As a Ist termer in the House, I find Rep. Cohen to quite effective on the HJC and his questions do reasonate! I hate to him attacked in this fashion and it sure as heel stinks!

absolutely disgraceful

This AD is pretty nasty...that woman should be a republican. She is playing a big race card out there

WTF? I'm SO GLAD I moved from Tennessee when I was child.

Is the video link working..I jsut get this perpetual arrow circle...and no video

I would not be hasty to read anti-semitism into the statement (although I cannot watch it so I do not know if there is a special emphasis on the "our" part there.)

It is just old-fashioned theism.

well she knows if she beats Cohen she will be the general election winner.

so she is gonna do whatever it takes to get rid of him.

i dont see this as a big deal. its politics people. this isn't a seat that we need to worry about come November and that is most important.

Anti-semitic or race-baiting? I don't know, but it is despicable either way.

Clearly anti-Semitic and against what we are supposed to stand for.

Tell her about herself:
http://www.tinkerforcongress.com/conta

Anybody who thinks that using "our churches" in this context is innocent needs to look at how this campaign has played out.

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/sleuth/2008/02/jewish_rep_cohen_battles_antis.html

This is absolutely race-baiting (or "jew-baiting," if people think that religion and race can be separated in cases of anti-semitism).

Black, Democratic, Christian, and Anti-semitic.

That will certainly help Obama in the South.

not a seat we need to worry about in November

Who's "we"? Primary challenges to progressive Democratic incumbents are reactionary, crap politics.

Organizations who back them don't deserve a dime.

Something tells me Tinker's positions on sex education, contraception, abortion, and anti-discrimination issues wrt lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transsexuals are not exactly a festival of progressive values.

She's African-American and a woman. She's no progressive. But EMILY's list cares more about the gender than the policies.

Black, Democratic, Christian, and Anti-semitic.

That will certainly help Obama in the South.

I must have missed the memo that labeled 'Christianity' as a liability.

And does it not strike anyone else as bizaare that a Democrat is campaigning against an incumbent Democratic in a safe Democratic district over the issue of school prayer? I mean I know it's Tennessee and all, and I know we should welcome all views, but isn't this a little far afield from the type of issues that become flashpoints in safe Dem districts? And isn't it awful odd that it's coming with the backing of EMILY'S List.

And I'm not convinced that Obama has anything to gain by inserting himself into a primary race like this, especially where it's clear that Tinker may have crossed an unacceptable line.

Black or White, TN has some of the worse politicians (with apologies to Al Gore Jr and Sr) to ever run for office. They play a mean spirited brand of campaigning that would make Alabama blush!

What angers me the most is that she has the gall to conflate the issue of school prayer with the issue of apology/reparations for slavery as though there is universal consensus on the overlap of these issues in the black community. It is both intellectually and morally offensive.

I only hope it does.

Next, will she describe Cohen's position on Israel? It might be interesting to compare her position to his, if there is any breathing space between them.

Not only that, but to run an ad that says "Steve Cohen must not be very sincere about his support for Black issues because he, like most Democrats, opposes school prayer".

Double You. Tee. Eff.

I don't think this has anything to do with him being a jew. it has everything to do with him being white and not supportive of the christian church. That is to say I'm pretty sure the same ad would have been made if he were christian and not supportive or agnostic and not supportive. I, of course, have no idea whether the guy supports the church but that's the narrative that I see being floated - not that he's a jew.

course, I don't live there and I dunno shit but on the surface, that's my read.

this is really bad. Coming after her 'Cohen loves the KKK' ad, she couldn't be any lower..

I am jewish and going to be of voting age in 2 years. I will not register as a democrat if cohen is ousted. I would be so offended that the national party let something like this happen.

I don't think this has anything to do with him being a jew. it has everything to do with him being white and not supportive of the christian church. That is to say I'm pretty sure the same ad would have been made if he were christian

And I'm dead positive that that just failed Occam's Razor all to hell.

I just wrote to Tinker and told her to stop calling herself a Democrat. I told her that her ad was bigoted and disgusting, and my response would be to donate to Cohen. Which I just did. http://www.actblue.com/contribute/entity/12856

Anyone who know Tinker knows to trust her no farther than you can see her! I will not vote for her tomorrow and don't know any thinking person in the city of Memphis who will! The fact that she lied about her occupation should be enough to give anyone pause!This heifer is a MANAGER at Pinnacle Airlines! Cohen had to call her on it before she grudingly told the truth! She lies slick as a snake!

