Hackett drops the f-bomb on Brown

Indian Hill’s Paul Hackett isn’t on the Senate campaign trail anymore, but he’s still raising money for Democratic candidates – and throwing barbs at former primary rival Sherrod Brown, a longtime congressman from northern Ohio.

The lanky Iraq war veteran drove his pick-up truck to Washington this week to help launch a new political action committee that aims to raise millions of dollars for Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans.

“Hopefully, I’ll have more success in raising money for the PAC than I did for my Senate campaign,” Hackett joked to reporters earlier today.

Hackett dropped out of Ohio's U.S. Senate race last month, saying the same Democratic leaders in Washington who had recruited him to challenge vulnerable GOP incumbent Sen. Mike DeWine of Cedarville, turned against him after Brown entered the Democratic primary.

Hackett, who gained national attention for his narrow loss to Rep. Jean Schmidt in the Republican-leaning 2nd Congressional District special election last year, refused to challenge her – or run for political office – again, but said he’d like to remain active on the political scene.

The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America PAC gives him that opportunity. Hackett joined this week the group’s board, which also includes 2004 Democratic presidential hopeful Wesley Clark, a retired general in the U.S. Army, and Bob Kerrey, a former U.S. senator and governor of Nebraska.

The PAC is planning a fundraiser tonight at a private home in Georgetown, featuring Clark and Hackett and hosted by Lynne Wasserman, the daughter of the late movie mogul Lew Wasserman who previously held a fundraiser at her Beverly Hills home for Hackett’s Senate bid.

Cost to attend: $250 to $5,000 per person.

“As long as they can pay the airfare, I’ll run around and raise money,” Hackett said of the PAC. He’s amazed, it seems, that people still flock to see him. “It just blows my mind,” he said with a big grin. “It’s kind of embarrassing.”

Hackett also plans to help the six candidates that the PAC has endorsed, which include Iraq war veteran and Hackett friend Andrew Horne, who is running against Republican Rep. Anne Northrup in Kentucky’s Third District.

“I’m definitely going to hit the road for any of them,” Hackett said. “Some of them want me. Some of them need me. Some of them don’t want me, and I’m sensitive to that.”

Some Democrats don’t want Hackett’s help?

Believe it or not, but Hackett says he’s actually has earned a reputation for being “outspoken” and “bullheaded.”

No!

Hackett, on Congress: “There’s no accountability. It’s like lemmings going off a cliff.”

On Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who was first elected to a public office at the age of 23: “Now you tell me, what the hell kind of experience did he have?”

On the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which is charged with helping the party field House candidates: “The DCCC supports you as long as things look good, and when things don’t look good, they quietly walk away.”

On an exit strategy for the Iraq war: “Spreading Democracy and defeating the evil-doers? Give me a break. What kind of absolutely moronic goal is ‘defeat the evil-doers’? Defeating the evil-doers is not a strategy and it’s not a military goal.”

On what it was really like to run for the Senate, after running for the House: “The Senate race was 10 times as much money, 10 times as much travel, 10 times as much bull----.”

On his former Senate primary opponent: “F--- Sherrod.”

Excuse me?

“So I don’t like Sherrod Brown? Big deal. People have got to get over that,” Hackett said, adding that he still plans to vote for Brown.

But … what language!

“It feels good to be able to say that now. No more, ‘Oh, you can’t use the f-bomb,’” Hackett said with a chuckle, adding that more politicians shouldn’t be afraid to speak their mind.

Brown’s campaign press secretary, Joanna Kuebler, declined to comment.