What's Next For Ford? Challenge To Lamar? CNN Talk Show?
So what's next for Harold Ford, Jr., now that his surprisingly strong challenge to GOP Senator-elect Bob Corker earned him national attention?
Sources tell Election Central that Ford is mulling a range of options, from a challenge to GOP Senator Lamar Alexander in 2008 to a possible talk show on CNN. The network has contacted Ford to discuss a possible on-air role, a source says.
A senior adviser to Ford says an Alexander challenge is "unlikely," because it would be a massive uphill struggle, but says it remains possible. "The typical Democratic performance in Tennessee is 43%, and we showed we can move the ball to 48%," the adviser says. "But Alexander has 30 years of good-will built up in Tennessee. The Alexander brand is strong. And the negativity thrown at Ford would be enormous, just as it was this time around. Ford had seven negative ads running against him at one time."
"I think it's accurate to say all options are on the table and no options are off," the adviser continues. "It's unlikely that he would challenge Lamar, but it's possible. He doesn't know what he wants to do."
A CNN talk show is also a possibility. On the morning after Ford's defeat on Election Day, CNN contacted Ford to explore the possibility of his becoming a talk show host, according to a source familiar with the discussions. "CNN's talent division contacted him three times before 10 A.M.," the source says. (A CNN spokesperson couldn't immediately be reached for comment.)
Ford is 36 years old.
Ford could be the pretend liberal on CNN or FoxNews better than most conservatives they choose to play the part. Who can doubt Ford is a great actor?
Best, Terry
November 11, 2006 2:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
Talk show on CNN would be my vote. He can do that and still decide if he wants to run for something later in his life. He should enjoy his "good looking" years while he can. He could be the next Sanjay Gupta or Anderson Cooper. Go for it Harold, the world is your oyster:)
November 11, 2006 3:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
He could be the one to tell Pelosi and Reid that they're being "naughty" whenever they conduct appropriate checks and balances on Bush.
November 11, 2006 3:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's too bad a challenge to Lamar seems so remote although I like the man.
(Many years ago, I attended a dinner in Nashville featuring several authors when Alexander had written "Six Months Off". The wonderfully frank Studs Terkel left Alexander a bit speechless when he deemed him one heck of a nice guy "for a Rpeublican". )
Lamar certainly is a popular figure in TN poltitics. He's moderate, affable, intelligent - but he's been all but invisible for several years. (Although I don't watch the local news very often, I don't recall anything about him in the local
paper in a long time, save for his support of Bob Corker and that he expects to be the new Minority Whip.)
And maybe it's just me, but he doesn't look healthy to me. Perhaps that's just his age creeping up on him.
And I'm still mad as hell about the way Corker and the GOP campaigned against Ford.
They may have shifted enough voters to win but I know a lot of people from all political views who were extremely upset about the sleaziness and low-ball use of racism in the ads.
Ford has a lot of gifts, obviously. There are things he could work on as well. He can be extremely articulate and attractive in his directness and he can be just too, too slick.
November 11, 2006 3:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe he could go somewhere for 10 years, say, maybe get a real job and do some growing up. Maybe he could go into psychotherapy and exlore why it is that, as a minority group member, he feels the need to demonize and discriminate against other minority group members. And in the process, maybe he could also learn that politics and religion don't mix - no matter how much of a Reublican he tries to pretend to be. Then, maybe then, little Harry Ford might find there are a few more people who would be willing to take the risk to vote for him.
November 11, 2006 3:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, and that because of it, Democrats are "doomed to defeat."
November 11, 2006 3:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
I wish we could stop all of this Ford bashing. Yes, he is a conservative, one of the few actual conservatives running as a Democrat. He made some rather amateurish mistakes. But judging by the results, he helped us in making the Democratic brand more acceptable to socially conservative voters.
As for his future, I don't want to see him as Chairman of the Democratic party. However, a few years as a pundit on CNN would do him and the Democratic Party some good. Since he is not a liberal firebrand, he would be a counterpoint to the image of black Democrats as clones of Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson.
As for another try at the Senate, it could come sooner than we expect. Remember, Corker has a flock of legal problems that could get worse. There is nothing on the horizon yet that could force him out of office. But given his tendency to push the legal envelope in his past business dealings, it could happen.
November 11, 2006 3:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ford wants to be President. Why wouldn't he run for Governor in 2010, when Bredesen is term-limited? He could get some executive experience. And Tennesseeans who might not want to send a Democrat to the Senate would have less reason to oppose Ford for governor.
