cross posted at
www.democracyinalbany.com
Must be something in the water in DC but for some reason they don't get why people connect with someone like Paul Hackett(I'm looking at you, Schumer). He was honest and he didn't pander. He was in the Marines and despite being a rich lawyer and having a wife and kids he VOLUNTEERED to go to Iraq. That gave him the right to call his commander in chief a son of a bitch if he chose to do so. And he did. Go do a tour in Fallujah if you disagree with him and get back to me. Here is some of what Hackett has said:
Hackett's scorching rhetoric earned him notoriety and cash on the campaign trail. He declared that people who opposed gay marriage were "un-American." He said the Republican party had been hijacked by religious extremists who he said "aren't a whole lot different than Osama bin Laden." Bloggers loved him, donors ponied up, while Democratic Party insiders grumbled that he wasn't "senatorial."
Now, lets see what someone who is "senatorial" sounds like.
"[Hillary]Clinton opposes same-sex marriage"
Calling Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., "a complete disappointment" because of her opposition to same sex marriage, the director of the Empire State Pride Agenda will not participate in a March 10 fundraiser hosted by several of her gay supporters.
People liked Hackett because he was honest and willing to fight for what he believed in instead of pandering to a group that they didn't agree with just so they could get to a higher office. This is also why people like Eliot Spitzer. And why Republicans call him a bully and are scared shitless of him and will be spending lots of money to try to get Tom Suozzi to beat him in a primary. I consider him honest and someone willing to prosecute rich criminals. Both are rare in today's society (which is also why I won't be surprised when his "small plane crashes in upstate new york while campaigning"). Back to Hackett
Hackett, who says he would still like to help "retool" the Democratic Party, ends his meteoric political career with some advice for other maverick candidates. "They simply can't rely on any of the party infrastructure to help them, and they must assume that people at high levels will work against them. These guys," he says of the party insiders, "view the Senate as a club. They're not gonna welcome you if one day they turn the key on the clubhouse door and you are sitting there with your feet on the table flippin' them the middle finger. I understand that from their perspective. It works for them, but not for the rest of us out here."
Not for the rest of out here. Senator Clinton, consider this bird flipped.