Hackett said ... what?

Ohio Republican Party Chairman Bob Bennett called Monday for Indian Hill lawyer Paul Hackett, who is running as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate, to publicly apologize for "hateful and incendiary remarks about people of faith" that he made recently to The Columbus Dispatch.

Ouch.

So, what did Hackett say?

Here's an excerpt from the article that quotes Hackett:

With succinct coherence, Hackett said: "I'm pro-choice, I'm pro-gay-rights, I'm pro-gun-rights. Call me nuts, but I think they're all based on the same principle and that is we don't need government dictating to us how we live our private lives."

Asked to define being pro-gay-rights, Hackett said anybody who tries to deny homosexuals the same rights, including marriage, as every other citizen is un-American. Are you saying, he was asked, that the 62 percent of Ohioans who voted in November 2004 to constitutionally deny same-sex marriages are un-American?

"If what they believe is that we're going to have a scale on judging which Americans have equal rights, yeah, that's un-American. They've got to accept that. It's absolutely un-American."

Hackett called DeWine a "professional politician" who "is all over the map on issues," and who's afraid to stand up to the "radical religious fundamentalists" controlling the GOP. At that point, Hackett's candor went on steroids.

The Republican Party has been hijacked by the religious fanatics that, in my opinion, aren't a whole lot different than Osama bin Laden and a lot of the other religious nuts around the world," he said. "The challenge is for the rest of us moderate Americans and citizens of the world to put down the fork and spoon, turn off the TV, and participate in the process and try to push back on these radical nuts - and they are nuts."

Bennett said in a release e-mailed to reporters on Monday that Hackett accused the overwhelming majority of Ohioans of being "un-American" because they voted to support a constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage. He condemned Hackett’s remarks and called on his counterpart, Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern, to join him in denouncing the intolerance and demanding a public apology.

Bennett: "Paul Hackett's attempt to compare Christian conservatives to terrorists is abhorrent and completely inappropriate. These intolerant views have no place in the public debate, and I hope his fellow Democrats reject this divisive hate speech. Hackett has shown repeatedly that he will say or do anything to get attention, and it's unfortunate that views like his are embraced by the Democratic Party. I think, Mr. Hackett, you've once again proven who the real 'radical nut' is."

Repeatedly?

Last year, when Hackett was running against Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Miami Township, for the 2nd Congressional District, he said Bush was a greater threat to U.S. security than al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Asked about that statement by USA Today, Hackett said: "I've said that I don't like the son-of-a-b---- that lives in the White House but I'd put my life on the line for him."