Sheldon Whitehouse's win shows that voters will vote against someone they like because they understand the importance of which party has a majority in the Senate.
November 11, 2006 4:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
If he doesn't run for statewide office during the '08 cycle, he will likely be offered the opportunity to become a Cabinet Secretary in the incoming Democratic Administration.
November 11, 2006 4:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
I wish we would stop all this bashing of the opinions of people who do not accept Harry Ford's anti-gay and anti-immigrant policies, nor his religiosity in the public square.
You should expect that everytime disenfranchised people are trampled on (especially for somebody else's politic gain) that there will be a push back. Just because somebody is black and from the south doesn't get them a pass.
If Ford doesn't do some growing up, he will face an even larger firestorm in any future efforts, and the controversy will sink him then, too.
Ford tried the same-old, same-old DLC republican lite approach, and it failed - as it rightly should have. The reality is the country just elected a CENTER-LEFT Democratic majority, no matter how the mainstream media (or certain bloggers like rzh) try to spin it.
November 11, 2006 4:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
I am not bashing Ford and I see no reason to do so.
Whether he really is as conservative as he makes himself out to be, or simply makes himself out that way in order to win elections, I think of him as one among several Democrats who don't agree with me on everything. I don't have a problem with that.
He did very well in a Republican state that still has problems with the notion that all persons are equal. I would hope that he stay there and help to build an effective state party organization.
A CNN show is another matter, though. What would we be getting? A smarter, younger Joe Klein? Another guy to play the role of "But Some Democrats Say?"
The liberals in the Democratic Party and the voters who support them have no representation on cable TV and their appearances on the talking head shows are rare and routinely marginalized. If CNN wants to boost their viewers, they ought to have a real lefty host a show. But that's just me dreaming.
November 11, 2006 5:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Even if he does run and lose in 2008, he could get offered a post ... think about the good that he can do just by forcing the Republicans to spend millions to defend Tennessee.
First thing he has to do if he wants to run against Lamar is to get married. Same thing if he wants to run for Governor, though that gives him a longer time frame for the wedding. It is, after all, Tennessee, were something like 51% of the electorate are evangelical Christians ... its the strap and buckle of the Bible Belt. Nobody thinks that a well presented 30 year Congressman has been living like a monk, which is one of the things that the famous "call me" attack ad was hitting.
Second, he needs to build national credibility on an issue that can appeal to the broader nationwide activist base while also being appealing in Tennessee. What comes to my mind is Energy Independence, which he included as a campaign issue. I get the vague impression that he could put a bit more depth to good use, and it is certainly an issue that can be easily twisted into a grab bag of welfare for megacorps without any serious benefit to national productivity and security.
November 11, 2006 5:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
I could never vote for Ford. Period. As a Jew and a liberal, I find his constant references to "my Lord Jesus Christ" deeply offensive. I can't stand that stuff when Joe Lieberman does it. I can't stand it when Christian rightwingers do it. All Ford's calculated piety didn't win him the election while secular types like Jim Webb won even in a state like Virginia. I'm not sorry he lost.
"I am God fearing second amendment supporting and as I said before I like girls and I like football…You don't have to worry about me e-mailing little boy pages on the Senate floor…Politics is way to puny for the Jesus I serve and Love… The real guiding force in this race is my Lord and Savior. I serve a big God. I serve an enormously big God."—TN Senate candidate Harold Ford on various MSNBC interviews. Here's the link.
November 11, 2006 6:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ugh, don't give him a CNN show. As others have suggested, he would pretty obviously be another Cable talk fake Democrat who always agrees with the Republicans. I'm fine with Ford running for elective office, and I don't mind that I don't agree with him on everything, but does anybody doubt that he would be an awful TV fake democrat?
November 11, 2006 8:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
I, too, am a Jewish liberal, and I agree 100%, M.J. Harold Ford is a DINO. Don't get me wrong-- I believe in expanding the Democratic brand in red states. But there is a difference between expanding the brand-- e.g. running candidates whose images, histories, and positions on SOME issues deviate from the coastal-liberal stereotype that has become entrenched in the collective consciousness, a la Jon Tester or Jim Webb-- and running a complete DINO. Let's see, Ford is anti-abortion, anti-gay, anti-stem cell, and every other word out of his mouth is "Jesus?" And this guy is a Democrat how, exactly? Well, I understand that he comes from a long line of Democrats in Memphis (much the way Linc Chafee came from a long line of Republicans in Rhode Island.) But we didn't need another Ben Nelson type in the Senate. As evidenced by our victories in Montana, Missouri, and Virginia, we can win in red states, running candidates with REAL progressive positions on the issues. We won't win by trying to be just like the Republicans, and Harold Ford's loss proves it!
