Harold Ford appears to try to tie Saddam to 9/11 and Osama.

[madfloridian]

Trying to be fair here, but it appears that Harold Ford either believes in that connection or would like to do so. Maybe I am reading too much into this, but that is what it sounds like to me.

Ford Stands by Original Support of Iraq War

"Though he continues to insist that President Bush rethink the nation’s current strategy in Iraq, Memphis congressman Harold Ford Jr. made it clear Friday night that he would not repudiate his original support of the president’s decision to intervene military in that Middle Eastern nation."

“I support this war in Iraq. I supported it from the very beginning for one reason. Saddam Hussein was a bad guy. Now, there are those who criticize and quarrel with this, and make the point over and over again that perhaps we shouldn’t have done it the way we’ve done it, and I would agree. But I wouldn’t blame the president, or anybody else for that matter, from waking up on September 12th and wondering aloud what would happen if Saddam Hussein and bin Laden married.

"It would be very easy for us to sit back in the comfort of our own homes and say, Well, one is secular and one is religious and they won’t . It would be very easy for us to think that 9/11 wouldn’t happen, but it did.”

Bush’s “instinct” had been right, said Ford, who has visited Iraq three times in the last two years and plans a fourth visit, but there is “a lot of room for change” in how the president pursues operations in Iraq. “I love my president. I love him personally,” Ford said. “But he’s just wrong. – wrong for not being willing to admit that we’ve made some mistakes....It was right to take him down but wrong to think that we can’t right this course.”END SNIP

Rep. Ford with well-wishers at UM Law Alumni banquet.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

1. That's because he's an asshole. n/t

[IndianaGreen]

47. and a DLC a-hole at that!

Ford has yet to call for an end to the war, or to hold Bush accountable for the lies he told to get us into war.

Ford is a Vichy Democrat!

[xxqqqzme]

2. ford is a rising DLC

ass kisser.

'...for one reason. Saddam Hussein was a bad guy....'

and that is reason to send troops N2 harms way? and slaughter tens of thousands of the very same Iraqi's that the 'bad guy' is oppressing?

[Eloriel]

27. and self-serving, opportunist nincompoop

who is apparently now in the process of digging that hole for himself little deeper. That's what happens when you pin your position on a bunch of lies (and he had every opportunity to know they were lies well in advance): said position, and the very ground you're standing on, starts to disintegrate.

Doesn't he look like a perfect fool with these words? Pitiable and pathetic.

[TwilightZone]

3. Groan.

I rarely, if ever, bash leading Dems for a one-issue stance, but Harold is utterly and completely on the wrong side here.

He's being very careful with his words, as well. He isn't specifically stating that he believes that there is/was a link between Saddam and 9/11, but he isn't trying very hard to deny it, either. He's trying to shore up his stance on Iraq, much in the way Bush & Co. do the same. Ugh.

I think that some Dems are so afraid of looking weak on national defense that they're going to stubbornly stick to these misguided views on Iraq, even when public opinion (and common sense) support getting out.

[CottonBear]

4. Harold Ford: Don Imus' favorite guest.

:puke: All he cares about is (wait for it...) Harold Ford being re-elected. :puke:

edit: I wish that he, and the others like him, would simply admit they were mislead by the Bu$h administration during the propaganda buildup to the war.

[madfloridian]

38. Speaking of Ford on Imus....take a look.

This is from the transcript of when he distanced himself from Dean again.

Rep. Harold Ford Jr.: "(Laughing) I won't have him down so many times in Tennessee on the campaign trail with me. He has made some comments as of late that really speak to a lack of understanding I think, of the country, a lack of understanding of faith and values. I'm a Democrat and I'm a God fearing one. I grew up in church. Christianity is not reserved for white males. I think perhaps Governor Dean sometimes gets a little excited at the mouth, and says things that are simply not true. It may reach a point where if he can't find a way to kind of control some of his comments, and temper his comments, it may get to the point where the party may need to look elsewhere for leadership, because he does not speak for me, and I know he does not speak for a majority of Democrats and I dare say Republicans in my home state. I know that other, even Senator Biden and others, have made some stronger comments about him. I look forward to having a chance to sit with him here in the next day or so. I think he's going to be here in Capitol Hill a little later today to meet with us. I want to ask him directly. Can he contain himself in a lot of ways, and what is his thought process in a lot of these issues because it is not representative of where the party is."

Yeh, well I am a God-fearing Democrat as well, and Howard Dean speaks for me. A little too much to suggest they will look elsewhere for leadership....a little overboard, Harold.

