politburo diktat 2.0

Rolling Stone : Democrats Can’t Hackett

Maybe Dick Cheney can’t shoot straight, but at least he didn’t shoot himself in the face. Sadly, you can’t say the same for the leadership of the Democratic party.Chuck Schumer, Harry Reid and Rahm Emanuel have not only strong-armed Iraq War vet Paul Hackett out of the Ohio senate race, but out of politics altogether.

And for what? To give Eagle Scout Sherrod Brown a clear shot at the Senate?!

Yes. OK. A messy primary is less than ideal as a precursor to a must-win Senate showdown. But if Sherrod is really the top Democrat for the job — if his name truly is “gold” with Ohio voters — shouldn’t he be able to prove that through, you know, an electoral process? What does it say about his electability that top Democrats felt it necessary to play king-maker and shield him from his popular, populist competition?

Whatever bruises Brown might have picked up in a spirited primary, they’re clearly better than the self-inflicted damage the party suffers by knee-capping the most colorful outsider in politics today — and alienating Iraq vets nationwide:

“For me, this is a second betrayal.” Hackett told the NYT. “First, my government misused and mismanaged the military in Iraq, and now my own party is afraid to support candidates like me.”

Maybe the GOP can recruit this guy.