Clinton/Ford? McCain/Blackburn?

Oh, my!

That could clear the governor's race for Lincoln Davis. And speaking of governors, wasn't Bredesen's name also tossed around in terms of VP? Adam seems to have missed that discussion.

Oy.

Oh, please, dear Spaghedeity, save us from ourselves!

If only we'd listened to James Carville we could have a DNC chair who campaigned for Republicans.

Oy.

Corker Desperately Push-Polls

Are you aware Harold Ford is in favor of raising your taxes, taking away your right to bear arms, and allowing gay adoptions?

Even I didn't think Corker would sink this low, and we're not even done yet...

Racist Ad Producer Gets Fired

Remember the GOP's Corker ad featuring Harold Ford, Jr.'s supposed friend from the Playboy Club?
Well, the Republican strategist who coproduced the ad (along with a Karl Rove wannabe) got fired by Wal-Mart on Friday. He claims the racism in the ad was an accident.

Whoops! Following in the footsteps of so many Republicans before him, his defense is that he's not evil, he's stupid! Wink-wink.

No word yet on whether Canada will get an apology.

UPDATE: Check out Ken's Melman's "lame" and pathetic backpedalling. This story gets sadder by the moment...

Will GOP Benefit From Racism?

As the ad (and replaced it with some really blantant lies), but the damage is already done:

I wouldn't necessarily view the fact the ad is no longer airing as a victory; after all, the RNC got exactly what it wanted.  As it did with the Daisy-double "vote republican or die" ad, it shelled out a limited amount of money for a limited ad buy while relying on an all-too-willing press to provide hours and hours of free exposure for its  lies.  And so, the RNC got its racist message out to the voters of Tennessee, and unfortunately, that message will resonate with some voters.

And those voters will be, unfortunately, the all-too-numerous ignorant racists in Tennessee. Plus, there's also the even-more-numerous Republicans who support this behavior by voting for these assholes over and over again, thinking that supporting racists isn't the same as being racists themselves.

They are, of course, mistaken.

Bob Corker's Struggle with the Truth

He lies.

They're boldfaced.

More: hamdems.org, Tennessee Guerilla Women, and AmericaBlog:

Well that's interesting. Bob Corker, who is a Republican running for Senator from Tennessee, says that the Republican National Committee - that would be the Republican party in Washington, DC - is refusing to stop running a racist TV ad that they're broadcasting in Tennessee. When pressed by CNN's Wolf Blitzer as to whether he has called anyone at the RNC or the White House to demand that the ad be taken down, Corker couldn't answer the question.

Bottom line, he's not trying very hard to get the racist ad off of TV. (Or, it's as he says - the Republican Party leadership is refusing to stop running a racist ad because it believes racism wins white votes, and I suppose on that account they're immoral but correct.) How hard is it to get the head of the Republican party to stop running a racist ad in your state that you, the Republican Senate candidate, feel is hurting your race? It's not difficult at all.

Corker is lying.

Josh Marshall has the racist ad, an analysis of it, and he exposes how the RNC is now lying about it simply has no power to pull down its own ad.

So much for that Republican outreach to the black community. I guess, in the end, the Republicans figured that you can get a lot more white voters with racism than you can black voters with civil rights. Disgusting.

Here is how Josh describes the ad:

The ad, in case you aren't familiar with it, is a cartoonish spot which might be subtitled, 'Harold Ford is an uppity negro who does the wild thing with white women.'

But, should we be suprised by Corker's gutter tactics? This is, after all, the party of the Southern Strategy and Macaca, and Bob Corker is eager to become their newest yapping poodle.

Drip.

It's been another busy day, and I've still got some work to do. But, I hate to leave a blank day up here, so here's another red leaf (sorry about the repetition). Also, check out Harold Ford, Jr. on the cover of Newsweek Magazine when you get a chance. We're loving the national coverage!

Olbermann, again...

I know a lot of you were probably watching tonight, but if you missed it, Keith Olbermann's comments this evening are very much worth reviewing. Keith definately has become Must See TV.

In other news, Harold Ford, Jr. made (another) huge splash in Chattanooga today, and once again, he out-drew Bob Corker on the Bobster's home turf. Some of my photos of the event even made the hamdems.org homepage! (My favorite is the third, of Congressman Ford and a local pastor.)

Brunch

OK, so here's a quick update on what's been keeping me so busy (and quiet) lately.

Last week started out pretty calmly with not much more than a dentist appointment on Monday, but it was just a calm before the storm. The US Senate campaign was about to hit town, and while we were busy getting ready, things didn't get really frantic until the next day.

There were still lots of bright stars in the sky when I left the house on Tuesday morning, headed for an early prayer breakfast hosted by Harold Ford, Jr. From there I moved to working the phones, trying to turn out a good crowd for a rally over at UTC, where people gathered to greet the two candidates as they arrived for a debate later in the day.

