressure on Hackett to STEP ASIDE and let Brown run UNOPPOSED in order to allow him to devote ALL HIS RESOURCES to defeating DeWhiner.

    VERY VERY COOL! Yippie.

    Of course leave it to the NYTimes to totally get it WRONG.

    In the story I link to below - it makes it seem like Hackett is the “liberal, anti-war” candidate facing the “Mr. Establishment” Brown. What inept reporting. The NYTimes should be absolutely ashamed of itself for putting out such a misleading article. It’s clear the Reporter who wrote the article was busy playing Nintendo when he was supposed to be doing research.

    In truth both Brown and Hackett are anti-war candidates, and Brown is the more left of the two.

    The “greenness” of the Dem. leadership in exherting such control on potential candidates was starkly revealed though in the article.

    Instead of sitting them both down and having an honest face to face conversation with both of them at the same time, they instead backstabbed Hacket by actively contacting potential backers and telling them not to contribute.

    I can’t help but wonder why it was impossible to convene a little get together like I suggested. Let Brown and Hackett sit down and hash out a mutually agreeable compromise with the party leaders there to moderate. It’s ok if they are all on one side. By doing this though it would have allowed Hacket to retain his dignity and remain a loyal Democrat on the rise.

    However their amaturish methods have alienated Hackett, and he is exiting politics for a while. He won’t be campaigning for Brown as he would have been if the Dems. had been more sensible about how they approached Hackett. They told him to fun for the House again, but didn’t properly massage him, and so he felt betrayed.

    Too bad, but this is new to the Dems. it will take a few more efforts like this for them to get it down pat like the Repugnicans.

    Way to go Reid and Shumar. I can’t wait for Brown to start making national headlines as he goes for Dewhiner’s juggler.

    link to misleading NYTimes article that is poorly researched and infers a whole lot of nonsense by omission of details Etc.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/14/politics/14ohio.html?pagewanted=all

    United States Posted by johnnyincentx on Feb 14, 2006 at 12:20 PM
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