Chuck

Jonathan Singer of Basie!, who has been posting on Schumer and the DSCC's meddling or not meddling in the Ohio Senate race---here and here and here---left this comment tonight:

I just spoke with the Schumer press office for a second time in two days, and they again told me that Senator Schumer did not call Paul Hackett to ask him to drop out of the race. So perhaps you could say which aide told you this, because I've now been told twice by Schumer's people that's not true.

I called Schumer's New York City office.  They might very well be out of the loop there, although you'd think that if they were they'd know enough to answer questions they didn't really have an answer for noncommitally.  The aide I spoke with sounded definite.  I asked her to repeat it and I asked her to leave a note from me, the dreaded constituent, expressing my disappointment to the Senator.

But the press office told Jonathan that Schumer did not call Hackett.  I asked if Schumer was asking Hackett to drop out of the race.  Those are two different questions.  The aide I spoke with could have been answering as if I'd asked was he going to ask Hackett to step aside, while the press aide Jonathan spoke to, who naturally would have been a cagier sort, would have been answering in the narrowest but factually accurate terms the quesion, Has the Senator called Hackett?   A no to that question could mean that Schumer hasn't made an actual phone call himself.

The aide in the New York office says there will be a press release soon.

Comments

[mac macgillicuddy]

A friend of mine works for Schumer's national Democratic organization. Well, he more than works for it -- he's the executive director. I'll see if I can shed any light on this topic and send you an update via e-mail.

[Cernig]

I agree with you, Mannion. Look at how Schumer handled trying to get Pennacchio to move aside.

Its Pennacchio all over again. When are people going to accept that the Democratic leadership aren't interested in progressives except as sources of cannon-fodder and cash? Instead they get their pet think-tanks like Third Way to release reports advocating a move further towards Republican-Lite.

Regards, Cernig @ Newshog

[Mark]

Yes, since _Sherrod Brown_ is such an example of Republican-lite. Excuse me?

[cali dem]

Lance,

There's excellent article about Hackett & the Democratic Party you must read:

http://niteswimming.blogspot.com/2005/10/you-gotta-read-this-david-goodmans.html

[cali dem]

Better still is this:

http://www.motherjones.com/news/update/2005/10/hackett.html

"Then, last week, his phone rang again. It was Sherrod Brown calling to tell Hackett he’d changed his mind: he was running after all. Then Schumer called, and this time he wasn’t delivering a pep talk. Hackett got the distinct sense that he was being asked to make way for the party insider. “Schumer didn’t tell me anything definitive,” he says. “But I’m not a dumb ass, and I know what he wanted me to do.”

[Lance]

cali,

Thanks for the links.

Mark,

You're right. Brown is a good liberal and a good candidate. I prefer Hackett, though, because even though Brown's politics are better than Joe Lieberman's, he just comes out of the same mold, image-wise, as all our other candidates.