I've read it in the comments here every time there's a discussion about him. Having lived in and around Memphis for most of my life, I've had the opportunity to hear it from his supporters as well. And sadly,
I've sung the song often enough that I know all the words by heart.
"You've got to support Ford so we can take back the Senate. We need control of the committee chairs, subpoena power, etc..." We should ignore that he votes Republican more often than John McCain, we're told time and time again, because he's the Democratic nominee. To co-opt a phrase from the verbally diarrheic Don Rumsfeld, sometimes you go to a campaign not with the candidate you want, but the candidate you've got.
Why can Harold Ford Jr. himself not seem to be able to do that in the race to succeed him as the Representative for Tennessee's 9th District?
More below the fold...
State Senator Steve Cohen scored a victory in one of the most highly contested primaries of the year against multiple candidates, including Ford's own cousin Joe Ford Jr. He's
served in the Tennessee State Senate for 24 years and in that time has managed to build a track record as a progressive that any Democrat should be proud of.
A little over a week ago, Senator Cohen bumped into Rep. Ford at a restaurant (Something of a miracle, as Ford spends so little time in his district that I'm not sure he could find his house with a GPS) and asked him point blank if he planned to endorse him.
"I can support you. but I won't endorse you" was his Kerry-esque answer.
Harold's younger brother, Jake "GED" Ford (Not-so-affectionately referred to by more than one Memphis blogger as "Joke Ford") didn't trust primary voters to pick him out of the crowd. They usually do tend to look for someone with a high school diploma, some kind of political experience, and in fact, some kind of work experience with someone outside the family signing your paychecks. He's the one candidate in the world that makes George W. Bush look substantive and seasoned.
His candidacy is an affront to hardworking Tennesseeans and a blatant attempt to further the Ford Family political dynasty at the expense of the Democratic Party and at the expense of the only qualified candidate in the race for TN's 9th District seat.
Don't give me the old canard about how Harold Ford Jr. can't endorse a progressive in TN or even Ned Lamont because he's in a tight race in a red state. The fact is, he's spent the last decade squatting in one of the safest Democratic seats in this nation. In 2004, the GOP didn't even field a real candidate against him--- They ran a guy with the last name "Fort" in the vain hope that voters with bad eyesight would vote for him.
This tight race is a tight race of his own making. Had he lifted a finger to promote any kind of progressive agenda from his safe seat, he could have built his own power base instead of hoping to siphon off a few voters from the right. Candidates like Ford and Governor Bredesen are destroying this party down ticket because the most recognizable Democrats in this state refuse more often than not to stand by progressive ideals.
I would be willing to back Ford despite his right wing voting record--- If he was willing to do the same thing and back the Democrats in other races.
If he can't do as he and his supporters urge the rest of us--- Back the Democratic candidate because he IS the Democratic candidate--- Then we have no business doing it for him.