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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHarold Ford, Jr.: smirking sociopath
Harold Ford, Jr. is the walking, breathing embodiment of virtually everything rotted and corrupt about the American political class. He entered Congress at the age of 26 only by virtue of nepotistic benefits: while in law school, he ran for the seat long held by his father of the same name (he then promptly failed the test for admission to the Tennessee bar). In Congress, he voted for de-regulation of Wall Street (which helped precipitate the 2008 financial crisis); to authorize the Iraq War (and then harshly criticized Democrats who opposed it and refused to admit its error even as late as 2007); in favor of a Constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages (The Advocate branded him anti-gay); and was one of the few Democrats to support the credit-card-industry-demanded bankruptcy reform bill that made it harder for impoverished consumers to discharge consumer debt.
After Tennessee voters drove him from Congress by rejecting his 2006 Senate bid, Ford immediately cashed in on his servitude to Wall Street and peddled his D.C. influence by becoming Vice Chairman and Senior Policy Adviser of Merrill Lynch. During Fords tenure, Merrill Lynch nearly collapsed, was bailed out by US taxpayers, and went through a troubled merger with Bank of America, yet he nonetheless received $2 million a year in guaranteed salary plus what were almost certainly substantial annual bonuses. He left what had become Bank of America Merrill to become a Senior Managing Director at Morgan Stanley, at which time he bought a $3 million co-op in Manhattan. Upon leaving Congress, Ford also cashed in by becoming the last Chairman of the corporatist Democratic Leadership Council (last because, typifying his career, the DLC ceased to exist under his leadership). He cashed in further by becoming a Fox News contributor, until he left for MSNBC.
Reflecting the interests he typically serves so eagerly, Ford recently attacked Democratic criticisms of Mitt Romneys career at Bain Capital on the ground that private equity is a good thing in many, many instances. So thats Harold Ford, Jr.: opportunistic, craven, sleazy nepotistic corporatist who has made a career out of converting his unearned political influence and loyalty to the banking industry into large wads of cash.
This morning, Ford, as he often is, was on Morning Joe (independently significant is that fact that one of the most prolific NBC/MSNBC political commentators a Democrat is also a senior Wall Street executive). The show devoted a six-minute segment to Esquires Tom Junod, who as I noted earlier today has just published a worthwhile and heartfelt article entitled The Lethal Presidency of Barack Obama, which examines in depth the multiple ways the President has seized the power to kill; in one section, Junod reports on the U.S. killing of 16-year-old Abdulrahman Awlaki in Yemen, and Esquire has published that section separately under this headline: Obamas Administration Killed a 16-Year-Old American and Didnt Say Anything About It. This Is Justice? In the Morning Joe segment, Junod repeatedly documented the numerous innocent Muslims including children that are continuously killed by Obamas attacks, such as the 16-year-old Denver-born son of the Islamic preacher, a mere two weeks after his father was killed.
More at link
http://www.salon.com/2012/07/09/harold_ford_jr_smirking_sociopath/
Buns_of_Fire
(17,201 posts)Upon leaving Congress, Ford also cashed in by becoming the last Chairman of the corporatist Democratic Leadership Council (last because, typifying his career, the DLC ceased to exist under his leadership).
Of course, other than that, he's pretty much a twit's twit.
JHB
(37,163 posts)The same people pushing the same policies are just using different letterheads now.
Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)boomerbust
(2,181 posts)Makes me ill.
66 dmhlt
(1,941 posts)Fuddnik
(8,846 posts)It's Blue Dogs like him that give rabid dogs everywhere a bad name.
GeorgeGist
(25,324 posts)is a factor in sociopathy.
Ichingcarpenter
(36,988 posts)I dont think the common person is getting it
my college kid, the baby sitters, the nails ladies everybody whos got the right to vote they dont understand whats going on. I just think if youre lower income one, youre not as educated, two, they dont understand how it works, they dont understand how the systems work, they dont understand the impact.
This was a quote from one of Hampton Romney supporters which I think is sociopathic.
Now look at the studies on it.
How Wealth Reduces Compassion
As riches grow, empathy for others seems to decline
By Daisy Grewal | April 10, 2012 | 56
Who is more likely to lie, cheat, and steal the poor person or the rich one? Its temping to think that the wealthier you are, the more likely you are to act fairly. After all, if you already have enough for yourself, its easier to think about what others may need. But research suggests the opposite is true: as people climb the social ladder, their compassionate feelings towards other people decline.
Berkeley psychologists Paul Piff and Dacher Keltner ran
several studies looking at whether social class (as measured by wealth, occupational prestige, and education) influence show much we care about the feelings of others.
In one study,
Piff and his colleagues discreetly observed the behavior of
drivers at a busy four- way intersection. They found that
luxury car drivers were more likely to cut off other
motorists instead of waiting for their turn at the
intersection. This was true for both men and women upper-class drivers, regardless of the time of day or the amount of traffic at the intersection. In a different study they found that luxury car drivers were also more likely to speed past a pedestrian trying to use a crosswalk, even after making eye contact with the pedestrian.
Scientific America's article"
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-wealth-reduces-compassion
radiclib
(1,811 posts)It's Greenwald!
Disregard content and shoot messenger.
Liberal_Stalwart71
(20,450 posts)4_TN_TITANS
(2,977 posts)to campaign and vote for him in 2006 against Bob Corker. Sad to say, but Corker (the R) was the better choice in that race and has done far less damage than the already entrenched Ford Jr. would have done. Ford was raised by Memphis Dems, but he bears no resemblance to a true Democrat in any other way.