Hackett Compares Republicans to bin Laden

Democratic US Senate candidate Paul Hackett compared the so-called "right wing" of the Republican Party to terrorist Osama bin Laden on Monday in comments made to The Columbus Dispatch. Hacket was referencing the divisive battle over gay marriage in the country and called actions to implement gay marriage bans "un-American." 2004's "Issue 1" was approved overwhelmingly by voters and was added an amendment to Ohio's state consitution, defining marriage only as a union between a man and a woman. Hacket's most controversial remarks came in regards to religious conservatives who vote Republican.

Hackett said, "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."

In an e-mail message sent out today, 01/18, Ohio Republican Chairman Bob Bennett demanded an absolute apology from Hackett over the bin Laden comparison but Hackett refused. Hackett replied, "I said it. I meant it. I stand behind it."