November 11, 2006 9:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yup. Ford might have had his advantages over Corker, especially in regards to the Dems taking the senatie --- but he's STILL a weirdo religious extremist who has a point of view of the world that is way outside of the mainstream, if you define the mainstream as "people who can deal with reality without having to resport to "god" as an answer.
thosethingswesay.blogspot.com
November 11, 2006 9:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
On the other hand, if your definition of the mainstream is meant to exclude evangelical Christians, that would be a narrow majority of the Tennessee population that is outside of the mainstream.
November 11, 2006 9:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
I understand what you're saying but in this part of the country, the whole separation of Church and State is sort of a hazy concept. Its common for football games and county commission meetings to start with Christian prayers. The only way for a candidate to win office in this environment is to make it clear he or she is a religious person (a Jewish candidate could win-- if they sound a lot like Joe Lieberman).
Ford had to turn up the volume because of race. Since he's ethnically different from the white Christian majority, he had to emphasize, in a way that a white Southerner like Webb doesn't have to, what he does have in common with most of the TN electorate-- his outspoken Christianity.
I wish it were otherwise, but unless you want to write off Southern seats, its the only way to have a shot with voters who place their religious identity above their economic interests. If you do write off these seats on principle, by default, you're left with public officials who are are even more right wing in terms of both religious tolerance and social justice.
November 11, 2006 11:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, I know I'm being a jerk. I'm an atheist, the vast majority of people not only in Tennessee, but in America at large, are exactly the opposite. They believe in God and even in angels. I'm NOT in the mainstream and shouldn't pretend to be.
However, I do think there's a real mainstream, in most regions of America and perhaps in Tennessee, who could be persuaded that having a belief in God shouldn't necessarily inform policy.
I think you rightly called me out for posting like an A**hole. I seriously WAS being an A***hole and I almost deleted my post at the last minute. Perhaps I should have.
But I do believe that there's a mainstream out there that will support wise policy without regard to theology. Sorry for my earlier stridency and I hope this clarifies where I'm coming from when I think before I click.
thosethingswesay.blogspot.com
November 12, 2006 12:29 AM | Reply | Permalink
Politicians who constantly feel they need to publically sing the praises of the Lord God they should maybe switch professions and become either a priest, minister or rabbi...
The depth of people's faith doesn't impress me as credentials to be a politician. Take Tom DeLay...he claimed to be a VERY religious man in public.
November 12, 2006 12:36 AM | Reply | Permalink
Sadly, though, the "depth of faith," seems to impress a lot of people. Ford always struck me as creepy and untrustworthy because of his faith -- I supported him, but never had much hope that if he'd won, he'd stand up for people's social liberties -- a lot of what I define as social liberties, Ford would call "sin," after all.
Still... I can't think of a proclaimed atheist, or even agnostic, nationally elected political figure. We're still not at the point where a person can get elected without at least claiming to have some faith or belief in a Christian-style god.
www.thosethingswesay.blogspot.com
November 12, 2006 2:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
You're absolutely right, especially as regards Tennessee. But, it's more than that... a candidate can't win a national election in even the most safe, blue, state if they don't express some belief in a Christian-style god. The first Muslim entered the Senate this time around (and that's a big step for diversity and a big deal). But there are still no outspoken atheists or even agnostics in the bunch.
thosethingswesay.blogspot.com
November 12, 2006 2:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
I go with Ron: run for governor in 2010. In the meantime, he should be doing advocacy work on economic issues that benefit middle-class and poor Tennesseeans.
Put that Christian faith to work in exemplary ways that Christ modelled, not on the divisive issues used by evangelicals. (follow the John Edwards course) Keep his name in the news as a commentator and public speaker along the way.
In other words, lead Tennessee to the BlueLand. He's young and has plenty of time to pursue political aspirations. The South can evolve, and the younger demographics display that in places like TN, and Ford should be poised for the future. In short, patience, and strategy will secure his political future. A 4 year break from public office is his best course now.
Kevin Hayden
November 12, 2006 5:14 AM | Reply | Permalink
I dunno about talk news tv being a bad thing. Right now, he's the black Joe Lieberman; on CNN or MSNBC, he could be the black Joe Scarborough.
