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Tuesday, July 26, 2005

OH-2: LiveBlogging--Literally

Posted by Tim Tagaris

I am sitting maybe five feet away from the candidate as he prepares for and interview with MSNBC. Right now a camera man is setting up lights as the interviewer is asking the candidate questions about going to service in Iraq, not surprisingly. This is the pre-interview, I will update as the interview goes along and have video later (image from 5 minutes ago).

The Interview: Paul just said he made the decision to run with his wife while they were still at the airport upon his return from Iraq. He was "blown away that the government came to a halt during Terri Schiavo." ... "This is ridiculous, and there needs to be more citizen legislators willing to serve in politics."

"The fact I am not a professional politician is frankly a good thing. If I am not elected, next year I will probably go back to serve with my Marines in Iraq."

"I remind everybody that the last time we had a balanced budget was with a Democratic president... Barry Goldwater is spinning in his grave given the fiscal irresponsibility in Columbus and D.C."

"Government trying to make decisions for us is frankly what is unamerican."

Posted at 12:53 PM in Ohio | Technorati

Comments

Just blogged this - will be heading down there this weekend - looking forward to meeting ya Tim !

www.licopac.org :
Paul Hackett OH-02 - Kicking @$$

The Ohio 2nd district special election is just a few days away, and the race that everyone thought was a GOP lock-in is looking anything but.

Jean Schmidt expected to have a huge financial advantage because of all her lobby ties and ethical lapses, however she has ran out of money and is now resorting to loaning herself campaign money. Paul Hackett on the other hand knew he would be hard pressed to raise large amounts of money in such a red district relied on a massive Get out the vote effort and meeting people in his district (while Schmidt was schmoozing rich folks in DC for cash).

However a few days ago, the netroots and grass roots exploded with support for hackett and the money flooded into his campaign. He now has almost $200K with just a few days to go, and hundreds of people canvassing and phone banking for him in all the counties in the district.

To add to the woes of Schmidt, the Cinci Post, a conservative newspaper who endorsed Bush in 2000 and 2004 and endored Rob Portman (R) in the district has just glowingly endorsed this former Marine who served in Iraq.

Hackett, in our view, is a gust of fresh air. If we had to put a label on him, it would be Libertarian Democrat. He says what he thinks and doesn't seem to have much use for the orthodoxy, or the partisanship, of either party. He doesn't want the government telling him what kinds of guns he can own, nor does he want it interfering in family or medical decisions or taking away civil liberties in the name of fighting terror. He regards Social Security more as an insurance program than a retirement savings plan, but wants to put it on a sound footing and would raise the earnings ceiling if necessary to do so.

If elected, he notes, he would be the only member of Congress with direct military experience in Iraq - which, he says, is a fight we should end as soon as possible. He wants to finish the job and get out, and he wants the United States to stop holding hands with Pakistan and to get serious about tracking down those responsible for the 9-11 attacks.

We like Hackett's candor. We're impressed with the freshness of his ideas. We believe his experience shows him to be someone who is action-oriented.

We endorse Hackett for the 2nd District seat.

In sheer desperation, the Schmidt campaign have resorted to the tried and tested tactic of attempting to smear a veteran.

The GOP in Ohio are discovering that Paul Hackett isn't John Kerry, as he fires back

"All the chicken hawks back here who said, 'Oh, Iraq is talking bad about us. They're going to threaten us' -- look, if you really believe that, you leave your wife and three kids and go sign up for the Army or Marines and go over there and fight. Otherwise, shut your mouth."

Well said Paul.

If anyone wants to travel down to help Paul out this weekend (it's the final weekend) drop us an email at admin@licopac.org and we can car pool. Should be fun helping this kick-@$$ marine.

Posted by: Pounder at July 26, 2005 01:21 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

And the beat goes on.

Posted by: Bob Brigham at July 26, 2005 01:33 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

Does anyone have any real information on the odds of Paul actually winning?

Every now and then someone will say, "of course, he is still a big long shot ..."

But so many things are going his way.

I am on pins and needles on this thing. It is SUCH an opportunity.

I know it is already a great thing, but, still, I want to actually WIN ONE!

I am dying to hear whether we have any chance to win the bleeding seat.

Posted by: Thresholder at July 26, 2005 01:35 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment

I wish I was near Ohio right now. In a special election like this, the low turnout means that whoever can get more of their people to the polls wins. It all comes down to Hackett's GOTV operation and how many volunteers he has the next 7 days.

Posted by: Fran for Dean at July 26, 2005 02:24 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment