Don't be ridiculous. We need a big tent. Would you rather have Ford or the detestable Bob Corker?

He'll vote like Corker so what's the difference?

I get the impression that pacc is not actually a Democrat; he refers to our party as the "Democrat party." All of us who truly ARE Democrats refer to it as the "Democratic party."

And, yes, Harold Ford may not be a liberal voter's dream . . . but that's exactly why he's running so well in Tennessee. Remember, we need our "placeholders" like Ben Nelson, just the way the Republicans need Linc Chafee (although they're going to lose him this November!) Having a big tent is the only path to holding the majority.

I used to think so but I've become convinced far too many Democrats have sold their souls for a majority and so have nothing left of themselves with which to govern. Ford may fit TN. Every time I've heard him, he's been on the other side of every issue I care about so I would be less than true to myself to say I support him. I'm afraid we're going to win and lose because we don't stand for anything.

Sheesh, up here in MN where we elected a proud and true liberal, Wellstone, only 10 years ago and a another liberal, Dayton, only 6 years agon, we've got a scared rabbit candidate who has run a conservative campaign against a hapless Republican. She could have stood for something and she would have won standing for something. She could have picked ONE issue. She could have stood for ONE thing. Instead, she'll win standing for nothing and we can depend on her to stand for nothing as long as she is in the Senate.

Totally unrealistic to care more about country than party, but I think it is the patriotic position. I want candidates who will stand up against the torture bill, against the war, for health care, for the environment and for civil and human rights at home and abroad. And I have a candidate who will stand for NONE of those issues. That's a victory? HA! That's surrendering without a fight, without ever fighting for anything.

What's wrong with you people? Don't you know what's at stake?
Yes, Harold Ford is 'way more conservative than most of us like. He has to be; otherwise, he would not be close to Corker in the polls.
If you think there's no difference between him and Bob Corker, read more.
Corker is a crook and a pathological liar.
I met him last week at a reception; I mainly went to see if my very sensitive BS detector would go off; it never did. I think he's for real.

Yes, and it doesn't matter how conservative he gets does it? He can sell out reproductive rights. He can stand against gay rights. He can support "Patriot" Acts that undermine all civil rights. No matter how right he moves, no matter whose rights he offers up to the right, they still will run racist ads against him. You cannot move far enough to the right to appease them, you only can lose your liberty in the process.

And that's how it starts. Look, we have to go over to the right, grab the "center" and DRAG it back to the l;eft where it belongs.

If we keep chasing the Goopers, they will NEVER move our way.

Get thee to the real world, oh, ye purists. You can rot in hell arguing that the Democrats can't field a candidate, or win a race. And, you WILL rot in hell, because you won't GET YOUR BUTT OUT THERE TO HELP 'EM because they don't fit your idealistic vision of the perfect candidate. Either you do, or you don't support the Democratic Party. If you don't, go work for the Republicans. If you do, go work for the Democrats.

I'm liberal; I support Harold Ford Jr. and I'm working for his campaign to help do all I can to get his vote out there. What's the alternative? BOB "F'ING" CORKER, that's what.

I like that premise. I hope other Democrats will embrace it. We need Democrats to volunteer in local precincts, counties, and states for their candidates. We really need them. But, if they're sitting around posting on blogs that the candidates aren't perfect liberals, it's a waste of their energy.

Get out and pound the pavement, Democrats. We need GOTV help everywhere, and especially in Tennessee.

We've had GOOD DEMS come all the way from Atlanta, Georgia to help campaign for Ford in Chattanooga. It's a great thing to see, and all Dems in the area grow to love each other for their dedication and their selfless work on behalf of their candidate.
There's nothing better than being part of a team of people who BELIEVE that they can make a difference.

Join up. You ARE serving your country, you know.

Aren't there legal remedies available to the Democrats if the GOP knowingly runs false attack ads? They've been alerted that the claims in the ad are false. They're going ahead and trying to run the ads anyway. Isn't that grounds for a multimillion-dollar libel suit?

"All governments lie, but disaster lies in wait for countries whose officials smoke the same hashish they give out." - I.F. Stone

Very true. Those who insist on a party of only "true believers" whether of the left or the right will always be minorities. Coalitions of individuals with similar not identical interests who can win elections, is the only way to effect change. Of course some people prefer being in the minority, always a critic on the outside but never a part of the government.

The difference between Ford and Corker is black and white

Would you care to rephrase that? :-)

Electing power-hungry, freedom-hating, torture-loving Democrats instead of their Republican counterparts degrades the Democratic Party and improves the Republican Party.

Doesn't seem like a good thing to me.

Undoubtedly Ford replacing Frist will improve the scenery in the Senate. That's about it near as I can tell. The symbolism of an African-American from Tennessee is perhaps a powerful benefit but it is not noticeable to me that having Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court is beneficial in any way to those who value an America of rights and freedom under our Constitution.

Best, Terry

These controversial ads have a multiple effect with all the free air time they get. I saw both ads on CNN. This is exactly what the Repubs want. Just running an ad means few people will see it and it costs money. But if it as controversial as these 2 RNC ads against Ford the vlaue gets multiplied as national and local TV and newspapers write about it and the concepts have a better penetration.

IMO, the Dems should not whine about them but attack back saying that Corker and RNC continue to show poor judgement from Iraq to Katrina to making overtly racist attacks. Racist attacks are out there better to counter attack and blunt the damage.

I'm with bluebell ("He'll vote like Corker so what's the difference?") on this one.

I live in Memphis. I've watched Ford's performance on the issues I care about. Ford voted for the Military Commissions Act. He voted for the Iraq debacle. He voted for the bankruptcy "reform" act.... I can't recall that he's ever voted the way I'd want on ANY issue that matters to me.

There is simply NO way that I can, in good conscience, reward Ford with my vote for the Senate, when he has singularly failed to represent ME in the House.

Let me make it clear--I'm not a Democrat (if anything, I'm a social democrat, and we don't have a viable party in this country, alas), and I don't care if the Democratic party wins or loses. I care about who's representing me, and if the Democrats want my vote, let them run a candidate I can vote for in good conscience.

We had such a candidate--Rosalind Kurita, who represented the Clarksville area. Her record on the issues was much more progressive than Ford's, she won elections in a much more conservative area than Memphis. But the DSCC decided to stab her in the back, with the result that she had to drop out of the primary. Well, by subverting the primary process and supporting Ford, the Democratic Party told me to go take a hike. So now I'll tell the Democratic Party the same thing.

No, he won't. He won't be a rubber stamp for Bush, and Dems will take the majority and have tons more power since they will become the committee chairs. They will be able to block bad bills from Bush and investigate all of his cronies.

Only Dems will do any of those things, and they can only do them if they have a majority. If they run liberal candidates in the south, they will never win there and will never be a viable majority. Simple fact.

If you can't tell the difference b/t the Democrats and the GOP after 6 years of Bush and 4 years of total GOP control, then I don't know what to tell you.

Harold Ford only has a prayer b/c he's a moderate Dem. If he was any more liberal than he is, he would be getting crushed.

Thanks for all of your hard work, Tennessean. That's exactly the right attitude, and that's how we're going to take back the majority in Congress and propel a Dem to the presidency in '08.

Very hard for a public figure to win a libel suit due to 1st Amendment.

Yeah, the huge free media multiplier they are getting kills me.

Everyone wants to rubberneck at the car accident. How come the Dems never have controversial ads? (I will say I think Limbaugh may have doomed Talent with the backlash from his ugly comments on McCaskill's Michael J. Fox ad.)

Beg to differ... Harold Ford only has a chance b/c he is running a hypocritical, snake oil campaign... and he's done it again, just today.

To wit:
Harold Ford says, "I do not support the decision today reached by the New Jersey Supreme Court regarding gay marriage. [actually the decision mandates equal protection under the law.] I oppose gay marriage, and have voted twice in Congress to amend the United States Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage. This November there's a referendum on the Tennessee ballot to ban same-sex marriage - I am voting for it."

You tell me, what's the difference between Harold Ford playing on the internalized fears and homophobia of ignorant southern black voters and christians vs. Corker and the Republicans playing on the internalized fears and racism of ignorant southern white voters?

The answer is that there is no difference.

Harold Ford is a snake oil salesman, just as Corker is and Frist was before them. Says a whole lot about the state of Tennessee.

Go Dems in Missouri and Virginia, so we don't need the likes of Ford!

That's why we won't end the war in Iraq or curtail military spending, we won't have universal health care, we won't address global warming, but we will abandon most of the Bill of Rights (not the second, of course).

The party has moved to the right of Richard Nixon and keeps telling me it's "progressive". It's simply moved too far right for me to support many candidates. Why should that be surprising? The powers that be obviously believe its worth the risk of losing votes on the left and so far they are right and so they will move farther right -- but it won't be with my vote.

I am happy to have an African-American Muslim on my ballot and he may well be the first Muslim elected to Congress. And he's not afraid to be liberal! Hope the radical centrist Democrats won't throw him out of the big tent.

I'll just take one issue I pulled directly off his web site. He's not a liberal he's a Neo-Dem.   The following is DLC boilerplate Neo-Demspeak.   Think about what he's saying - we need to move to a system where adults are responsible for getting their own health insurance.  We already have that system!!!! That's  why we have 46 million uninsured Americans.  He's not "giving" anybody anything.  He's not providing health CARE to anyone.  He's just ordering you to go buy an insurance policy.  You have to read the fine print on these guys-read what follows after the "but only".   Big Daddy orders you to go do something and if you don't do it, it's your fault.  Just blame the victim stuff.  Lose your job?  Can't afford a health care policy?  Have to choose between paying the mortgage and paying the insurance premium? Well, sucker, we are going to deny you health care.  If you are sick and are uninsured you will have to come down and beg to Big Daddy and he'll decide whether they foreclose on your house or you get treated for diabetes. 

In Europe, health care is a RIGHT.  To Neo-Dems it is a RESPONSIBILITY you know, survival of the fittest, row your own boat, fend for yourself conservatism all dressed up under a "progressive" label.   That's a huge philosophical difference and it is the difference between a good liberal social Democrat who believes in UNIVERSAL health CARE and a conservative who believes in UNIVERSAL health INSURANCE (and insurance companies).

– we need to move to a system where adults accept responsibility to obtain coverage for themselves and their children. In short, it is time to give universal healthcare coverage, but only if people are willing to accept universal responsibility.

Classic Clintonism.  It's like "welfare reform".  Liberals wanted to get rid of POVERTY.  New Democrats want to get rid of WELFARE.   Well, conservatives wanted to get rid of welfare too.  What we don't have anymore is any party that is for getting rid of poverty.

Anyway, not to blame Ford.  He's merely signed up with the New Democrats and I expect they'll rule the roost.  But they are not in any way liberals.  Their philosophy is conservative.  We now have two conservative political parties. And at least a few of us aren't going to deliberately vote on the opposite side of the philosophical divide.