(Speaking of Scarborough, as a viewer, I do to him what I did to Cosby when watching Olbermann. Since he isn't nearly as comfortable - or confident - in front of a camera as Keith, he always looks and acts like the follow-on act. Which means I already tune out/change channels if I hadn't already after WPOTD. Multiply that by several tens of thousands, and you realize how Rita Cosby got cancelled last June.)
Truth be told, Steve Cohen will be a far more effective congressman for the Tennessee 9th than Ford. Distinguished career in the Tennessee General Assembly, past several sessions as a state senator, he will be much more attune and conscientious to the needs of Shelby Co. While Corker is now revealed to be a crook and insensitive mayor; Ford has always been the opportunist. In the long run, Tennessee is far better off.
November 12, 2006 8:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
Good Lor... grief, you read a far harder critique in my reply than I was trying to put into it.
I think that it is clear that there is an urban mainstream where secular humanists and humanist Christians are able to work together in support of the common good without strong reference to the source of their believe that working in support of the common good is worthwhile, and without stumbling on whether health and hunger and education are more critical issues than gay marriage and flag burning and whether or not to spend 3 minutes in the morning in a school prayer.
However, there has always been a rural and small town mainstream where public professions of Christian faith are expected of politicians, because of the large portion of the population that does not trust a person who refuses to conform with social norms by not attending a Christian church. Add to that the barren emptiness of outer suburban society that has fueled the growth of "megachurches", and it makes a second mainstream, which the radical right tapped into like a leach.
November 12, 2006 9:03 AM | Reply | Permalink
However, it should be noted that Ford beat the odds by about 5%, in a state that is about 43% Democratic. I think that if he had been married, he may well have won.
November 12, 2006 9:14 AM | Reply | Permalink
Your not alone in treating Countdown and Scarborough Country that way ... according to the October 2006 Weekday Ranker (pdf) on mediabistro, Countdown had a rating of 0.6, for MSNBC's top rating show, with Hardball and Scarborough Country both rating 0.4. In October 2005, Rita Cosby, Countdown, and Hardball each had a rating of 0.4.
November 12, 2006 9:20 AM | Reply | Permalink
Not sure where you live: is it Tennessee? If not, then you might want to remember who Ford's Tennessee constituents really are.
I, too, am a Jew and a liberal. I live in Louisiana now (after growing up in Detroit). And I know one thing: if you think a politician is bad, you ought to take a look at his constituents.
Cut Ford a break, OK? He's still better than any Republican in Tennessee.
November 12, 2006 11:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
Perhaps Ford is better than any GOPer. But I would have found it painful to see an African-American Democratic Senator talking about Jesus and talking nasty about gays, etc, at the very moment that it appears that the Jesus wave is receding.
I'm a Democrat but losing a Republican secular liberal like Chafee in RI to pick up a holy roller (fake as I assume his piety is) would have been a bad trade.
(I don't know that Ford's religiosity is fake. I may be giving him more credit than he deserves).
November 12, 2006 4:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ford is far more conservative than I am, but has to be in Tennessee. Seems to me that he could have won last Tuesday if it hadn't been possible for the Repugs to paint him as a "player" with a lust for white "girls." My advice would be for him to find a nice, fertile Christian lady with a similar skin tone to marry and then produce a cute kid or two before the next election.
November 12, 2006 7:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
He shouldn't do a show, by the way, unless he's really done with politics. A regular cable commentary show just provides the host with too many (often unavoidable) opportunities to say things that would be used against them in an electiion.
Can't say I like Ford much (though I was pulling for him against Corker) but I can say that he shouldn't get into cable news unless he's really ready to chuck running for office in favor of becomning a pundit.
Anyone who wants to run for a major office should remember that while a cable gig guarantees name recognition, it also guarantees footage for your opponent. That's why most cable pundits are already retired from electoral politics.
thosethingswesay.blogspot.com
November 12, 2006 7:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
I really have no problem with people of faith personally. I just feel uncomfortable with politicians using the elected position as a Bully Pulpit to spread their religious beliefs. Whether it is Ford, Lieberman, Santorum or Coburn.
I watched Joe Lieberman's speech on Tuesday night and all of the professing of his devotion to God had me literally squirming in my seat. Give unto God what is God's and give unto Caesar what is Caesar's. If there is a God I don't think he/she/it has a need to have his/her's/it's power codified by politicians in the US government, lol...
