Was Ford Jr. overrated?

[memphis]

He's my Congressman so I've watched him for a while. I really didn't get what everybody saw in him. I don't think he's that charismatic and I don't think he comes across as very sincere. I wanted him to win because I would like his votes (especially for majority leader) better than Corker's but I don't get all the hype. What was the big deal?

[memphis]

James, I think you mean the Republican Main Street Partnership. I haven't heard anything about Corker joining them, nor would I expect to considering that he is against gun control, for a flat tax, doubtful on global warming, for the War in Iraq, and against abortion rights (though the national Right to Life folks refuse to endorse him because he has changed his position).  I could be wrong though. Johnny Isakson, of all people, is a member.

[Adlai Stevenson]

Isakson and Corker are more moderate Republicans, however, they are forced to posture to the religious right.  Ford was not overrated at all, he did very well considering and probably could have won. 

[Umengus]

Ford did good job but Tennesse seems to lean very conservative.

[DownWithTheLeft]

Yes, but (o I hate to keep bringing this race up) not as much as the other Junior

[WalterMitty]

i wonder if his conservatism is genuine, or was he just trying to get elected statewide?

if he truly is as conservative as he claims, he should be a republican.

[DownWithTheLeft]

i wonder if his conservatism is genuine, or was he just trying to get elected statewide?

if he truly is as conservative as he claims, he should be a republican.

It's one of those I'm black so I have to be a Democrat things, sad but true

[Kevin]

I don't think it was because Ford was black, It was because he started to run a bad campagin and make alot of gaffes in the home strech leading up to election day. Also Ford did pretty well for a Democrat in the rural parts of TN and if I'm not mistaken didn't he win the hometown of the KKK?   

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

He's my Congressman so I've watched him for a while. I really didn't get what everybody saw in him. I don't think he's that charismatic and I don't think he comes across as very sincere. I wanted him to win because I would like his votes (especially for majority leader) better than Corker's but I don't get all the hype. What was the big deal?

As a part of the College Republican group, I once protested at a meeting that he and Chris Shays were having at the UofM to promote Campaign Finance "Reform".  (It was a Republican 'protest', meaning we quietly held up some signs outside then went inside and sat down respectfully like everyone else )

Shays rudely scoffed at us, made fun of our signs in his speech, and quickly left the room afterwards.  (You'd think that he'd at least want to say "hi" to a group on campus of his own Party)

Even though we were clearly identified as Republicans, Ford sought me out and wanted to answer every question that I had about why he was supporting CFR.  He spent at least 20 minutes with me, only pausing to greet some of the others there.  He listened intently and responded to all of my points - he seemed to care that I thought he was trampling on the 1st Amendment.   I have always been impressed and inspired by that.

For the same reason that you did vote for him, I could not.  I strongly supported Corker because he is a man in the image of Tennessee's own brand of moderate Republicanism - along with Thompson, Baker, and Alexander.  But I'll never forget that day that a member of Congress took the time to listen to the concerns of someone who had come to protest his cause.

[Kevin]

I don't think it was because Ford was black, It was because he started to tun a bad campagin and make alot of gaffes in the home strech leading up to election day. Also Ford did pretty well for a Democrat in the rural parts of TN and if I'm not mistaken didn't he win the hometown of the KKK?   

I very much agree with you. I completely agree that his race did not hurt him, not one bit. Tennessee wouldn't do something like that! He lost because towards the end he was getting to confident, crashed Corker's Press Conference, and some voters may have gotten scared of a Democratic-Senate.

Anyway, I wonder how they feel now.. Dems still control the Senate without him.  And Ford did much better then the latest polls said.

But no one really controls the US Senate. Most US Senators have to be somewhat moderate as they have to represent urban, rural and suburban areas of states, the filibuster, and minority members have more power. Id say the US Senate still has a Slight Conservative Lean of the 110th Congress.

We need to change the rules of the House to make it more bipartisian.

Him crashing Corker's press conference kind of did to him like what Allen macaca remark did to Allen exept on a smaller scale. Also Ford's family issues hurt him too.     

[Ben.]

Ford lost when the campaign became about the "RNC attack ads" all of a sudden there where no more positive Ford ads (till the day before the election) and he was on the defensive, he need not have been... it was a close race and on such things close races turn, Ford should have brushed aside the attack ads with one maybe two sharp rebuttals, instead his campaign focused on them, had he not done that I think he'd have probably edged out Corker. 

[Nutmeg]

A lot of the southern segregation was more based on fear. If the Lincoln Administration wasn't so harsh on the Southern States, I seriously doubt things would have gotten as bad.

Or, the Johnson Administration, rather.  Had Lincoln lived, things probably would have been a lot better for the South.

He spent at least 20 minutes with me

Well, that was a waste of his time.  Maybe he should have campaigned more effectively.

[Speed of Sound]

I was pretty sure this was the worst kept secret in politics. He didnt have charisma, it seemed more like a kid that had too much candy. Even after the elections hes been through, he still made rookie mistakes on the campaign trail, and he allowed his base to get wrapped up in that racism thing. Someone couldve won that seat, but quite obviously not Harold Ford, Jr.

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

Well, that was a waste of his time.  Maybe he should have campaigned more effectively.

It was 5 years ago, back when he was considering running in '02

[Kevin]

I was pretty sure this was the worst kept secret in politics. He didnt have charisma, it seemed more like a kid that had too much candy. Even after the elections hes been through, he still made rookie mistakes on the campaign trail, and he allowed his base to get wrapped up in that racism thing. Someone couldve won that seat, but quite obviously not Harold Ford, Jr.

I thought Ford was chrismatic.

[Stranger in a strange land]

He did a good joob overall, but I'd still say he was just a bit overrated. Still, I think it's really impressive that a black democrat could get 48% of the vote statewide in any southern state.

[DownWithTheLeft]

New Key to Winning Elections:

Don't Run Jr's:

Only 33% won and the only one that one was b/c the incumbent was disliked, the other two lost an open and sort of open race

[Adlai Stevenson]

Did you know:

If Ford got the same % of the White Vote in Alabama or Mississippi, he would have won by a clear margin?

Sadly I can't see that happening that in either of those states.  Historically, the most politically segregated states have been the ones with the highest black population.  However, hopefully I will be proven wrong.  Maybe Artur Davis could accomplish that in 2008?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

To win statewide in Alabama, a Democrat needs to do well in the north of the state (which is (mainly) white, working class and rural). I've never seen anything to suggest that Davis could do that.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

He was actually underrated. Most people early thought he had no chance and the race wouldn't even be close.

[Kevin]

He did a good joob overall, but I'd still say he was just a bit overrated. Still, I think it's really impressive that a black democrat could get 48% of the vote statewide in any southern state.

Ford has a future, I have a feeling he maybe running for Governor of TN in 2010. If he did this the odds would most likely be in his favor since Bresden has been highly successful and Ford would be in a predictiment to position himself as the one who would carry on the good job that Bresden did.