"Sherrod Brown told the candidate three weeks ago that he was not entering the race, so the campaign was surprised at Sherrod's indecisiveness and change of heart," said Michael Brautigam, an adviser to Hackett. "Sherrod's entry into the race is not only dishonorable, it's disloyal to the Democratic Party and to democratic ideals."What's an "adviser" to Hackett? Is that the same as a "spokesman"? Or is Brautigam just a loose cannon that Koff and Auster dug up for a quote? Who knows? But one thing is certain: If Paul Hackett is encouraging his "camp" to give newspaper reporters quotes that use words like "indecisiveness", "dishonorable" and "disloyal" to describe other Democratic candidates, then the former Milford City Councilman is not ready for prime time.
Maybe Hackett has a right to be pissed off at Brown. Maybe Brown unwisely promised him personally that he'd stay out of the race and give Hackett his support (as opposed to just making supportive public pronouncements). Maybe Brown failed to call Hackett first when he changed his mind. Maybe this caused Hackett to spend some capital or burn some bridge that he shouldn't have, in retrospect. Maybe Brown owes Hackett a big apology. I don't know.
But Brown does not owe Paul Hackett -- who has never won a major election of any kind -- the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. He does not owe Hackett the top of the Ohio Democratic ticket, in a year when Democrats have a real shot at success. And after today's PD story, I'd say Brown no longer owes Hackett the time of day.
Politics ain't beanbag. If Mr. Hackett and his devotees are convinced that he's the guy to beat Dewine, they can demonstrate it by fighting and winning a statewide primary election. If they don't think they can pull that off -- and it's pretty clear that they don't -- then what makes them think their guy can take Dewine?