Posted on 01/11/2010 7:16:53 PM PST by Free ThinkerNY
WASHINGTON — The White House made it clear on Monday that it opposed the prospect of Harold E. Ford Jr.’s running for the United States Senate in New York, even as Mr. Ford, the former Tennessee congressman, showed no signs of being deterred.
The remarks from the White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs, were the first offered by the Obama administration since Mr. Ford said last week that he was seriously considering challenging Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand in this fall’s Democratic primary.
Mr. Gibbs said that the administration backed Ms. Gillibrand, who was appointed last January to fill the seat vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton.
“I think the White House is quite happy with the leadership and the representation of Senator Gillibrand in New York,” Mr. Gibbs said when asked about Mr. Ford at a White House press briefing. “We’re supporting her re-election.”
Mr. Gibbs suggested that the White House was prepared to go even further to stop Mr. Ford, telling reporters to “Stay tuned” when asked about any behind-the-scenes efforts to clear the field for Ms. Gillibrand.
But Mr. Ford remained defiant.
Asked on MSNBC’s “Hardball” whether he was prepared to run without White House support, Mr. Ford said: “I have great respect for President Obama. If I run and win, I look forward to working with him. But I will listen to New Yorkers as I make this decision.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Ford is not his father’s son. His mother gave him the ultimate gift......more white genes.
The shift of a few thousand votes would have put Ford in the Senate at the same time as Obama. Ironically, Ford might have become the “light-skinned Negro” that the Democrats chose to put in the White House. Ford is at least verifiably American.
I am running against Ms. Gillibrand, the Governor appointee. For those who follow Cagle political cartoons, wait to see the one I am cooking up on the Spitzer/Gillibrand dialogue this week. Better yet, go to my website and see why I am 180 degrees different than her. I am truly Upstate in Ithaca but will represent the WHOLE state. Ford already lost a Senate seat in another State. These folks are desperate to just be a politician anywhere. I am NOT a career politician nor want to be. I am a citizen politician which is what the founding fathers intended. http://www.norenforsenate.com
I was FEC registered before anyone else in this race
I am not a New Yorker. They have their own state board here too, click the flag on your profile page.
BTW, ‘Behind Liberal Lines’ always said Ithica is the City of Evil. heh.
Color aside (it's character that matters, of course) the real problem for Ford is not just being an opportunistic transplant but being one with an extreme Tennessee drawl. At least Hillary, when she wasn't doing a "negro dialect" in Southern churches and a plain old southern dialect in her years in Arkansas, linguistically was a match in NY. Ford's dialect would scream opportunistic transplant every time he opened his mouth.
I believe I'll go with the first option. Well, that's just me, of course.
The only worthwhile and honest person named Ford from your state, in my rather long lifetime, went by the name of 'Tennessee Ernie'.
Wonderful singer.
And BLL is, and always has been, entirely correct in that view...plus he does provide for all to see the assorted details of that city’s utterly perverse goobermint.
To be blunt, what the hell are you talking about! I know the Ford family is a bunch of crooked Dem hacks but that wasn't the gist of my post My character point is to highlight that color to me is irrelevant, character is not.
That wasn't to imply that Ford isn't criminal like his familial brethren but that wasn't a topic of interest at this point (since he seems to enjoy immunity with TN) but simply that his Tennessee accent (which is just fine by me, thank you very much) would be a liability in a transplant campaign in NY because his accent would remind voters of his opportunistic campaign.
I don't know where you got any suggestion of me being a racist and to be honest, it pisses me off. I have relatives in WV and SC and I love both states and, yes, the accents.
Does he think New Yorkers are going to mistake him for Derek Jeter?
<<--promises NOT to give up the day job.
You know, now that I reread it I should have sensed the satire. Part my bad.
I don’t recall it being that close, but it looks like it was 3 percentage points. That is close enough.
I used to listen to Ford on “Imus in the Morning” where he played the “moderate” Democrat. Imus loved pumping that “independent voter”, not Dem, not Repub, stuff.
Ford talked a good game, but he was from a corrupt family in one of the most politically corrupt congressional district’s in the country.
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