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A former Congressman from Tennessee set off an internet firestorm when he appeared on Fox News remotely Thursday, with a portrait of former Chairman of the People’s Republic of China and founder of the Chinese Communist Party Mao Zedong in the background. Harold Ford Jr., a Democrat, represented Tennessee’s Ninth Congressional District for a decade, from 1997 to 2007. Now, he provides commentary frequently on Fox News. Fox News viewers noticed some strange background decor during Ford’s appearance on “Special Report” with Bret Baier Thursday. “Wow, [Harold Ford Jr.] rockin’ the Warhol Mao over the fireplace. I liked the Muhammad...

“ These people are sick! Former Tennessee Democrat Congressman Harold Ford Jr was interviewed on FOX this past week. It was quite an interview as WIBC.com reports:”

Former lawmaker and frequent MSNBC pundit Harold Ford Jr. won't appear on "Morning Joe" while he pursues legal action against a woman who accused him of sexual assault. Ford, who represented Tennessee as a Democrat for a decade, worked at Morgan Stanley when a female reporter accused him of groping and stalking her. As a result, Ford's employer, Morgan Stanley, fired him. Ford responded by saying the accusations against him were not true, and that he would sue both her for making false claims, and Morgan Stanley for wrongful termination. But while those actions are ongoing, Ford will not appear...

Former Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.) was fired from his job at Morgan Stanley after an investigation into a harassment complaint from a female co-worker, HuffPost reported Thursday. The woman, who requested to remain anonymous, alleged that Ford forcibly grabbed her one evening in Manhattan several years ago. She also accused Ford of harassment and intimidation, according to HuffPost. A spokeswoman for Morgan Stanley confirmed Ford’s firing, telling the news outlet he was terminated “for conduct inconsistent with our values and in violation of our policies.”

Here in Chicago, I regularly meet with a group of friends who call themselves “The Think Squad”; these are men and women who are prominent members of the black community in Hyde Park and the City’s south side. None of them supported Barack Obama’s presidential bid in 2008 but most begrudgingly voted for him because they freely admit race-pride was their motivating factor. These people knew Obama when he was a state senator and saw him do absolutely nothing for blacks in Chicago back then…and they similarly saw Obama do nothing for blacks (or any of his constituents in general)...

On Wednesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” former Tennessee Democratic Rep. Harold Ford offered his theory on why last night’s Wisconsin recall election went in Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s favor: He “got a little lucky.” Ford’s co-panelist, former Vermont Democratic Gov. Howard Dean, blamed money and “Morning Joe” co-host Willie Geist asked why the Democratic side is unable to match the Republican side when it comes to money, since the rules are the same for everyone. “You know, it’s a good question, and it’s one that will play out and be answered over the coming months,” Ford replied. “I look...

Ed Rendell joins Harold Ford and Cory Booker as critics within Barack Obama’s own party of his electoral strategy of demonizing private equity. In a BuzzFeed article that focuses on the larger disconnect between Obama and Democratic Party institutions, Zeke Miller gets the former Democratic governor of Pennsylvania — a state critical to Obama’s re-election hopes — on the record as decidedly uncomfortable with the tone of Team Obama’s attacks on Bain Capital: Rendell joined the chorus of criticism of Obama’s attacks on finance, whose leaders have written checks to many members of both parties. “I think they’re very disappointing,”...

Calling for higher taxes may bring applause at partisan political events, but it won't lower energy prices." I think all of the above energy strategy that Tom laid out and that the president articulates at times is not altogether pursued. Take for example the vote in the Senate last week. The deductions enjoyed by the oil companies are enjoyed by all U.S. manufacturers. So to single out oil companies at a time in which gas prices are high, in which our U.S. domestic industry, or to say domestic oil industry... MS. BRZEZINSKI: Eighty billion in profits. FMR. REP. FORD JR.:...

What a curiously incurious Morning Joe bunch! Joe Scarborough says Solyndra "is just not a story I have focused on" and John Heilemann similarly admits to not having "drilled down" on the matter. Meanwhile, Harold Ford, Jr. assures us that when it comes to any potential Solyndra scandal, "there's no there, there" and that no one "has done anything illicit here at all." A blasé Joe Scarborough grudgingly introduced "this Solyndra thing," citing those pesky "conservatives on Twitter" who keep raising it. The show deigned to devote under two minutes to the story, with nary a mention of the facts...