[safi0]

41. All he's saying

There is he doesn't want Dean campaigning with him. He says nothing about Dean meeting with state leaders in TN or anything like that. As far as him not wanting Dean to campaign with him, its his campaign and he has the right to have whomever the hell he wants campaigning and not campaigning with him. Plus, this is fairly old, I believe this was after the White Christian comment because I remember the excited at the mouth line.

[quiet.american]

5. Groan. What else is there to say but.... groan.

I've been trying to give Harold Ford, Jr. a break, because I happen to admire the very scrappy style of the DU'er he has here who is one of his most ardent supporters -- even though it ain't easy here!

BUT....

For Harold Ford, Jr. to really believe what he's saying, he has to have been in a bubble that precludes him from knowing that from Day One, NOT on "Sept. 12," Shrub had plans to go into Iraq -- and there's so much documentation on this.... PNAC is not a figment of anyone's imagination.

This is just too gullible a stance.

[JNelson6563]

6. Asshole

sell-out.

[Writer]

7. Harold Ford represents the state of Tennessee. n/t

[welshTerrier2]

8. what an "Edsel" of an idea ...

while Ford worried about a "marriage" between Saddam and Osama, many of us are still worrying about a marriage between Ford and bush ...

the Congressman's reasoning for his conclusion took a remarkably circuitous route ... he correctly observed that Saddam was secular and Osama had religious ties ... but then he concludes that, even in the face of evidence to the contrary, evidence he even cited, anything can happen ... Ford said "It would be very easy for us to think that 9/11 wouldn’t happen, but it did.”" ... of course, given numerous warnings in advance of 9/11, it wouldn't be quite as easy as Ford alleges ... somehow Ford has built a justification for war based on the absurdity that "maybe the bad guys would have teamed up."

Ford's failure to understand that toppling Saddam created a vacuum of power in Iraq that has been a breeding ground for terrorism earns him today's "Edsel" of an idea award ...

[Vickers]

9. Sooooo....this war *was* about gay marriage?

:shrug:

[jenmito]

10. Maybe-

Ford is blinded by his "personal love" for Bush?! :puke:

[madfloridian]

11. "Congressman...at least stop speaking in tongues." Editor to Ford.

It is “a time to break silence,” Congressman. Or at least stop speaking in tongues.

Dear Congressman Ford:

It was good to see you again Friday night (August 19th) at the University of Memphis Law School Alumni Association's annual awards dinner, where you were the keynote speaker.....I must say, however, that I left the banquet room even more confused than ever as to what exactly your attitude towards the Iraq conflict is today. More importantly -- despite your assertions to the contrary -- I had a hard time finding anything in your remarks suggesting that you have a clear idea of what our government's approach to Iraq should be going forward.

At least you made one thing perfectly clear: you in no way, shape, or form have any regrets about the support that you gave President Bush at the outset of this sad odyssey. "I support this war in Iraq,” you said forcefully. “I supported it from the very beginning for one reason. Saddam Hussein was a bad guy." Going forward, therefore, you’ll get no more pleading from me that you "do the right thing," and admit that your vote for the War Powers Act in October 2002 was a mistake. Because you clearly don't think it was…"

"But while I respect your clarity of expression in that regard, the rest of your speech left me, well, speechless. At one point, for example, when criticizing at length the Bush Administration's conduct of the conflict -- something upon which we do agree mightily -- you refer to "the erroneous point of view that we went to Iraq only because there were bad people (there)." And then, quite remarkably, you had this to say:

"If the new standard is ‘bad people’ for going to war, we're going to be busy for a long, long, long time. (Applause.) Because we can start at one tip of Africa and go to the other, we can start some places in Asia, and even there's a few friends in Europe along the way, if bad leaders, cruel leaders or leadership is now the standard for going to war."

"I'm sorry? I sat upright in my chair when you uttered these sentences, having just heard you say from the same podium, not more than five minutes earlier, that you supported the initial decision to attack Iraq "for one reason. Saddam Hussein was a bad guy."

SO much more of this powerful letter here.

[ibegurpard]

14. It's people like this

who will continue to turn off everyone but the most blindly partisan big "D" Democrats.

Edit: people like Ford, not the letter writer.

[Andromeda]

42. Great letter.

I'm so disappointed in Harold Ford, Jr. I used to think that he had a lot of potential because he's young and I thought that with more experience he could become a great Democratic leader and go on to become a Senator.

