Letters to the Editor
Lyle Caldwell
Published Letters: 6
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A Primer on Ford Jr, from a TN Democrat
[Read the article: Do Democrats need the South?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Let me explain a few things about Harold Ford Jr that Democrats outside Tennessee need to know.
In addition to spending the past ten years positioning himself to the right in order to appeal to the same East Tennessee conservatives who rejected him this week (at the expense of his constituency in Memphis and the issues that matter to progressive Democrats), he showed an appalling lack of political acumen and basic ethics when it came to his role in the Memphis/TN Democratic party.
In the campaign to replace him in the 9th Congressional District, State Senator Steve Cohen, a white jew with 24 years in the TN Legislature, defeated 12 other candidates in the Democratic primary, including Jr’s cousin and his younger brother, Jake Ford.
After Cohen won the primary, he tried to reach out to Ford Jr as they both prepared to shift racial attitudes - Cohen was the first white candidate to have a shot at the 9th district in 30 years, and Jr was the first black candidate to have a shot in a Senatorial race in TN.
Jr rebuffed Cohen, and instead supported his brother Jake, who was running as an independent, in the 9th district.
Jake, who has a GED and a police record (not mudslinging - these are facts which matter to the electorate), was wholly unqualified for the position, and embarrassed himself in three debates (”I haven’t read the Patriot Act, but I know it’s important that we support it.” and “I don’t know the answer, but if you send me to Washington I can learn on the job” were some of his better moments). Not only that, he told flat out lies about Cohen that all discredited by the local journalists, ranging from Cohen hitting a black woman to Cohen saying on the floor of the TN Senate that “poor people don’t deserve to go to college” (Cohen almost single handedly passed the TN Lottery legislation, which has made more money available for TN schoolchildren than any other source in decades).
As the campaign progressed, Cohen received the endorsement of the (black) County and City Mayors and important leaders from across the community, black and white, moderate, liberal, and conservative.
Ford Jr never supported Cohen at all. To this extent, he had the DNC issue “TN Democrats” brochures showing the “major” candidates for this election, leaving Steve off the brochures. Ford called “impromptu” press events and rallies at times when his campaign knew Cohen was having pre-anounced rallies. At the last such, Cohen had hundreds of supporters, while Jr had his staff and the media.
When both Ford Jr and Steve Cohen attended an event at which Bill Clinton was present, Ford thanked every politician in the audience, including his non-Democrat brother, with the specific exception of Steve Cohen. Bill Clinton was gracious enough to recognize Cohen, much to Ford's displeasure.
Worse, Harold Ford Sr had the same “machine” pushing for Jake as he did for Jr, inlcuding sample “Democratic” ballots which showed Jake instead of Cohen. Jake even put out material saying “as a lifelong Democrat”. Harold Sr even said that Cohen, who is jewish, could not win in Memphis "because Memphis is a Christian city." Harold Ford Jr did not speak out against his father on this issue.
This angered a LOT of Democrats in Memphis. This behavior, on top of the past 30 years of corruption in the Ford family, which Jr has never even tried to distance himself from (to the extent of dubious legislation benefitting his father’s lobbying firm), was the final straw for many Memphis Democrats.
Did we want the Senate? Yes. Did we want Jr rewarded? No. Our dream, which did come true, miraculously enough, was that the Democrats would regain the Senate *without Jr*.
So how can anyone push Jr as a candidate for DNC Chairman when he has shown such an inability to rally support for his fellow Democrats, instead choosing his corrupt family - again.
BTW, Steve Cohen won that election with almost 60% of the vote. Despite Harold Ford, Jr’s best efforts.
Don’t call us, Harold, we’ll call you.
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God I hope not
[Read the article: The best band in the world?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Otherwise a few hundred thousand musicians died last night without my being aware of it.
I liked AF better when they were called the Waterboys. You know, when they had songs.
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Whi;e You're Making Changes...
[Read the article: Goodbye to the Fix, for now]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Ditch the stupid rabbits. They are unfunny.
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re: The Beatles' "Discarded" Muses
[Read the article: TV Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Heather, you might be chagrinned to learn that Julia was John's mother, who died when he was 16, an event that had a tremendous impact on his life and art.
PS Martha was Paul's sheepdog. Michelle and Rita were just names Paul fancied.
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"Scary" Obama Ad
[Read the article: Why do conservatives really find the Obama campaign "scary"?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This is just the beginning of the tortured language and painful spin we'll be getting through Nov as the right tries to disguise their bone-deep fear of women, minorities, homosexuals, and, well, pop music in general.
Meanwhile the RNC will be hitting us with Ford truck ads with McCain taking the place of the heroic gas guzzler. Toby Keith won't even have to change the lyrics.
Maybe they'd like to do a "Hussein" video, but good luck finding soul singers for that ad...
Anyway, this is going to get ugly, be it Obama or Clinton.
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They weren't just running against Childers....
[Read the article: Republicans worried after Mississippi defeat ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...they were running against Obama too.
The most recent radio spots running here in the weeks before the election, were targeting Obama as much as Childers, and took great glee in lumping them together.
Literally. They said things like "Obama and Childers want to do this/don't want to do that". Sorry, I don't have links or the verbatim ad spots.
But it was interesting that they thought the best way to defeat Childers was to link him to the presumptive nominee, Obama.
So odds are Obama will clean up in Mississippi come November. Not the brightest minds in the RNC working on this congressional race.