Went to a Harold Ford for Senator rally - Obama was guest speaker

[Ugnmoose]

The rally held in Memphis, was supposed to have 700 to 800 people attend. By some estimates there were over 2,000 screaming supporters. The crowd was so large they had to abandon tables and make it SRO. Also, officials moved people into overlow rooms because the fire marshal closed the ball room. I must say it was quite a thrill to hear both Barack Obama and Harold Ford speak. They are both incredibly articulate and poised. Both stressed the importance of making government more responsive to the needs of the common man by addressing those basic values that we all hold important, mainly the equality for every person who wants to do so to have the opportunity to live the American Dream. While I think the American Dream is on life support right now, perhaps with some forward thinking leadership we might just be able to bring it back life. They say that Ford is an underdog, but so was Obama. So perhaps there is hope to think we might be able to take this seat come November.

[FreedomAngel82]

1. I'm still weary of Ford

In the long run though I know I'll be happy with either him or Kurita.

[Ugnmoose]

2. Ford is really one of us

Unfortunately he has some things working against him. First he is black and second a Dem. And I know he has done some things that offend true liberals. I think that in order for him to win in a Southern State he is going to have to look like a moderate. I see him as a social liberal, but fiscal conservative.

[OKNancy]

4. If Tennessee doesn't want him

This "true liberal" would be happy to have him here in Oklahoma. Hell, I'd be happy with Joe Lieberman considering what we have now ( Coburn and Inhofe )

[Olney Blue]

5. My sympathies.

:hug:


My mom was born in Oklahoma, and I've always had a soft spot for it!

[OKNancy]

8. Despite the politics

Oklahoma has many wonderful things about it.

[FreedomAngel82]

6. I think he will be better though than Corker or Van Hillary

I had Corker as a mayor and I don't think he's HORRIBLE or anything but he'd probably tow the party line and won't be that independent voice. And I've read he flips around a lot on issues. :shrug: But Ford voted against CAFTA so that was impressive because of him being a centrist democrat and DLC member. He also signed Conyers petition with getting out of Iraq with the DSM in the beginning. Oh and how cool Obama showed up. :)

[Ugnmoose]

7. Obama came from a very poor background

His father is from Kenya and his mother from Kansas. He was proud to say that he won the Democratic nomination in a 7 person primary and defeated a candidate that spent 30 million. What this tells me is that we need good young vibrant candidates to run for major offices. I think the time is right for underdogs to win - people are fed up and looking for some leadership.

[Solo_in_MD]

10. Obama was not poor

He attended one of the most expensive prep schools in the nation.

[1932]

18. In Hawaii, on a scholarship probably. I don't think he was wealthy.

He had a single mom for a while who married a guy who wasn't rich. Weren't they schoolteachers in the Phillipines before moving to Hawaii?

[RazzleDazzle]

12. I see him as a DLCer

and that saddens and enrages me.

[1932]

16. Obama is one of farthest things from DLC in Dem party today. I doubt he'd

support Ford if he thought Ford were a committed pro-empire, pro-corporations, market-fundamentalist nihilist.

[RazzleDazzle]

20. I don't agree at all

Obama has been a HUGE disappointment in several ways since he took office, and I no longer support him in any way. Whether you think he's a DLCer or not, he has indeed taken up the DLC mantra on those occasions. I remember him bashing Howard Dean a few months ago, for example. And there were several other things he did which were absolutely in line with DLC philosophy.

He's going to have to do a LOT better than that for me to ever, ever, ever think anything positive about him.

As for Ford, he's as DLC as they get. If not in "membership," then most definitely in "philosophy."

You have to remember that there are a gazillion consultants and probably staff people by this time running around "advising" these Washingtonians who absolutely ARE DLC-trained and/or -indoctrinated. Whether they hold "membership" or not ends up being moot, really.

[1932]

15. Freakonomics has some interesting things to say about race discrimination.

Most Americans are no longer willing to be racist in public, but they are in private.

Levitt studied Weakest Link episodes and found that people did not discriminate against women and black people (they didn't kick them off when they should have, and they kept them when they shouldn't have). However, people did discriminate against old people and hispanics (they kicked them off when they shouldn't have, and they kept them when they shouln't have).

[RazzleDazzle]

21. What on earth does that have to do with anything?

And how in God's name does one give credence to behavior on The Weakest Link as if it reflected the rest of society anyway?

[Olney Blue]

3. Sounds thrilling! Wish I had been there too.

[radio4progressives]

9. neither one are under dogs, they are both dlc -

Obama, Ford and the rest of our "heros" are blowing it.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2471819

[madrchsod]

11. well ford isn`t loved with these guys

this site is one of thee best political and social websites. their writers are excellent because they understand the problems and offer constructive solutions.
http://www.blackcommentator.com/index.html

if interested in their thoughts, use their search for ford.

[1932]

17. Black Commentator doesn't like Obama either. They were the paper

that spread the rumor that Obama was pro-DLC based solely on the fact that his name was on their website -- never mind that Obama built a career on being against the DLC market-fundamentalism and nihilism. They never bothered to check with Obama for a comment, or confirm how Obama's name got on the DLC's list, or to compare the huge contrast between Obama's political philosophy and the DLC's.

[AtomicKitten]

22. and Obama made the DLC take his name off their roster.

The Black Commentator backed down from their attack on Obama.
http://www.blackcommentator.com/48/48_cover.html

Harold Ford, on the other hand, is genuinely DLC, not that that moniker in itself bothers me, but he voted for the bankruptcy reform bill and he also warmed to *'s Social Security privatization scheme. It is a politician's votes that matter to me. He defends some of his voting record here: http://epaper.ardemgaz.com/WebChannel/ShowStory.asp?Path=ChatTFPress/2006/02/07&ID=Ar00702

And there is not much info about Rosalind Kurita.
http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Rosalind_Kurita.htm#Foreign_Policy

However, Tennessee is a conservative state, so perhaps Harold Ford, Jr. is the right candidate for that particular race. Ironically and as we see time and time again, Ford is being hammered by the right for being too liberal and by the left for being too conservative. It is precisely in these cases where we need to be realistic in our criticism if we want to gain the Senate seat in this particular state. This is where purity and pragmatism butt heads.

[madfloridian]

13. They just ignore Kurita, don't they?

Do any of the party leaders fundraise for her?

[Daylin Byak]

14. OH ENOUGH WITH KURITA!!

You don't seem to get, they want Ford. he's the voice and he's got the popularity, they don't want some unknown state senator.

[MrBenchley]

19. Thanks for sharing!

Good luck in November....

[Ciggies and coffee]

23. The scent of money was in the air n/t