http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/2/13/165628/601

i really like Paul, but he's trailing Sherrod Brown in campaign funds badly enough that the primaries would probably wipe him out before the general election.

Basically, the DSCC (Democratic Senate Campaign Committee) went around to all the big pro-Dem donors and asked them to either donate to Sherrod Brown or not give at all. The fact that Hackett has 200k cash-on-hand (money used for campaign ads, literature, payroll, etc.) and Brown has over 2.3 mil is pretty strong evidence that the DSCC got it's way.

From a "strategic" standpoint, the DSCC doesn't want a contested primary because it will sap funds, and in their mind Hackett could run in the OH-2 against a very weak Schmidt, who may loose in the primaries herself. However, the flipside is that with no Democratic primary, there is going to be less media coverage, and DeWine already has an advantage because he is the incumbent.

I've been a Hackett guy since the OH-2 election, and I'm not happy to see him go. It sounds like he's done with politics, and I don't blame him. Schumer and Reid begged the guy to run, then the DSCC pushes him out. Maybe they think it's Brown's "turn," that he's the "safer" candidate, but all I can say is he better win.

That said, I think Sherrod Brown is a helluva great candidate.

The Hackett move was a push by Senate and Ohio Democrats to unify the party and enhance their chances of winning more races. Sadly, I think it will acheive neither. Hackett supporters are already calling this move (and the accompanying Fingerhut withdrawal) the St. Valentine's Day Massacre - not the kind of language that gets thrown around by people who will eventually come around to Sherrod. Like it or not, Hackett was a centrist Democrat who could've brought a lot of voters across the line to him, especially with the GOP corruption scandals. Brown is a prototype liberal who is being propped up by the old guard Democratic machine. Yes, Hackett would've lost in the primary - the Cash Rules Everything Around Me rule. Yes, Brown will still give DeWine a run in the general, maybe even win it. But the now monumental division between the Strickland-Brown faction and the Hackett-type faction of the Party could lead to a disastrous result when this election cycle is through.

The really irksome part about this is that Chris Redfern, Rahm Emmanuel (DCCC chair) and Schumer and Reid couldn't actually talk to this guy and the 3 OH-02 Dems to clear that race for Hackett before now. The filing deadline is Thursday: even if the 3 Dems stepped aside, Hackett would need to gather signatures to file for that race in 2 days - a tough task. Also, calling somebody's donors (in Hackett's case, the UAW) and threatening them isn't very cool either. I'm really disappointed in my party right now. It's bullshit like this that put us where we are in the first place.

http://peoplehavethepower.org/archives/ ... w-sherrod/

feel free to comment here or there.