Feb 14 2006 10:28 AM
By Tim Chapman
Senators Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer have just made a political blunder. The duo made a political calculation (which, by the way, is correct) that Iraq veteran Paul Hackett could not defeat incumbant Ohio Senator Mike DeWine, so they actively began undermining his campaign by privately urging donors to give to another candidate while publicly asking Hackett to run for a House seat instead of Senate. Hackett as a result has decided not to run for either. He calls the Reid/Schumer gambit a “betrayal.” As a sign of protest, he is leaving politics. And now, not only is Hackett ticked off, other vets are too.
Senators Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer have just made a political blunder. The duo made a political calculation (which, by the way, is correct) that Iraq veteran Paul Hackett could not defeat incumbant Ohio Senator Mike DeWine, so they actively began undermining his campaign by privately urging donors to give to another candidate while publicly asking Hackett to run for a House seat instead of Senate.
Hackett as a result has decided not to run for either. He calls the Reid/Schumer gambit a “betrayal.” As a sign of protest, he is leaving politics.
And now, not only is Hackett ticked off, other vets are too.
The New York Times:
Mr. Hackett was the first Iraq war veteran to seek national office, and the decision to steer him away from the Senate race has surprised those who see him as a symbol for Democrats who oppose the war but want to appear strong on national security. “Alienating Hackett is not just a bad idea for the party, but it also sends a chill through the rest of the 56 or so veterans that we’ve worked to run for Congress,” said Mike Lyon, executive director for the Band of Brothers, a group dedicated to electing Democratic veterans to national office. “Now is a time for Democrats to be courting, not blocking
Mr. Hackett was the first Iraq war veteran to seek national office, and the decision to steer him away from the Senate race has surprised those who see him as a symbol for Democrats who oppose the war but want to appear strong on national security.
“Alienating Hackett is not just a bad idea for the party, but it also sends a chill through the rest of the 56 or so veterans that we’ve worked to run for Congress,” said Mike Lyon, executive director for the Band of Brothers, a group dedicated to electing Democratic veterans to national office. “Now is a time for Democrats to be courting, not blocking