November 12, 2006 7:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
I dunno - 2 years is a long time, and if the GOP is in as bad a way as I suspect it is, come 2008 we may see a rash of retirements from people who know they're never going to see a majority or a Chairmanship again. Lamar has been in this for a pretty long time. It's bald speculation, but an open seat where Lamar retires is something that would seem mighty attractive to me for Ford, and in a year with a strong Dem at the top of the ticket (i.e. not Hillary), he could close the deal, I suspect. All of this I'm speculating off of John Warner's expected retirement, as well as a few others already in the wind. In which case a pleasant spot for a year or two on CNN as a "policy analyst" or some such might be just what Ford needs to have face time with no longer term commitment.
November 12, 2006 9:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why? Many people of strong faith are opposed to deviant sexual behavior based on their faith. So why are you throwing race up in the mix? Why does Ford's race make it painful for him to talk "nasty" about gays, anymoreso than Santorum, Webb or others not of his race? Please do not tell me you are conflating racial discrimination with deviant sexual behavior.
Are you just as put-off by references to God, or only to JC? Are you put-off by all the God references by our founding fathers, and those in the Constitution are you challenged by financial (in God we trust) piety?
November 13, 2006 6:38 AM | Reply | Permalink
I guess you are happy about Bob Corker's victory, which leaves us with Joe "I hope it doesn't come to [leaving the Dems]" Lieberman as the swing vote in the Senate.
Unfortunately, liberals aren't going to win in TN. Big tent parties make majorities.
I disagree with some of his tactics and things that he said, but we still need him in our party.
November 13, 2006 3:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
That's not a good recipe for winning in TN.
November 13, 2006 3:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
No one watches shows hosted by moderates.
I just can't see him as a TV host or political analyst.
He should work for a business just to get some experience and make some money outside politics. Rahm Emanuel can give him some tips on how to do it (he was an investment banker for a few years in b/t working for Clinton and running for the House).
November 13, 2006 3:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ford's loss proves nothing of the sort.
We barely won in the three states you mentioned. If not for the war and Bush's incompetence, that's a recipe for a Republican Senate majority.
It's far different having a Lieberman in rock-solid blue CT than a Ford from rock-solid red TN.
November 13, 2006 3:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
You mean the House (Keith Ellison in MN).
November 13, 2006 3:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think you need to distinguish between words and deeds. Talking about religious beliefs doesn't harm anyone. Forcing your beliefs on others by interfering with separation of church and state is a different issue.
November 13, 2006 3:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
What reason is there to assume his faith is fake?
November 13, 2006 3:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Great post. I totally agree.
A Northern Virginia demographic shift could easily take place over the coming years.
November 13, 2006 3:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
I suppose, but I really can't see him as a political analyst. In a way, it's lose-lose, as either people say he's just like every other Dem, only less forceful b/c he's a moderate, or else they say he's a fake Dem.
November 13, 2006 3:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Let's back up a bit on this 43% Democratic state.
Tennessee has 9 US Congressional Districts - 5 are held by Democrats. We also have a Democratic governor who just won his second term. Our state House is held by a Democratic majority. The state Senate is controlled by the Republicans 17/16. GOP dominance in the US Senate is the aberration, not the norm. So this 43% number is bull.
Ford and Governor Bredesen ran on almost identical platforms. If everyone who voted for Bredesen had vote for Ford, Ford would have won in a landslide. Yet Ford lost, despite his media Golden Child status and the millions in free publicity he got from everyone from Newsweek to Imus. Something else is going on here.
Ford does have a political future in Tennessee, if he makes the right moves now. Challenging Lamar in 2008 is the wrong move, as is knocking around doing good works for four years and then running for governor. If he does that, he'll lose worse than he did this time.
Ford needs to build the same credibility in Tennessee as he has in the national media. In my opinion, a good first step for him is to run for mayor of Memphis in 2008. This is a race he can win (although it won't be easy), and running for mayor will prove once and for all whether he has a political future, because if he can't win the mayor's race in Memphis, he might as well hang it up and go get a real job.
If he can take two terms as mayor and get Memphis turned around as a city in 6 years, that will set him up for the governor's office in 2014. He'll be 44. One full term as governor, and then after reelection, he can run for Senator, or president if he wants, at a good respectable age of 50, with a real history of accomplishment and a solid 10+ years of the sort of executive experience that looks so good on a presidential candidate's resume. Plus, by that time, he'll be true a Washington outsider, and that always plays well.
