Posted on 10/26/2006 10:46:25 AM PDT by SmithL
For Harold Ford Sr., this campaign season has been a family affair.
He's worked to drum up votes for his son Jake's bid as an independent to represent the 9th Congressional District.
Ford Sr. is also a volunteer in his oldest son Harold Jr.'s Democratic U.S. Senate campaign and has offered advice on voter turnout and campaign tactics.
"He (Sr.) knows the last three months of strategy better than anyone, and he (Jr.) trusts his father," said Ford Jr.'s campaign adviser, Robert Sepucha.
During several local events for Ford Jr., the elder Ford plugged Jake's candidacy, said Shelby County Democratic Party chairman Matt Kuhn. "It's a little unsettling," said Kuhn.
"I don't know of any Democratic event where this has ever happened," Ford Sr. said. "The party is supporting the Democratic nominees, but I'm the father of both (Harold and Jake). I support my two sons."
Republican Senate candidate Bob Corker and some local Democrats see such support as evidence that Ford Sr.'s involvement in his sons' campaigns is too close for comfort.
"I know that (Ford Sr.) is active in both, and I have seen instances where he's campaigned for Jake during instances when he's supposed to be campaigning for Junior," Kuhn said.
With less than two weeks before the general election, Ford Sr. and his campaign efforts are the focus of increased scrutiny.
During debates and interviews, Corker has questioned whether Ford Jr. has been unduly influenced by his lobbyist father. Ford Jr.'s not having endorsed Democrat Steve Cohen over Jake Ford in the congressional race, coupled with his father's campaign volunteer activities, are proof that the congressman's "first loyalty is to the Ford political machine," said Todd Womack, a spokesman for the Corker campaign.
"(Ford Sr.) is the patriarch of the Ford political machine and he realizes any chance of one of his family members holding federal office is slipping away," Womack said.
On the campaign trail and in interviews, Ford has said his father is his "best friend," someone he speaks to "10 times a day." However, their relationship is purely filial, Ford said, and at the end of the day he makes his own decisions on how to vote in the House and run his Senate campaign.
"Neither my father nor any member of my family has ever lobbied me, nor will I allow them to," Ford told The Commercial Appeal recently.
Even though some Democrats are unhappy about the the elder Ford's activities, "... it's unrealistic for anyone to expect (Ford Jr.) to distance himself from his father," Kuhn said.
If Corker loses it will be due to voter fraud in Memphis.
I hope Corker's team is already working to prevent this.
DYNASTY!!
Di - Nasty ???
lol!
On "Cracker" watch?
Oh, no no no! That was "tracker", not "cracker". Just ask Sr., he wouldn't lie!
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New! More ways to find the latest on cracker harold ford:
The local news outlets around Chattanooga are already starting to talk about whether he really was saying "tracker". Why will it not surprise me if they fall for that BS.
Not necessarily. The Fords won't need to 'raise the dead' in the 9th Congressional District, which is most of Shelby County. It's Jr.'s by gerrymandered default.
I don't believe they have the state-wide organization to have much effect outside the 9th.
Corker will win.
Of course I'd prefer Bryant.
But I'll vote for Corker.
Be advised, Australia newspaper upset because Ford included them re: nukes. On the articles I read other than this one, it seems he included it in a list of countries that are persuing nukes. Problem is... they're not, so he's clueless.
Here:
This Is One Of Those Things
That won't really make any difference in the end, but does show that Harold Ford is a little bit inexperienced about foreign affairs. It seems he gave a speech where he casually tossed off the names of countries interested in getting nuclear weapons. He threw Australia in there. Which comes as a surprise to Australia.
His skilled oration on domestic politics may be flawless, but his grip on foreign policy is error-prone. Yesterday he stumbled into gaffes on the North Korean nuclear tests and then mentioned Australia in the same breath as rogue nations wanting to go nuclear.
"Here we are in a world today where more countries have access to nuclear weapons than ever before," Mr Ford said, adding that when he left college in 1992 he thought the nuclear age had come to an end "and America would find ways to eliminate the number of chances that a rogue group or a rogue nation would get their hands on nuclear material".
"Today nine countries have it - more than ever before - and 40 are seeking it, including Argentina, Australia and South Africa," he said.
Mr Ford was referring to the nine known nuclear weapon states: the US, the UK, Russia, China, France, India, Pakistan, Israel and now North Korea.
He said this made the US less safe because "more countries have nuclear weapons today which means the possibility of nuclear weapons falling into the wrong hands has increased dramatically".
On North Korea, he claimed Pyongyang had conducted two nuclear tests, the first of which he said occurred on July 4. This confuses the ballistic tests Pyongyang carried out on that date with the single nuclear test earlier this month.
The gaffes were lost on the audience and he was given a rousing standing ovation from Democrats and Republicans alike. Any chance of clarifying Mr Ford's remarks with the man himself was impossible as minders shielded any international media from asking questions, ushering Mr Ford away.
"You don't win us any votes," said his spokeswoman. And she might have added that it also means he is insulated from pesky questions probing his limitations on enunciating a foreign policy involving a trusted ally.
In point of fact, South Africa gave up its program. Australia has no interest in getting any of these weapons - at least for now. It has never expressed any interest and does not have a nuclear infrastructure at all. They only own one research reactor which is used for making medical isotopes.
Like I said, it won't nake any difference.
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