There was plenty of good energy already flowing from a great turnout at the breakfast, but once the CNN bus rolled into town, things really got nuts, what with putting out signs, getting signs into the hands of supporters, letting people know the national news was in town, and so on. I eventually made it over to the rally (it looked like the Ford people outnumbered the Corker's supporters by about 2-to-1), and then as soon as the candidates disappeared into the UC auditorium, I went over to the Read House, where people were already gathering to watch the debate on large screens in the silver ballroom.

I didn't get to see/hear all that much of the debate. Between arriving a bit late, seeing a bunch of people I knew, and the crowd's noisy enthusiasm every time Ford seemed to win a point, I only caught bits and pieces. Ford came over after the debate to work the crowd again -- this time without being limited by the solemnity and early hour of the prayer breakfast, so he was able to whip them up into a frenzy and they left ready to rumble. And yes, by the time I worked my way back home again, the stars were once again lighting up the sky.

Wednesday also started with an early breakfast -- a fundraiser this time -- but the rest of the day was free to get ready for our next visit from the Congressman: Thursday's Kefauver Dinner. To be honest, at this point I was just looking forward to getting past all the distracting events, and back to our plans to get out the vote. The Dinner went off beautifully and on Friday and Saturday, it was nice to turn my attention back to turnout and to be able to work in larger blocks of time.

I also got to have a bit of fun this weekend -- I popped by a couple of BBQs yesterday, caught the Leslie Jordan show at the Tivoli Theatre with some wonderful friends last night, and today I zipped down to Mentone, Alabama with Emmie and a good friend. Our politics-free afternoon included an awesome brunch at the Wildflower Cafe (a-ha! hence the photo!) and a bit of browsing around several of Mentone's unique shops, including the wildly cool White Elephant Antiques.

I can't believe the weekend sped by so quickly, but here we are, ready to start up the insanity again in the morning! Speaking of which, if you're in Chattanooga and you're not yet working with one our local campaigns, what the heck are you waiting for!?! ;-D Feel free to contact me, and I'll hook you up with the campaign of your choice (Brown, Favors, Lusk, Moseley, Bredesen, Benedict, and/or Ford). Early voting starts this coming Wednesday, so there's no time to waste!

Have a good week!

Good Day

I started the day at 5:30 am. I've been in perpetual motion since then. I'm going to have a beer and get some sleep, but first (or rather, while I enjoy my beverage), let me just say that Harold Ford, Jr. is a rock star.

He was in town most of the day today. There was an unbelievable amount of energy swirling around him all day long and CNN even showed up to cover the party! If you've seen any coverage, let me know how they're treating it -- I've been out in the field all day... and it's been amazing.

Congressman Ford bookended the day in Chattanooga, appearing twice to a packed crowd in the same room: the Silver Ballroom at the Read House. There was a prayer breakfast to start the day and a post-debate celebration this evening. At one point this morning, while Ford was speaking and the standing-room-only crowd was on their feet and going nuts, someone turned to me and said simply "He's going to win." It sounded like a statement of fact and was delivered with a tinge of relief as the speaker seemed to be, at that moment, coming to a realization.

And then later in the day, more Ford supporters than Corker supporters turned out to cheer on the candidates as they arrived at today's debate -- and this was in Corker's hometown.

More later. I'm going to get some sleep. I've got another overly-scheduled day tomorrow, but it's all good stuff and I'll keep you updated when I can...

Ford Shoots Back!

Rep. Harold Ford (D-TN) seized on the cybersex scandal surrounding former Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) Wednesday to deflect a question about an NRSC ad which asks: "What kind of man parties with Playboy Playmates in lingerie then films a commercial in a church pew?"

"I'm not going to take a lecture on morality from a party that took hush money from a child predator," said Ford Wednesday in Memphis, TN after speaking to the downtown Kiwanis Club.

-- Political Radar (via kos)

Corker Squirms

Here's a heads up for all you non-local political junkies out there. Bob Corker, our increasingly embattled Republican Senatorial candidate, showed up on our local talk radio station last week, and one of the hosts, Robert T. Nash (who, btw, identifies himself as a libertarian, I believe**), really raked him over the coals. If you'd like to listen to the interview, go here and scroll down to "Live & Local" for the audio files. If you've got an aversion to listening to weasels with incredibly nasal voices, you might prefer to read the transcript, which follows after the jump.

UPDATE 1: Egalia is reporting that the GOP 'Freaking Out' Over Ford vs. Corker Race.

UPDATE 2: **my research indicated that Nash is a self-described libertarian. But I picked up a copy of our free local alternative weekly when I was out for lunch and it has an article in which he claims to be a republican. Either way, there's no reason to believe that he is, as Corker claims, "aligned with Harold Ford."

UPDATE 3: check out Rook's coverage on Kos!

TN-Sen Update: Ford Ahead

A new poll has Ford leading Corker within the margin of error.

UPDATE: WBIR in Kville has a poll that puts Ford ahead by 48% to Corker's 45%.

Senate '06

More news from the upcoming Senate race (via Adam Groves) was in the Memphis Commercial Appeal today.

Vile said Ford may be the best-known name, for better and worse, even though he has not run statewide before. "Unfortunately, he's up at a time for this nomination when his uncle, the state senator (John Ford), is just making a fool of himself in more ways than one," he said.

