If you didn't read Harold Ford's softball interview in today's New York Times, you should. This guy is just unbelievable! I couldn't stop laughing as I read the damn thing on my way to work.
If I am elected senator from New York, Harry Reid will not instruct me how to vote," he said, referring to Mr. Reid’s efforts to keep him out of the campaign.
More comment below.
Ford made only a few policy announcements, but there were two where took a clear position:
He called for a major reduction in the corporate tax rate and a payroll tax holiday to encourage hiring.
Harold knows that what New Yorkers really really want is less taxes to be paid by corporations.
It gets worse:
He blasted her support for the proposed health care overhaul, which is expected to cost New York an extra $1 billion a year, and for opposing the taxpayer bailout of the financial industry.
Against the healthcare bill. For the Wall Street bailout. Go ahead and put that up on the whiteboard.
Here's more:
Abortion:
Mr. Ford has repeatedly described himself as "pro-life," and has voted to ban a procedure opponents call partial-birth abortions and to require that minors receive parental consent before receiving an abortion.
In the interview, however, he said: "To describe me as pro-life is just wrong. I am personally pro-choice and legislatively pro-choice."
And to the YouTube:
Marriage Equality:
Mr. Ford twice voted for legislation in the House that would make same-sex marriage illegal. In 2006, when Tennessee voters considered a ballot initiative to outlaw the practice, he vowed to support it. "I oppose gay marriage," he said at the time.
When pressed, he said he would seek to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriage, and said he would "revisit" the military’s "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy.
That is some transformation isn't it? I know living in New York will tend to sophisticate even the most backward of persons, but this is absolutely astounding. Especially since the Bible hasn't changed and Ford repeatedly said in 2006 his position on marriage was rooted in the Bible.
Gun control:
Mr. Ford, a member of the National Rifle Association, also voted for legislation to limit lawsuits against gun makers, and he cast one of the few Democratic votes for a bill to repeal the District of Columbia’s restrictions on guns.
When asked about the tough restrictions that mayors in New York and Newark have put in place, however, he said, "All of Mayor Bloomberg and Mayor Booker’s efforts in the region, I support."
When he lived and grew up in in the major city of Washington (he went to St. Albans), he didn't understand it. Now that he lives here, he understands it. Now he's flipped on the NRA and is in favor of gun control. Unbelievable.
How about Immigration:
He supported Congressional legislation in 2006 to allow local police officers to investigate and arrest illegal immigrants, despite the objections of many advocates and lawmakers, like Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who said it would discourage people from cooperating with the police. He says his views on the subject have changed.
"I have come to better understand the issue," he said. "Empowering local enforcement to do what federal law enforcement was not doing seemed to make sense in my state," he said, referring to Tennessee.
This is a big issue in New York City. You simply can't have effective law enforcement in a city where 66% of the residents are first or second generation immigrants. So, New York cops don't get into immigration issues, otherwise they wont cooperate with the police. I doubt, however, that Harold Ford has seen a single immigrant community since his arrival.
Speaking from a conference room at New York University, where he is a teacher, Mr. Ford, 39, expressed enthusiasm about his new hometown, though he described a life quite different than most New Yorkers. On many days, he is driven to an NBC television studio in a chauffeured car. He and his wife, Emily, a 29-year-old fashion executive, live a few blocks from the Lexington Avenue subway line in the Flatiron district. But Mr. Ford said he takes the subway only occasionally in the winter, to avoid the cold when he cannot hail a cab.
Nothing wrong with black car service. I use it myself. Nothing wrong with cabs either, use those too. But you ONLY use the subway OCCASIONALLY in the Winter? People a whole lot more rich and famous than Harold Ford use the subway every day. Even this billionaire.
Asked whether he had visited all five boroughs, he mentioned taking a helicopter ride across the city with fellow executives, at the invitation of Raymond W. Kelly, New York City’s police commissioner.
LOL. He flew over the boroughs by helicopter. Sounds like a certain President post-Katrina. I really, really, want this guy to run.
He has breakfast most mornings at the Regency Hotel on Park Avenue, and he receives regular pedicures. (He described them as treatment for a foot condition.)
Mr. Ford declined to discuss what he is paid by the bank, but publicly available data suggests that he earns at least $1 million a year. Asked what role outsize pay packages played in fueling the financial crisis, Mr. Ford said he objected to capping executive compensation on Wall Street. "I am a capitalist," he said. "I believe that people take risk, and there are rewards if they do well; they should lose if they don’t."
Who doesn't eat breakfast at the Park Regency every morning? This guy is killing me!
Update:
From the comments:
Oh Hank, (2+ / 0-)
Recommended by:
gooners, Norbrook
I can't wait until you become a Yankees fan, then the transformation will be complete.
Take some time to practice "Fugghedaboudit" -- I've never heard it in a southern drawl before.
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The key to avoiding unnecessary fights is editing, asshole.
by PBJ Diddy on Wed Jan 13, 2010 at 09:49:46 AM EST
Consider it done PBJ:
Asked about his baseball loyalties, he responded: "I am a Yankees fan," and added that he had yet to visit Citi Field, the home of the Mets.
Update #2:
From an email I got from a insider buddy in Washington, in its entirety w. permission:
Srsly: look what brah is up against:
- schumer - next senate majority leader
- pelosi - ran against her for house leader and lost big time
- obama - what more need be said?
no establishment in new york.
no heavyweights in washington.
that being said, he does have a history of making political errors. this could be one more.