Last week’s loser of the week Rep. Harold Ford, Jr., who is in a tight race with Republican Bob Corker for Bill Frist’s Senate seat, stepped in it again today with the admission that he did indeed attend a Playboy party - something he had previously denied. All of this makes this Corker ad all the more humorous - and right on target. Ford’s defense? He said “I like football and I like girls” (I think it was a SuperBowl party). That’s all well and good, of course, but when you’re a Representative in the US Congress, you’re supposed to act like one.
His father, Harold Ford, Sr. a former Tennessee state Congressman, didn’t help matters when he was caught by Fox News calling a white man (who was apparently a Corker supporter) a “cracker.”
This has been a bad past few days for the Ford campaign. Will it impact his standing in the polls? Stay tuned …
For the record, this is the only Ford I support.
Update I - 10:15 PM: Greg Tinti has video of Chris Matthews’ “non-partisan” analysis of the Playboy ad being run against Harold Ford, Jr.
Update II - 11:40 PM: Just re-watched the video of Ford, Sr. as several people at Hot Air commented that Ford, Sr. said “tracker” not “cracker.” Sure enough, if you listen closely, he does say tracker. My sincere apologies to Ford, Sr. for the error.
Aren’t there a few relatives of his that have been to jail or something, its all going so fast and furious I can’t remember all the stuff I’m hearing but when ford crashed the Republican’s press conference to get his own press …. plueezee.
Comment by Drewsmom @ 10/24/2006 - 7:41 pm
So, tonights lead story was about how racist the new Republican “call me Harold” ad actually is — in fact, Corker told them to take it down. But, they won’t, because the race card is all they have left to play to defend their “firewall” that will defend the Republican Senate majority.
Yes, Harold, went to a Playboy Party — the most exciting things many of his Republican opponents could ever imagine in their lives. But, in their racist way “with the white girl” saying call me Harold — they will do the only thing that they can do…scare people. Pitty and shame.
Comment by Keith @ 10/24/2006 - 7:47 pm
Junior’s father calling someone “cracker” isn’t a shock to us Memphians who remember the post-election tirade Ford Sr went on several years ago when he referred to voters who dared vote for his opponent as “white devils in East Memphis.”
The Fords are just such a lovely family. *gag*
Comment by Southern Girl @ 10/24/2006 - 7:50 pm
What do you think about Ford lying about his attendance at the Playboy party? And why is it “racist” to run an ad that features, among other things, a white woman asking a black man to call her? Sounds like YOU guys are the ones obsessed with race, not us.
Comment by Sister Toldjah @ 10/24/2006 - 7:51 pm
Lies by Democrats, as well as violence and intimidation tactics, are just fine by Keith, you’ve seen his defense of them before, same old same old. But you do have to wonder why someone who is supposedly liberally enlightened has such a problem with race and homosexuality.
Comment by Severian @ 10/24/2006 - 8:02 pm
OK ST. Your subtle distraction forces me to go off-topic.
The Ford GT50 is the second sexiest Ford there is.
This is the sexiest Ford ever….
LINK
Comment by CZ @ 10/24/2006 - 8:55 pm
Don’t you mean the GT40 CZ. But I agree, those be two real beauties.
Comment by Severian @ 10/24/2006 - 9:05 pm
Your off your rocker CZ!
Forced me to go off-topic for a sec to repond…
Baby, Baby, Oh Baby!!
Comment by sanity @ 10/24/2006 - 9:35 pm
I just saw a New Mustang with the Rosch Racing effects. It was Awesome. Even had sidepipes hidden by the ground effects, but the exhaust came out just before the rear tire. I would love to have a picture of that. It was cool.
But the New Camaro was the hit at the Chicago Auto Show. It is pretty cool too. My boss is a Mustang Driver and even she says it is awesome.
Then there is the Hemi Charger. Niiiiicccceeee!!!! Oiy now if I only had a few hundred thousand dollars.
- Lorica
Comment by Lorica @ 10/24/2006 - 11:18 pm
Here is “the rest of the story” of how Harold Ford Sr. lost his cool on abortion, outside of the Ford for Senate campaign headquarters in Memphis on Tuesday, October 24. A link to video of the incident appears below.
