Open Letter to Paul Hackett

Paul Hackett, an Iraqi War Veteran, was attempting to run for US Senate in Ohio, as a dark-horse, outside the envelope candidate, whose primary platform was bring the boys home. Today, he succumbed to Democratic Party pressure and bowed out of the race. Gary Hart even criticized his own party over abandoning this candidate.

Telling Paul Hackett that he cannot run for the Senate, and purportedly calling contributors to dry up his funds, is the worse kind of old politics. It will drive voters away from the supposedly "open" party, the Democrats, and further add to public cynicism about how politics in America is played in the early 21st century.

Once I heard about this outrageous actions of the democratic party, I sent Mr. Hackett the following message via his website :

Dear Mr. Hackett,

I was disappointed to hear today that you pulled out of the race for the United States Senator in Ohio. It is more troubling, that you were asked (forced) to withdraw from the race, by the leaders of the Democratic National Party. It seems the days of back room political horse trading is still alive and well. They are obviously still stuck in the old ways and unable or unwilling to embrace change and new individuals with new ideals, and now the entire country will be weaker because of this.

I would like to commend you on our efforts, having raised awareness to your candidacy, obtaining a national following, and building a grass roots foundation for your campaign. It is a sad commentary that this country had only two political parties, and you have been asked to step aside for another candidate that is more qualified. I doubt the founding fathers intended for our country to be run in this manner.

I would like to point out and question a statement you made on your press release today, when you withdrew from the race. You request to "remember that we must retool our party". I unfortunately must disagree with you. It seems the Democratic Party and its current leadership is beyond retooling, and is only interested in the status quo. In order to win back our country, the people need a national leader to step up and say this is unacceptable. This country is of the people, and for the people, not for the incumbent career politician, and both parties have lost sight of this ideal. I would therefore request that you not withdraw from the public spotlight, but rather help develop a new political party, that will address the needs to the middle of America, not the extremes where the current parties prefer to play.

I would like to wish you well in your future endeavors, but don't be in such a hurry to leave the public spotlight. I believe the American people need a leader to step up and ask the tough questions. Good luck in your future endeavors.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Herz