This space never has had anything negative to blog about Former Congressman Harold Ford Jr. until today. His statement about Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was so grating the television set was turned off. Ford said that Palin was going to run for President and that she was "formidable." That was when this space wondered if Ford was being paid by a Republican operative. Sarah Palin has so many errors and mistakes that will be tossed back at her in the middle of a presidential campaign it would be embarrassing. Ford saying she was "formidable" just gives hope to her...

Back in January, Harold Ford, Jr. proclaimed to Chris Matthews no fewer than four times: "I am a New Yorker" [see amusing video after the jump]. But that profession of Big Apple-hood apparently didn't cut it with NBC. Even as Ford was discussing today his reasons for not entering the New York Dem senatorial primary against Kirsten Gillibrand, Meet The Press displayed the graphic seen here, labelling Ford "(D-TN)."

Former Rep. Harold Ford Jr. said Tuesday that Democrats are “scared” heading into this fall’s election and that he decided not to run for the Senate from New York because he feared his party would lose the seat after a tough primary. “The fall is going to be a tough, tough fall for whatever Democrat emerges,” Ford said during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” his first since announcing Monday night that he is not running. “It would have been a tough brutal fight.” snip Ford also indicated that Republican Sen. Scott Brown’s win in Massachusetts made a Republican win...

My editors had too much sense to use that headline, which has been used for many a Mort Zuckerman profile, but ... that's why it's nice to have a blog. My story today is on the politics and the personal questions around a potential Mort Zuckerman bid for Senate:

WHEN it was reported two months ago that I was thinking seriously about running for the United States Senate from New York, Democratic Party insiders started their own campaign to bully me out of the race — just as they had done with Representatives Carolyn Maloney, Steve Israel and others. But as I traveled around New York, I began to understand why the party bosses felt the need to use such heavy-handed tactics: They’re nervous. New Yorkers are clamoring for change. Our political system — so bogged down in partisan fighting — is sapping the morale of New Yorkers and...

Former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford announced Monday evening that he will not challenge incumbent Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) in the upcoming Democratic primary. Just six weeks ago, the former Tennessee Congressman was putting together his campaign team and warning top Democrats that he couldn't be bullied. Evidently he could be.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Harold Ford, a former representative from Tennessee, will not challenge Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in the New York Democratic primary, The New York Times reported on Monday. In an opinion piece it said would be published in the Times on Tuesday, the newspaper quoted Ford as writing: "If I run, the likely result would be a brutal and highly negative Democratic primary -- a primary where the winner emerges weakened and the Republican strengthened." "I refuse to do anything that would help Republicans win a Senate seat in New York, and give the Senate majority to the Republicans,"...

Of all the Democrats who sighed with relief at the news that New York Gov. David Paterson won't run for a full term in office this year, perhaps none was louder than that of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. While his exit clears the Democratic primary field for Attorney General Andrew Cuomo -- saving him both money for the general election and a potentially bloody, intraparty battle -- Gillibrand is assured she won't be running her first Senate campaign with a politically anemic governor at the top of the ticket. Paterson was scheduled to announce his decision to leave the race this...

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand boxed out Harold Ford on his own turf Thursday night, reeling in the coveted endorsement of the New York County Democratic Party. The committee chose to pass over Ford, a Manhattanite who is mulling a challenge against Gillibrand, to endorse the incumbent from upstate. "In just a short period of time ... Gillibrand has proven herself to be a smart, hardworking advocate for the people of New York," said Assemblyman Keith Wright (D-Harlem), the county chair. Ford had met with Wright last month and recently had urged him and other county leaders to hold off on any...

The Politician’s Wife Claims No Baggage By LAURA M. HOLSON February 10, 2010 SINCE early January, when Harold E. Ford Jr. announced he was considering a bid for a Senate seat from New York, his wife, Emily Ford, has been hounded. Her friends call almost daily to ask if she has read the latest gossip about the couple. Mr. Ford can’t seem to stop talking about his wife, either, recently telling a columnist that he walks her favorite Chihuahua, Fabby. Emily Ford [Pic in URL] steels herself for a rough ride as Harold E. WELL PREPARED? Emily Ford was a...

Like Jay-Z and Lady Gaga, Harold Ford, Jr. has a tour rider. The former Tennessee congressman, who is now trying to carpetbag his way to a Senate seat in New York, banks about $20,000 when he gives speeches booked by the Greater Talent Network agency. According to the below contract for an appearance Wednesday at a Missouri college, Ford demands that when his limo driver picks him up, the chauffeur must be carrying a sign reading "H.F.." Presumably, if the Democrat's name was spelled out, hordes of fans/groupies would be alerted to his impending arrival and swarm him (something that...