At about 11 AM Central Time, a senior staff member for National Right to Life, Brian Johnston, on assignment for the National Right to Life PAC, attempted to hold a press conference outside the Ford for Senate campaign headquarters in Memphis. The purpose of the press conference was to highlight Harold Ford Jr.’s strongly pro-abortion voting record (and thus, the deceptiveness of his recent labeling of himself as “pro-life”).
The idea for having such a press conference, and the location, were chosen entirely by Mr. Johnston. Mr. Johnston is representing the National Right to Life PAC, which is entirely independent of the Bob Corker campaign. Mr. Johnston was accompanied by a friend, local resident Stan Schultz, who is a past president of the Right to Life affiliate for Tennessee. Mr. Schultz brought a small home video camera to record the press conference. The local media had been advised of the press conference, its sponsorship, and its purposes, about a day earlier.
Before the press conference properly got started, Harold Ford SENIOR came out of the building, denounced the proceedings, and deliberately tried to block the shots of the sole TV camera present, from Fox13, the local Fox affiliate. As the tape rolled, Ford used his cell phone to call Fox13 news director Ken Jobe to complain about the presence of the Fox camera, and to insist (wrongly) that a Corker campaign “tracker” was also taping the event (he was referring to Mr. Schultz, with his little home video camera!).
You can review Fox13’s report on the incident on the station’s website here: LINK
The correspondent, Les Smith, was not present during the incident, and in his report for some reason he treats the identity of Johnston and Schultz — whom he refers to “alleged pro-life protestors” — as an unsolved mystery. This treatment by Smith is itself a mystery, since the press conference was announced well in advance, and Brian Johnston had provided the Fox13 cameraman with his business card and with a packet of information, embrazoned with the National Right to Life logo, about Harold Ford Jr.’s pro-abortion voting record. In addition. both Johnston and Schultz had identified themselves verbally for the Fox13 cameraman.
Moreover, Johnston also gave his business card to Mr. Ford, and he told Mr. Ford that Schultz was also with Right to Life. Mr. Ford chose to ignore this information.
Fox13’s Les Smith arrived at the Ford headquarters while Johnston was still on the scene, and spoke to Ford Sr., but he showed no interest in talking to Johnston.
Fox News Network’s Brit Hume used a shorter clip from this local footage on his Special Report Tuesday (Oct. 24) on the national Fox network.
The intemperate response by Harold Ford Sr. is interesting for at least two reasons. First, it demonstrates how eager the Ford people are to deflect attention away from Harold Junior’s strongly pro-abortion voting record. Second, although Harold Junior has publicly insisted that his father not part of his campaign, it sure looked like Harold Senior was calling the shots at the Memphis headquarters.
Douglas Johnson
Legislative Director
National Right to Life Committee
512 10th Street, Northwest
Washington, D.C. 20004
phone: 202-626-8820
fax: 202-347-3668
e-mail: Legfederal@aol.com
Documentation on the 10-year pro-abortion voting record of Harold Ford, Jr., here:
http://www.nrlpac.org/
Comment by Douglas Johnson @ 10/25/2006 - 7:24 am
Young Ford has been grooming this campaign for a number of years now. He spoke at Law Day here in Jackson, TN a couple of years ago. One could not argue that he didn’t own the room. Charisma can make even the most rancid smell pretty. However, a vote for him is a vote for his thug family. They’ve had a lock on Tennessee politics long enough. Bring on Mr. Corker!
Comment by T.G.Scott @ 10/26/2006 - 12:36 pm
Keith, I agree. This resurrection of not-so-new Republican racism against Ford is not only typical of the repubs, but also of a campaign in the throes of desparation.
Comment by Josh @ 10/30/2006 - 3:28 pm
Nice job of necroposting Josh, Keith has already shot his wad. Republican racism, hey Josh, we’re not the ones portraying people in blackface, calling minority conservatives House N’er’s, Oreos, Uncle Toms, or Twinkies, and we aren’t the party with a former KKK Klegal in a position of authority. Besides, there was nothing racist about the ad, the fact you see it as racist says more about your closet racism than it does about us Republicans.
Comment by Severian @ 10/30/2006 - 4:03 pm