If she will lie about something so basic and easy to check, she is non too bright on top of being untrustworthy! Voters might ask themselves, what else has she and will she lie about? BIG BUSINESS AGENDAS ARE HER AGENDAS!

Outside of her mother and grandmother, she could give less than a tinker's damn(pardon the pun)about the rest of us black people! White people don't stand a chance in hell! Race baiting is right on par with who she is!

I, personally, don't see race baiting in the ad, but I don't think that matters. What does matter is, someone said it's race baiting so therefore, it's race baiting.

I live in TN and go to Memphis for work alot. This is about race not religion. Black people around here enjoy good relationships with Jewish people. Steve Cohen is known around here and looked upon favorably. Memphis politics is so corrupt and people are fed up with it. This is not going to work. Nikki Tinker should be ashamed of herself.

yep. She's mad because she thinks that Black folk should vote for her just because she's Black...WRONG!

It's interesting here that the "our churches" comment is so disturbing it's kind of drowning out the blatant and similarly disturbing attack on separation of church and state in the public schools that's right next to it. I'd like to take a moment to focus on the prayer-in-public-schools issue.

Does Emily's List not see that endorsing this kind of rhetoric hurts abortion rights in the long run? If churches have a right to dictate what happens in our schools-- to the point that opposing such dictation is the same as saying "our kids shouldn't be allowed to pray in school"-- then they have the right to dictate what happens in our hospitals. If being against prayer in public schools is being anti-religion-- to the point that there's something wrong with a candidate with such a position, be they Jewish or otherwise, visiting a church-- then one might as well say that disagreeing with those churches on abortion is being anti-religion as well. I don't think you can endorse dominionism on one point without strengthening it on other points as well.

Actually, is Tinker pro-choice at all? Please correct me if I'm wrong here, but looking on google apparently she took a very long time in the primary to take any position on abortion at all, and once she did it was of the "against abortion, but the government should stay out of it" type. It appears in this case Emily's List is actually endorsing the candidate that's to the right on abortion?

It seems pretty clear to me she intends for viewers to understand "our churches" to mean "black churches." Isn't that what clapping hands and stamping feet is supposed to connote?

Being pretty familiar with the completely dysfunctional thinking of Cristian fundamentalists both black and white I can't say I'm all that convinced this is Jew baiting. I can understand why some people would hear it that way, especially if they are Jewish but I'm honestly not sure that was really the intent of this vile spot.

It's deplorable. It is despicable and idiotic, but I think there's an even money chance that this is simply intended to feed off the idiotic beliefs of the ignorant fundamentalists about prayer in school combined with trying to get some mileage off the fact that he isn't black (that's what I hear more when they refer to "our" churches is a reference to race more than I do a reference to religion). The kind of people who would have put this ad together, approved it and so forth are genuine mean-spirited morons, the kind of people who should be driven from politics in this or any other country. It's particularly sickening that the candidate herself narrates this appalling bullshit ad.

Now perhaps that's just me and I'm misreading it, but that's my take on it. Regardless of whether it is or isn't Jew baiting per se--something I think reasonable people could have differing opinions about---it is without any question one of the most digusting, scummy, dirty, sleazy ads I've ever seen. Any organization that has endorsed or supported this vile woman vs Cohn (who has an excellent track record in Congress by any standard)should withdraw that support and publicly condemn this sickening garbage. Also, the candidate should withdraw from the race in disgrace after publicly apologizing.

One last thing, it is particularly grotesque to me that such a slimeball attack would be made under the guise of someone claiming to be a Christian. Every Christian in that district should shun that ignorant, bigoted woman.

What Tinker needs to understand is that many folks down here are really fed up with the embarassments of the Fords and have really been disappointed with the way that Harold Jr has been badmouthing Obama on MSNBC, so she doesn't need to be banking on her Ford connections or her nasty ads. Cohen will win.

Looks like Tinker has done things like this before. Here's a news clip about one of her ads suggesting Cohen may be a racist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5uSy1SrFwM

It is raining its ass off in Memphis this morning. That shoul.d drive turnout down in what was already going to be a low turnout election. I am hoping this will help Rep Cohen. We will know tonight wether Ms Tinker's racist campaign worked.

He is going to face a chalenge like this every two years as long as he is in the house. I hope he can weather them.

06, 08, where's the proof that the Ford family is behind this? I'm no fan of Harold Ford and don't care for his centerist politics, but to smear his family by associating them with this racist is not appropriate either. They have done enough things of their own, to be called on. But, this wasn't one of them!