He's just lost a big election. If he wants to stay in politics, his choices are rather limited. Running for mayor of Memphis is probably the best first step he can take, but it will be a long hard slog and risky business, as a bad term in either the mayor's or governor's office will bring the whole thing down in ruins. But he's smart enough to do it. The question is, how badly does he want it?
November 13, 2006 5:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Since when has Webb ever talked "nasty" about gays? He said he would not support a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage-- as oppposed to Ford, who said that he WOULD support such legislation!
November 13, 2006 6:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
I figured he spent too much time on Imus!
That reminds me of the snarky comments Ted Koppel made about Paul Wellstone after he won the Senate seat in MN defeating a supposedly safe incumbent. The national media had never heard of him so he couldn't be anybody worth knowing. All Wellstone did was drive his green bus around Minnesota for a few years talking to Minnesotans instead of pundits. Ford might have tried that.
November 13, 2006 6:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
He hasn't, that I am aware of he was given as an example based on race.
Yes, McCain says that as well, but neither one supports civil unions either.
Right. Supporting legislation that bans gay marriage is not talking 'nasty' about gays. Calling them perverts, queers or engaging in discriminaton on the basis of them being human beings and/or bashing of their civil liberties is.
Opposing gay marriage and supporting a constitutional amendment ban is not. Additionally these positions are not race dependent as they are held by many members of multiple races. Ford, then, should not be singled out on the basis of race for holding that view.
November 14, 2006 10:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
Whose? MJ or Ford?
My comment to MJ was based on his prior comment that as a Jew he was offended by all of Ford's references to" JC his savior, and lord. Quote:As a Jew and a liberal, I find his constant references to "my Lord Jesus Christ" deeply offensive. Unquote.
So, I wondered if his religious sanctimony/intolerance ran to the US constituton and financial tender as well.' In God we Trust'
In short, who is anyone to be "deeply offended" or demand respect based on religion while denouncing others faith?
Moreover. is it not hypocrisy to express intolerance for other's views on homosexuality based on their faith while expecting tolerance for your religious views which also find homosexuality to be a transgression? Just who, indeed, is being fake here?
Not to mention the totally incongruent reasoning that MJ could be 'deeply offended' yet demand tolerance from others while being intolerant of their views. Quote; just as the jesus wave is receding' unquote. Excuse me, jesus wave?
Doesn't tolerance work both ways?
November 14, 2006 10:27 AM | Reply | Permalink
Ford's biggest problem is the rightly deserved reputation for corruption that the rest of his family has. He was always on the defensive about it and I don't know if he will ever be able to overcome it statewide in Tennessee.
November 14, 2006 4:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ford's biggest problem is the rightly deserved reputation for corruption that the rest of his family has.
Rightly deserved? Do you have evidence of corruption on the part of Jr or is this simply guilt by familial lineage despite his father having been acquited of all charges?.
November 14, 2006 4:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Screw Harold Ford. If I have to listen to his "Christian" crap, I'll become a Republican for spite. Duh, why was he at the Playboy Mansion in the first place? Everyone on the planet knows you go to the Playboy Mansion for the naked girls and freewheeling sex.
Didn't this election prove that people are more interested in good government than the religious leanings of their elected representatives?
I just read that James Carville wants to replace Howard Dean with Harold Ford. If Carville supports Ford, that is an arugument against him.
Look at who James Carville loves and admires the most in life - Mary Matalin. Matalin is a corrupt, worthless, lying piece of trash. I'd spit on Matalin as soon as look at her. In fact, I'd hang her for war crimes.
Every day, James Carville sleeps with the bitch who told big fat lies to the American public to gain support for a tragic and expensive war. Matalin is straight out of the Goebbels school of civic responsibility. Just the kind of person everyone wants to call "Mom".
I, for one, have not forgotten what Bob Woodard wrote about James Carville in his book. Prima facie evidence that Carville is a traitor to the Democrats and a pipeline to the Republicans.
Harold Ford, loser, should become a lobbyist and keep his mouth shut.
November 15, 2006 3:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
To me it is all about the POV. When these politicos, while being a politician, say things like "My religion is the most important thing in my life" it makes me worry. If that is the case which document is going to be more important to them, The Constitution or The Bible?
As politicians I really don't care about the depth of their religious faith...but I do care about their devotion to The Constitution. I respect their devotion to their religion but that devotion doesn't make them any better or worse a politician as far as I am concerned...
November 16, 2006 12:44 AM | Reply | Permalink