The Fighting Dems
Feb 9th, 2006 at 1:01 pm by Susie
Mother Jones piece on Paul Hackett, my kind of Democrat:
It’s August 2, Election Day, and the lanky, blond, 43-year-old Marine has taken up position outside the polling place in Loveland, a burg on the outskirts of Cincinnati, flashing his toothy smile for the early risers. Hackett is dressed smartly in a blue shirt and striped pastel tie. His khaki pants hang loosely from his wiry, 180-pound frame.
“That’s low politics, punk!� a heavy-set man sneers as he marches toward the poll.
Hackett wheels around. “Pardon me?�
“You know, that radio ad that says, ‘You don’t know Schmidt.’� He’s talking about one of Hackett’s attack ads against Republican Jean Schmidt. The man spews a stream of epithets, and Hackett lets out a crybaby whimper: “Waaaaaaa!�
“What’s that, punk?� the big man growls.
A TV crew is setting up nearby, but Hackett doesn’t seem to care. “What’s your fuckin’ problem?� the candidate snaps. “You got something to say to me? Bring it on!� Hackett, all 6 feet 2 inches of him, is nose to nose with the heckler. “Problem?� he taunts. The man turns around and storms away.
“These guys in the Republican Party adopted this tough-guy language,� Hackett tells me, still steamed, an hour later. “They’re bullies. They’re offended when somebody takes a swing back at them.�
From the beginning of his quixotic campaign in a special election for U.S. Congress this summer, Paul Hackett relished taking swings. His rhetoric was scorched-earth: “I don’t like the sonofabitch that lives in the White House,� he told USA Today, “but I’d put my life on the line for him.� He declared in a debate that the biggest threat to America is “the man living in the White House,� and he slammed President Bush and Vice President Cheney as “chicken hawks.� He described Bush’s infamous taunt to Iraqi resistance fighters—“Bring ’em on�—as “the most incredibly stupid comment I’ve ever heard a president of the United States make. He cheered on the enemy.� The flame-throwing rhetoric belies an analytical attorney with an (often) understated persona; apologetic, however, Hackett is not.
“I said it, I meant it, I stand by it,� he said when I asked if he regretted any of his comments. “Bush is a chicken hawk, okay? Tough shit.� As for the SOB barb, Bush “talks the tough talk. He should appreciate that.�
Like the fighter. Not everybody has to take this personna, but one that suits you when you stand up to the knuckle-dragging, mouth-breathing, slack-jawed droolers.
Don’t back down. If you are not into physical confrontations- use your mind (baffle ‘em with bullshit).
This should be easy if we act like men and women instead of sheep.
Don’t be a slave. Defend yourself and your beliefs, don’t be reasonable, be polite (until provoked - then smoke ‘em).
No quarter asked, None given.
Maybe, if Hackett loses the primary, he could become a consultant to the DNC. They could sure use him.
Hackett is my hero. A Democrat who doesn’t apologize for his beliefs. A man with a spine and actual balls that stands up to the bullies and the liars. We need a lot more people like him in our party. We need a lot more people like him in our leadership.
I love that guy. What I wouldn’t give to campaign and vote for a politician like that - one who speaks the truth and stands behind it.
speaking as someone whose parents were both marines…….
DO NOT piss them off.
The last $100 that left this house went to Hackett–and we live in NYC.
Oooh, definitely in my happy place now. More Dems like this, please.