I kind of feel sorry for Ohio folks. A good write-up about Hackett/Brown.

As you know, Kos switched sides today to Brown. Hey, I don't really care, you know, I live in Florida. What this does however is show how switching loyalties become confusing how bloggers working for campaigns have so much influence. I posted a link today for the NDN/NPI new media. I have a feeling this is how it will work, perhaps pulling the rug out from under without our knowing it.
http://www.ndnpac.org/npi

DavidNYC has a good write-up of this today at Swing State. He is pretty fair about it. Good luck Ohio, you got lots of folks talking about your candidates.

http://www.swingstateproject.com/2005/10/oh-sen_the_stor.php

"A certain blogger - me, as it happens - noticed the Portman nomination and espied the inevitable open seat and special election that would of necessity ensue. So I wrote about it over at the seminal Democratic blog DailyKos. I didn't view the race as winnable (not at the time, at least), but I did think it would give our side a great opportunity to do some political R&D - to experiment, be bold, hold nothing back. When you've got nothing to lose, you can be as aggressive as you want.

Meanwhile, things began to unfold on the ground in Ohio. The fateful primary election took place on June 14th. The Dems emerged with a man that almost no one had heard of - but he did have an interesting resume. Major Paul Hackett had just returned from serving a tour of duty with the Marines in Iraq - a war, believe it or not, he opposed. Who could speak with more authority - both intellectual and moral - on such an important subject, than someone with a background like that?

It turns out that Paul Hackett was also the sort of blunt, plain-spoken non-politician that so many Democrats had craved for so long. He was Howard Dean in fatigues. To many, Hackett's individual positions weren't nearly as important as his willingness to speak his mind. He definitely didn't vote for anything before he voted against it."

Well, as David points out things they are achanging. Read the rest at the Swing State:
http://www.swingstateproject.com/2005/10/oh-sen_the_stor.php

And incidentally, I don't know the candidates and don't live in Ohio. I am just realizing how all this affects us all.

Sherrod Brown's district is just west of Kucinich's. Lorain, Elyria, North Ridgeville, etc. He's pretty mush as liberal as Kucinich. Very solid on worker and environmental issue. Supports national health care.

He's an experienced fighter, and if I were back in Ohio, I'd probably back him. With over a year before the election, if I were Hackett, I'd move into that district and run for his seat.

I only have opinions on not knowing who is working for whom.

It now includes a large share of Repub dominated suburban Cleveland and Akron. Sherrod has stayed in because he does a good job and is liked by so many. It will be very difficult for a new Dem candidate to come in and raise funds in the district, let alone win it.

We now have two D Congressional seats at risk - Brown's and Strickland's.

Ohio Dems have done an abysmal job of recruiting a farm team of candidates to run for these seats. The outlook for keeping that seat is pretty slim.

And he's probably get the same kind of support he did the last time.

great. What i wonder is who is more capable of winning the seat from DeWine? Is an Iraq veterine who was opposed to the war, is a Democrat and also thought of as independent on some issues (like the 2nd Amendment) in better shape to take on DeWine, or is an experienced congressman with a great (but quite liberal) voting record the guy who can take back the seat?

Anybody have any insight into this?

I live in SW Ohio (not in the OH-02 Congressional District Hackett sought). Sherrod Brown’s most valuable work has been in his principled opposition to neoliberal trade pacts. He was among the leaders in the fight against CAFTA. His book “Myths of free trade : why American trade policy has failed”, New Press, 2004 is an excellent introduction to US trade policy. His website (www.sherrodbrown.com) & a grassroots site he founded (www.growohio.org) give little space to Iraq. I’ve been puzzled by his lack of comment for some time. On domestic issues (labor, healthcare, privacy) he’s great.