As Markos noted in his
front pager today, the momentum is shifting away from Harold Ford in Tennessee. He's now behind by two points, instead of up by two. If he loses, our hope of winning the Senate is pretty much gone.
Why has Ford slipped? Partially because of a carefully orchestrated campaign to suggest to Tennessee voters that Ford, a black man, is sexually interested in white women. The same tactic used by Jim Crow-era white elites in Tennessee for decades.
Don't believe me? VIEW THE AD FOR YOURSELF.
Are you as outraged as I am? Well you haven't heard the worst of it.
The text in the ad states that it was funded by the Republican National Committee. But you won't find it on the
RNC's website, or on the
NRSC's website either. The Republicans want to hide this ad from the media, from their own base, and from voters in the other 49 states because their tactic is so disgusting and shameless that it would cost them elsewhere.
In fact, Bob Corker (Ford's opponent) has "denounced" the ad and called for TV stations to stop running it. Yeah, right. You and I know that Corker and his campaign love those ads, and that's why they're still on the air. The Republicans are taking advantage of campaign finance laws to engage in the worst kind of race-baiting without paying the price for their tactics. Their candidate hides behind the "independence" of the RNC from his campaign and "denounces" their tactics, while the RNC hides what they're doing from the media and voters elsewhere.
And what the GOP is doing is not only slimey, it's illegal. As Bob Corker admitted on CNN, it's illegal for his campaign to coordinate with the RNC. Yet the RNC spokesperson who has publicly refused to pull the ad, Camille Anderson, travels with Corker around the state every day. It's obvious that there is coordination going on.
Why haven't you heard about this story before? Why hasn't there been a segment on Olbermann? Or Hardball? Why haven't the Republicans been asked whether they denounce this ad on Meet the Press? Why isn't Bob Corker being asked about his coordination with Camille Anderson?
Because the Republicans are slipping this under the radar. The MSM hates to report on racism in campaigns, and they're giving the GOP (and Corker) a free pass.
We can't let them do that. It's time to get our asses in gear. Control of the Senate is at stake. And something greater is at stake too ... the ability of African-Americans to be elected to the highest offices in our land. With tactics like this, it's no wonder only 1 out of 100 U.S. Senators is African-American.
Let's get the word out. No excuses. At the very least, if you do nothing else, send an email to Olbermann and start blogging this story. It deserves attention, has legs, and is too important to ignore.
UPDATE:
The latest from RNC Chair Ken Mehlman, on this ad: "I don't have the authority to take it down or put it up. It's called an independent expenditure." (from Hotline On Call)
He is the fucking CHAIR of the RNC and he doesn't have authority to pull an RNC ad? We need to hold his feet to the fire.
And if that wasn't enough, here's more from Mehlman:
"I think it's a fair ad. ... I just think those criticisms of it are wrong" (RNC Chair Ken Mehlman, "Decision 2006," MSNBC, 10/24).
I think a lot of people can see this ad is wrong. We need to make sure they see it.
SECOND UPDATE:
Think Progress has video of former Republican senator and Defense Secretary William Cohen on CNN calling the ad racist. This is just the beginning ... this story has legs. If Cohen can see that this ad is racist, why can't Ken Mehlman? And Bob Corker has never answered the question -- are the ads being run by his party on his behalf racist?
THIRD UPDATE:
In a great article in today's L.A. Times, the RNC claims that the ad was produced by an "independent arm" of the party and that Mehlman and the rest of the RNC hasn't seen or approved of the ad! What a crock of shit. We can't let them get away with that.
In the article, RNC spokesman Danny Diaz says that he "won't even entertain the premise" that the ad is racist. That notion is "not fair and not serious and not accurate." But even though the ad supposedly isn't racist and states that it was approved by the RNC, Danny claims that it's not really an RNC ad: "Diaz said the ad was an 'independent expenditure' produced by an arm of the Republican National Committee that is legally prohibited from coordinating with Mehlman. Because of this, Diaz said, Mehlman did not see or approve the ad before its release." In other words, not only is Bob Corker not responsible for this ad, but neither is the RNC or Ken Mehlman. Then who IS responsible? We need to force the GOP to answer that question.
FOURTH UPDATE:
Crooks and Liars has the video of RNC Chair Ken Mehlman telling Tim Russert that he has no control over the RNC's ad.
Talking Points Memo also has been doing a great job on this story all afternoon. TPM has some great posts from election law experts talking about Mehlman's supposed lack of control over the RNC's ads that are worth a read.
CNN and MSNBC have really picked up on this story today and ran with it. But there still isn't much from the blogosphere on this, aside from TPM. We need to keep this story going and force the GOP to take responsibility. And please, visit Harold Ford's website and contribute! With rumors of the RNC pulling funding from Talent at the last minute, we need to focus our attention on Ford and Webb if we want to win the Senate.