Listening to him lately is like listening to a Republican.

[Robeson]

54. Great article. Thanks for sharing.

[Mr Rabble]

12. Sorry. Im not stupid enough to buy his argument.

[Zhade]

13. Anyone who supports this guy is an idiot.

Yeah, I fucking said it.

[genius]

15. Harold Ford is a Republican. Check his rating

-155

0 means that they voted half the time with the Republicans and half with the Democrats. Above 0 means they vote more often with us. Below 0 means they vote more often with the Republicans. -155 makes him one of the worst.

http://patrickhenrythinktank.org/house-score4.html

[Jacobin]

16. Oh yes. The new version of the Domino Theory

Don't you just love that these people are actually in positions of power?

[johnaries]

17. I support Kurita!

“We can’t justify expending American lives for oil,” Kurita said.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=179x1842

[safi0]

25. I wouldn't quite

Classify her is as a DINO, but Kurita isn't a whole lot better than a DINO. She's probably to the right of Ford on Iraq, atleast Ford has called for an investigation into the DSM. On the other hand Kurita says doing so would hurt the morale of the troops.

[johnaries]

36. Where do you get your information?

I have not found one statement Kurita ever made about the DSM, period. I have seen others CLAIM that she made one (Ford fans, obviously).

Kurita is DEFINTELY to the left of Ford. Here, see for yourself! Be sure and click on her bio vid where she talks about energy bills being written by oil companies, bankruptcy bills written by credit card companies, etc. She does NOT hold back, SHE KICKS ASS!

http://www.kurita2006.com/
http://www.senatorrosalindkurita.com/

Ford is Repuke Lite, plain and simply.

[safi0]

40. The DSM comment

Was made by a TN DU'er who yes said he's probably going to reluctantly vote for Ford. He was at a roundtable where Kurita said an investigation into the DSM would hurt the morale of the troops. She's definetely to the left of Ford on quite a few issues, but because people seem to despise Ford so much they've made her what she isn't which is a Liberal. I believe she introduced the gay marriage ban in the TN State Senate, and as I was reading her senate website and I read her views on Foreign Policy, and I have to say like many other campaign websites I've seen that's extremely vague

[geek tragedy]

18. Future Fox News analyst.

Did any Republican EVER get elected while professing love for a Democratic president.

He's doomed to defeat, which will be unfortunate but will have the silver lining of getting this DINO weenie off the stage.

[Dinger]

30. Colmes Replacement??? (nt)

[geek tragedy]

31. He's not the partisan bulldog that Colmes is. eom

[sunnystarr]

19. Why am I not surprised? Cause he's a Blue Dog ASSHOLE!

and I'll have pleasure of voting against him in TN!

[grumpy old fart]

20. He's running for Senate in a decidedly 3/4 Red state....

Thank god Memphis is blue!!!!

[welshTerrier2]

24. that's no excuse ...

here are some recent poll numbers on bush's approve/disapprove ... and note that this is for his overall rating ... he's doing MUCH, MUCH worse on Iraq:

Tennessee ..... Approve: 43% ..... Disapprove: 52%

if Ford is playing politics while Americans are dying, he's even worse than I thought ...

what is needed from Democrats if we really want to win is bold, courageous leadership on the issues ... timid poll-takers have been killing this Party for 25 years ...

take a stand, fight for it, go down swinging if that's how it turns out ... as long as our "leaders" try to finesse the big issues, we ain't going nowhere ...

[Guaranteed]

34. No, it isn't. We need LEADERSHIP. nt

[demzilla]

21. So, let's see, all that death and destruction is worth it because

Saddam Hussein is "a bad guy."

The world is filled with "bad guys." Shall we take them all out, one after the other?

And while there was no "marriage" between Hussein and Bin Laden, there certainly seems to be one between Ford and Bush. Yes, I know he wants to be a senator from a red state, but he's either stupid or has no integrity. Maybe Tennesseans are better off electing a real Republican.

[grumpy old fart]

22. At least Frist is leaving....dude NEVER comes to Memphis......

which goes to show that a christofascist can win without our blue corner of the state..though it takes all the yokels in the remaining 4/5 to overcome us!

[sarcasmo]

23. Why does he seem freepr light in every article titled Harold Ford.

[BlueJac]

26. Ford loves Bush

Damn, let's get them a room! :puke:

[mmonk]

28. If the dems

are going to be a war party (neocon style) then I'll join the greens. You don't defeat terrorism by invading nation states with "shock and awe" unless those nation states are actively involved in attacking you. Terrorist organizations are either part of some sort of revolution or they are blow back.

