Hackett endorses Kucinich's primary challenger

Well, this is kind of interesting.

In my ancestral home of Ohio, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D), who's running for president again, is facing a primary challenge from Rosemary Palmer, a former teacher whose son was killed in Iraq in 2005.

Cincinnati attorney Paul Hackett, who was something of a darling of the netroots when he first mounted a run for the U.S. Senate, only to drop out after then-Rep. Sherrod Brown entered the race (Brown eventually won), has endorsed Palmer.

Hackett's involvement in Palmer's race "adds instant credibility," says Anthony Fossaceca, Palmer's campaign manager. It tells voters that she's serious and that, like Hackett, she's willing to go against the grain, he says.

"And it means a lot more now coming from Paul," Fossaceca says, "who doesn't do many of these."

Apparently Hackett's endorsement arises out of remarks Kucinich made to him when he was running for Congress two years ago. According to Hackett:

"[Kucinich] started his conversation off, which was pretty much a unilateral conversation, him to me while I was driving in my car in the 2nd Congressional District, by saying 'I would rather see Jean Schmidt get elected to Ohio's 2nd Congressional District than you. Because you are wrong on Iraq, you fought in Iraq, you're a Democrat in name only,' and a host of other issues."

And Hackett's response to Kucinich?

"Unbelieveably, really not anything," Hackett said today, saying he figured that "any sort of in-your-face on my part wasn't going to do anything for me."

Hackett was talking today as part of his endorsement for Rosemary Palmer, who is running against Kucinich in next year's Democratic primary. Hackett got to know Palmer and her husband after her 23-year-old son, Lance Cpl. Edward "Augie" Schroeder II, was killed in Iraq.

Hackett said he concluded that Kucinich, a longshot peace candidate for president, was so driven by a singular agenda that he was unwilling to work with others, even those who might help with solutions.

As much as we in the DFH wing of the Democratic Party may like Kucinich, it seems that his act may be wearing thin in his own congressional district.* I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say that Dennis is a one-issue candidate, but there's definitely one issue that takes -- and holds -- precedence with him.

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* However, he has a smoking hot wife, which makes up for a lot of deficiencies.