There's a lot more -- go read Adam's take on the news and the article (which is also quoted after the jump).

Harold Ford, Jr. can't find a friend

Harold Ford, Jr. continues to get press, but it's still the wrong kind. This week, he made the cover of The Black Commentator, but they don't offer a favorable opinion of his tactics:

Harold Ford styles himself as the candidate of youth. However, we know that greed and ambition are as old as dirt.

Yushchenko won

Viktor Yuschenko won the election in the Ukraine. The opposition poisoned him with dioxin and committed election fraud, but he persevered and it looks like this rerun result might stick.
In other news...

• creve coeur is following news of the earthquake & tsunami in his Kos diary
• Congressman and wanna-be Senator Harold Ford, Jr. continues to get attention, but for all the wrong reasons
• Famous Chattanoogan Reggie White died of a heart attack at the age of 43
• and Tennesseans continue to embarrass this state on the national stage (the anti-gay wingnuts returning Rhea County to the national news weren't enough?).

Ford's visit

As I mentioned yesterday, Harold Ford, Jr. visited Chattanooga last night. I didn't get to stay for his entire speech and missed all of the Q&A that followed, but I did get to see him a bit later in the evening for abbreviated remarks and a few questions. I wasn't impressed with what I heard.

I've spoken with a number of people today, all of whom say they're less likely to vote for Ford now than they were before he came to town. Apparently Ford needs to work on his message a bit if he expects to make a showing in East Tennessee.
A fellow progressive and friend from back in the days of the Dean meetups offers a post-mortem in his Kos Diary (follow the link for numerous comments and lively discussion):

Billed as a "friend-raising" event, Hamilton County Democrats hosted an event with Congressman Harold Ford that turned charmingly combative. Although the night was supposed to give us a premonition of Ford's coming U.S. Senate run in Tennessee, the 34-year-old cocksure Memphisean fired rocket propelled missiles into good liberal ideas.

But before getting to the battles of the night, let me sum up what Ford said.

His Three Bluest Remarks

1. Invest in children. Government creates $500 accounts for all newborns--which may grow because of family/friend investments while children grow.
2. Criticized fiscal recklessness of Bush & Co.
3. Produce innovative energy sources and wean us off of foreign oil.

His Three Purplest Remarks

1. (Echoing Dean) Democrats need a 50-state strategy, especially in the South.
2. Invest in the best protection for our troops, following on his remarks concerning Specialist Jerry Wilson in Tennessee's 278th to Rumsfeld.
3. Allow the government to negotiate lower drug prices.

The RED Remarks

1. Need more faith-based talk in Democratic Party.
2. Support the proposed amendment banning gay marriage.
3. Capitalism is the greatest system of economics in the world.
4. America is still the greatest country in the world.
5. The election was lost fair and square--even when two different persons questioned Ford on the irregularities.
6. Children should be going to church every Sunday.
7. Insulted Al Gore for the alleged "inventing the internet" remark.
8. Called Kerry as incoherent as Bush.

RED STATE Combat

In a word, Ford pulled a Lieberman--and how very disappointing it was. During a period of Q & A that Ford opened up himself, the candidate was commended as a Southern JFK, was appealed to by voters concerned with voting irregularities, and was attacked strongly and loudly by three progressive Chattanoogans.

The three strong attacks were about the lack of any liberal solutions for the problems facing the country. All three were countered by an agile Ford quickstepping into bromides and cliches. During the voting irregularities questions, Ford said he hated to be rude, but that the Democrats lost, lost, lost.

Analysis

Ford spoke too often in Code RED. He bragged as if he had created free-market capitalism himself, congratulated business people who outsource employment, ignored our palpable loss of faith in the voting system, and disrespected his own party leaders.

He is a Republican in a Democrat's suit. He's what Southerners used to call a Dixiecrat, a Blue Dog Democrat. For instance, two weeks ago Ford backed a 2006 bid for Zach Wamp (R-Tn) even though most of us Democrats want a Democratic candidate to run and win. Then Ford cited that his decision was purely political: Tennessee's Wamp is on the Appropriations Committee.

In the end, Ford lacks the grace of Clinton, the honor of Al Gore, and the logic of Howard Dean. I will have a hard time backing Ford for the U.S. Senate race, and I think a lot of other progressives will too. The night was appalling.

Whew.

It's been a busy few days. First there was the JFK Luncheon yesterday (Ann Coulter was the speaker) and TCASK last night. Then a TFT press conference this morning and Harold Ford event at the Read House followed by the Democratic Women's Club holiday dinner party this evening. After the dinner, I went out for drinks at the Big Chill with some friends (where we agreed that Ford's visit was a bit disappointing -- he's awfully conservative for a West Tennessee Democrat). I feel like it should be the weekend tomorrow, but it's only going to be Wednesday!

Fortunately, that's about it for the political stuff until after the new year. And after another round of holiday parties this weekend, next week we ought to be able to really sink into the holiday break around here.