[fujiyama]

29. "I love my president"

Not to sound like Pee Wee Herman, but "why don't you marry him then?"

Seriously if any two men are married, it's him to Bush.

Yuck :puke:

I used to not mind Ford, but this is beyond disgusting.

[madfloridian]

32. Thinking of the guy who called in to The Majority Report....

and made Janeane a little cross (kidding..a lot cross) started me thinking about Harold Ford's words.

How can we expect the right wing to take us seriously about telling the truth when our Democrats talk this way.

Just a thought.

[win_in_06]

33. He's like a younger, blacker , better looking version of Hillary

[Crunchy Frog]

35. I have to say that I'm very glad I don't live in Tennessee.

I would be having a real dilemma if I did.

[ourbluenation]

37. That is unfortunate...

damn.

[Robeson]

39. And here in Tennessee, its this type of stuff that is the exact reason...

...why I will be supporting the other Democratic candidate.

[hadrons]

43. meet the new Zell Miller

[AtomicKitten]

44. So cute and so wrong.

I'm disappointed. I thought he had a future.

[mattclearing]

45. Well, here Saddam and Osama wouldn't be allowed to marry anyways.

What an idiotic thing to say, on multiple levels.

[madfloridian]

46. I agree, it was a very odd thing to say.

It was verging on just being silly and childish.

[wiley]

53. I think that was code

for bashing same sex marriages. He's not especially clever.

[snowbear]

48. His feelings about the war..

Are what upset me so much about Kerry during his campaign..

If he could have just said that "knowing what I know now, NO, I would NOT have supported this war"

But he could never and would never (just like Ford) say that.. He continued to say throughout the campaign that he stood by his decision; that we should have gone in.

I just never understood that about Kerry and I don't understand it about Harold Ford either.. :shrug:

[fishnfla]

49. Therapy might help: cure for babbling idiocy needed

seriously he must eat with his rectum too, 'cuz he is talking out of his ass.

[Rocinante]

50. As a Tennessean

I have to say that I'm really disappointed with Harold Ford. That's putting it mildly. He really had a lot of promise when he first started out in politics. I was looking forward to supporting him in a bid for the Presidency some day, but now I wonder.

I'm beginning to think in 2006 voters, even in Tennessee, will be ready for a true Democrat after all of the lies of the administration come to light.

Harold Ford ain't a true Democrat in my book.

[madfloridian]

51. Editorial: Harold Ford for Senate?....they suggest as a Republican.

Harold Ford for Senate

Now the public is restless. The negativity extends directly to every member of Congress, Republican and Democrat, who lacked either the intestinal fortitude or the common sense to stand up to this administration’s mad rush toward war.

Here in Tennessee, Democratic candidate for senator Harold Ford Jr. not only supported the Iraq War Powers Act, he was one of the co-sponsors! To his credit, Ford has stuck to his guns. (“I support this war in Iraq,” he reiterated last week. “I supported it from the beginning for one reason: Saddam Hussein was a bad guy.”) And since that 2002 vote, Ford has continued to ignore Truman’s dictum. He has been the very model of a “Democrat who acts like a Republican” by supporting the Terry Schiavo bill, by failing to show up to vote against this year’s heinous budget, and by voting for the administration’s corporate-friendly bankruptcy and energy bills.

Cynics suggest that Ford is simply trying to strike the kind of “moderate” pose that enhances his chances in Republican East Tennessee. The facts suggest otherwise. Indeed, the vehemence with which Congressman Ford defended the administration last Friday (“I love my president. I love him personally,” the congressman avowed) inclines us to suggest that Ford take President Truman’s advice to its logical conclusion:

Congressman Ford, we suggest you immediately declare your candidacy for the Republican nomination for the Senate. Your words, your political contributors, and your votes make it clear that’s where you belong. As the Republican nominee, you would become the favorite to be Tennessee’s next senator. And you could go before the voters as what you are: a centrist who believes in the war in Iraq and who favors the budgetary, economic, and environmental policies of the Bush administration.

Best of all, your move to the Republican Party would clear the air in state politics. In 2006, the voters of Tennessee might be given a real choice at the polls: between a Republican candidate who stands on his record and for the status quo and a real Democratic candidate who might have the political courage to articulate a viable alternative to the mess in which we presently find ourselves at home and abroad.

[sakabatou]

52. Oh, give it a rest Ford...