In March 2005, Paul Hackett had just finished his military tour in Iraq. He had been transported to Kuwait and was sitting in a comfortable lounge chair with a hot cup of coffee. Hackett then turned on the television to watch an independent news channel, something to which the troops in Iraq are not treated.
When his eyes focused on the lead story, Hackett couldn't believe what he saw. On this news channel, a debate ensued over the fate of a woman named Terry Schiavo. A war was going on, a war to which Hackett had just given months of his life and in which Americans are dying every day, and Schiavo had a strangle hold on news networks. It was then that Hackett decided something had to change in the United States.
Hackett knew he couldn't just sit around the dinner table with his family and complain about things. He had to get elected and enact change himself.
Hackett spoke at the Athens Community Center, 701 E. State St., on Saturday, emphasizing the changes he wants to make in the Democratic Party as well as the importance of the long-forgotten voter in southern Ohio.
Hackett is running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Mike DeWine, R-Ohio. Hackett did not mention DeWine in Saturday's speech and barely touched on his opponent for the Democratic primary, Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.
Instead, Hackett spoke about the vulnerability of Republicans and the Democrats' opportunity to gain disenfranchised Republicans.
Moderate Republicans know their party has been hijacked by religious fanatics
Hackett said.
Primarily, Hackett said, these moderate Republicans in southern Ohio are more important to elections than most give them credit for. There seems to be a misconception, Hackett said, that if Democrats get into office, they push for 2nd Amendment restrictions. Therefore, most of the voters in southern Ohio vote for Republicans so their guns will be safe. Although the Democrats are notorious for gun control, Hackett said he will not be in favor of unnecessary legislation dealing with firearms.
We're not going to take your guns away Hackett said.
Kyle Smiddie, 23, of Pomeroy, recently conducted a study of people with low incomes and why they don't participate in politics.
Smiddie stationed himself in Laundromats in southeastern Ohio, he said, because he could sample a variety of people from the area with a wide span of opinions.
If you want to get a good idea of people in an area Smiddie told Hackett, sit in a Laundromat for a few hours.
Smiddie said he talked to many people who were simply apathetic toward politics. He came to the event because he said he was interested in what Hackett had to say about these rural voters.
Hackett's spokesman, Karl Frisch, said Hackett's campaign trail has led him through major Ohio cities, including a stop in Cleveland in a few days.
But throughout all these cities, Hackett said, his message will remain constant.
I owe my country something more than just paying taxes
Hackett said.
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Paul Hackett visited Athens on Saturday to explain his motives and goals for the Democratic Party at the Athens Community Center. Hackett is running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Mike DeWine, R-Ohio. Hackett also is a veteran of the Iraq war,
