'Within minutes of Hackett’s election night defeat, supporters were speculating on his next run for office. And in more than three weeks since the upstart Democratic congressional candidate lost to a Republican in a GOP stronghold, he’s done numerous radio talk-show interviews and been on such national cable TV shows as MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews and HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher.
Hackett, an Iraq war veteran, says he’s also getting speaking invitations from veterans and Democratic groups in states as far away as California.
"Every day I walk into my law office and say ‘Today, I will clear my desk.’ And then there are 50 more messages," Hackett said. "I’m amazed. I’m humbled."
The attention comes from his status as an Iraq veteran and as a Democrat who received 48 percent of the vote Aug. 2 in the 2 nd District, which voted 64 percent for President Bush last year. That’s even though his opponent, Jean Schmidt, and other Republicans have said that a summertime special election shouldn’t be considered as a bellwether.'
But buried toward the bottom of the story is a small comment from a small GOP operative and "Mean Jean" Schimidt's campaign manager, Joe Braun:
'But Braun says that over the course of a lengthy campaign, as opposed to a special election race, Hackett’s appeal will wear away. His foes have portrayed him as too liberal for conservative southern Ohio.
"During a normal election cycle, I think voters will really start looking at his positions and that’s when his star is going to fade," Braun said.'
As long as the war continues, the Ohio GOP remains corrupt, and Ohio election fraud continues, Paul Hackett and those like him will remain in the public arena to speak for truth, honesty, and justice.
