Hackett a stand-out in 2nd district race -Ohio News
Dem Diatribe's Pick for the special election on Tuesday, Aug. 2, to elect the successor in the 2nd District to Congressman Rob Portman, who recently appointed by the President to a high trade post: Paul Hackett
The 2nd District it is gerrymandered to wind from eastern Cincinnati’s prosperous suburbs and posh commercial sites through such small farm counties as Brown, Adams and Pike, part of Warren and Clermont, and all the way east across the state to downtrodden Portsmouth in poverty-ridden Scioto County.
The race is down to Republican Jean Schmidt, who was the only female in a 10-person primary race, a 100 percent Bush backer from Loveland, who is the head of an anti-abortion group in Cincinnati. Her opponent is Paul Hackett, a charismatic, impressive lawyer from Indian Hill, who recently returned from a seven-month tour of duty in Iraq as a Marine major, where he served on the front lines in battered Fallujah, an insurgent stronghold. If elected, he will be, incredibly, the only member of Congress to have served in Iraq.
Hackett is long (6-foot-4), lank, tan and fit, a kind of urban cowboy in the Gary Cooper mold. He is blunt and outspoken, with a clear, well-thought-out, pro-people agenda. He pulls no punches.
When it was revealed a few days ago in the press that Schmidt had failed to report two dinners and two $300 tickets to a Bengals game provided by a lobbyist, Hackett pounced.
“If she can’t resist freebies here, how would she function in Washington, where the slick bigtime lobbyists operate non-stop?”
Hackett said he originally opposed the war in Iraq, “but we’re there now and must work our way out.” He has an exit strategy based on his experience on the ground there: “We must provide intensive training for Iraq’s troops so they can provide their own security for the Iraqi people. They aren’t ready now, and it’s up to us to get them ready to defend their homeland before we get out. We aren’t doing the job adequately now.”
Of his opponent, he says the 2nd District would be wrong to send “a rubber-stamp like her” to Congress. “The district is diverse, made up of strong, independent voters, small business, family farmers, successful entrepreneurs. We need, and I’m convinced these voters want, bold new thinking to get the economy back on track, put Social Security on a sound footing, give all citizens access to health care.”
Hackett says he’s strongly pro-choice, but “I don’t know anybody who thinks abortion is a good thing. Let’s keep it safe, legal and rare.”
He says he supports the 2nd Amendment and the right to hunt and own guns.
“Ask yourselves these questions,” he urged the 300 in attendance at the debate: “Are you better off in the past five years? Is your job safer? Do you even have a job? Are you paying more for health care? How about gasoline? If you send me down there, I’ll fight for you. If you want a rubber stamp to represent you, then I’m not your candidate.”
Paul Hackett is the most impressive prospect for Congress I’ve seen in quite a while. If anyone can overcome the long odds in the 2nd District, he is likely to be the one. He would be a breath of pure, Ohio air in the fetid Washington atmosphere.
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Thanks Bill Rentschler, The Journal News
The 2nd District it is gerrymandered to wind from eastern Cincinnati’s prosperous suburbs and posh commercial sites through such small farm counties as Brown, Adams and Pike, part of Warren and Clermont, and all the way east across the state to downtrodden Portsmouth in poverty-ridden Scioto County.
The race is down to Republican Jean Schmidt, who was the only female in a 10-person primary race, a 100 percent Bush backer from Loveland, who is the head of an anti-abortion group in Cincinnati. Her opponent is Paul Hackett, a charismatic, impressive lawyer from Indian Hill, who recently returned from a seven-month tour of duty in Iraq as a Marine major, where he served on the front lines in battered Fallujah, an insurgent stronghold. If elected, he will be, incredibly, the only member of Congress to have served in Iraq.
Hackett is long (6-foot-4), lank, tan and fit, a kind of urban cowboy in the Gary Cooper mold. He is blunt and outspoken, with a clear, well-thought-out, pro-people agenda. He pulls no punches.
When it was revealed a few days ago in the press that Schmidt had failed to report two dinners and two $300 tickets to a Bengals game provided by a lobbyist, Hackett pounced.
“If she can’t resist freebies here, how would she function in Washington, where the slick bigtime lobbyists operate non-stop?”
Hackett said he originally opposed the war in Iraq, “but we’re there now and must work our way out.” He has an exit strategy based on his experience on the ground there: “We must provide intensive training for Iraq’s troops so they can provide their own security for the Iraqi people. They aren’t ready now, and it’s up to us to get them ready to defend their homeland before we get out. We aren’t doing the job adequately now.”
Of his opponent, he says the 2nd District would be wrong to send “a rubber-stamp like her” to Congress. “The district is diverse, made up of strong, independent voters, small business, family farmers, successful entrepreneurs. We need, and I’m convinced these voters want, bold new thinking to get the economy back on track, put Social Security on a sound footing, give all citizens access to health care.”
Hackett says he’s strongly pro-choice, but “I don’t know anybody who thinks abortion is a good thing. Let’s keep it safe, legal and rare.”
He says he supports the 2nd Amendment and the right to hunt and own guns.
“Ask yourselves these questions,” he urged the 300 in attendance at the debate: “Are you better off in the past five years? Is your job safer? Do you even have a job? Are you paying more for health care? How about gasoline? If you send me down there, I’ll fight for you. If you want a rubber stamp to represent you, then I’m not your candidate.”
Paul Hackett is the most impressive prospect for Congress I’ve seen in quite a while. If anyone can overcome the long odds in the 2nd District, he is likely to be the one. He would be a breath of pure, Ohio air in the fetid Washington atmosphere.
---
Thanks Bill Rentschler, The Journal News
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