Can a black man win a US Senate seat in Tennessee?

[Tiggeroshii]

Poll question: Can a black man win a US Senate seat in Tennessee?

[saltpoint]

1. Voted 'Yes.' Ford's running a better campaign.

I think a lot of professional class folks in Tennessee are going to vote for Ford; also a huge majority of black voters; also a majority of young people; also the forward-looking, future-minded, border-state voter; also a pile of independents.

Corker comes across as a sheister. A whiner. As someone not quite self-realized. Someone visibly inadequate and unSenatorial.

Ford is sure-footed, upbeat, energetic.

Ford wins in Tennessee.

[AlinPA]

2. I'm curious how many "yes" voters are from TN. Lots, I hope.

[ktowntennesseedem]

3. I voted "If Ford cant... "

SHOULD a black man win a US Senate seat in Tenn? I say its about damn time!

WILL a black man win a US Senate seat in Tenn? Pardon my pessimism but I still have my doubts. Considering a lingering problem with racism (still exists though more subtly, so few see any problem and little is being done to combat it), a strong isolationist tendency to view the world as only extending to the state line, and the volume of GOP money being poured into the Volunteer State for dirty campaigning, I'm not too confident in Ford's chances. I hope and pray we've grown enough in the past century-and-a-half to finally say race is no longer an issue, but I'll believe it when I see it. And if Ford can't pull it off, I can't imagine anyone else who would stand any better chance.

[Tiggeroshii]

4. Just a few more days and we'll see

I truly hope he gets it, frankly. I don't know if you've stopped by freepville recently, but they smear the crap out of him. He is anything but a liberal, but that's what they've basically labelled him.

[Clark2008]

7. Howdy... KTown here, too.

And I don't think there's any more or any less racism here in our state - it's just that we don't have the black and urban (of all colors) voters needed to make this Ford in a rout.

Oh- voted "yes" and am in Tennessee. :hi:

[cmkramer]

17. Remember what happened in Virginia

Doug Wilder was leading in the race for governor by a substantial margin -- double digits. But when election day rolled around it turned out to be a nail biter. I've heard pundits on both sides of the political divide say that respondents may have told the pollsters what they thought the "correct" answer was rather than telling them they were voting for his opponent; IOW, they didn't want to be pegged as "racist".

[Azathoth]

5. It remains to be seen

I think the real question is how much of a "black tax" Ford is going to incur.

[beaconess]

6. Of course he can.

And if Ford doesn't win this time, there'll be next times for Black candidates in Tennessee and all over the country.

[Infinite Hope]

8. Obviously he "can" or it wouldn't be competitive. n/t

[JI7]

9. someone like Harold Ford can, difficult but not impossible

the race is close. we just need to figure out how to gain a bit more . it might come down to GOTV

[Donald Ian Rankin]

10. Of course.

Harold Ford may or may not win, but the fact that he is close to doing so means that there is certainly a non-trivial possibility of a black man winning there in future.

[Totally Committed]

11. If Ford can't do it...

He's one of the most conservative Democrats in this Party. His ancestry aside, he's everything the conservative TN voter would want in a Senator: Pro-gun, religious, anti-gay, yadda, yadda, yadda....

Like I said, if he can't do it... no one can.

TC

[Claire Beth]

12. Nashville

I voted YES. Harold Ford, Jr DEFINITELY stands a good chance. There are some polls who have Ford/Corker tied and some with Corker a little ahead, and one with Ford running ahead - I will be very disappointed if Ford doesn't win, but I will NOT be surprised.

:dem:

[geek tragedy]

13. No, but I hope I'm wrong. eom

[Eurobabe]

14. Why TF not?

eom

[Uncle Joe]

15. The mass corporate media are trying to help Corker

by repeating a claim from a Corker commercial, that Ford accepted money from pornographers and not investigating the charge. This un investigated charge will stick in people's minds making it easier for some to vote against Ford. This is slander by omission, just another example of the mass corporate media's dereliction of duty and betrayal against the American People. The Daily Howler has a nice commentary on this behavior, I will be back in a minute with a link.

[Uncle Joe]

16. Here is the link and column

http://www.dailyhowler.com/dh103006.shtml

"HOW TO DRIVE A FORD INTO A DITCH: Yesterday, George Stephanopoulos played part of that famous Tennessee ad during This Week’s roundtable segment. The excerpt included the part of the ad where an actor says this about Harold Ford:

So he took money from porn movie producers. I mean, who hasn't?
But did Ford “take money from porn producers?” Stephanopoulos and his high-minded panel made no attempt to answer that question; their ensuing discussion only involved their high-minded thoughts about race. We especially noticed this omission because, just a few hours earlier, we were watching C-SPAN’s Washington Journal when an especially dim-witted Tennessee voter said this about that same ad:

CALLER (10/29/06): That ad had nothing to do with race...That ad told the truth about Harold Ford, when he’s up in there preachin’ in churches on his political ad and he’s accepting money from porn producers. Sorry—facts are facts.

Clearly, facts are facts. But what are the facts about that “porn movie” claim? As we’ve noted, the Chattanooga Times has called it a “lie,” saying this about the charge: “The fact is, Mr. Ford did receive, but immediately returned, a $3,600 contribution from a disreputable donor, much as many congressmen—and many Republicans recently—have returned contributions from unsavory lobbyists.” (See THE DAILY HOWLER, 10/26/06.)

What are the facts about that “porn movie” claim? In truth, it’s almost impossible to say. Even in Tennessee, newspapers have made almost no attempt to fact-check this exceptionally high-profile charge. Meanwhile, “broadcast journalists” keep playing the part of the now-famous ad in which the actor makes this charge—while failing to make any attempt to assess the truth of the claim. Voters keep hearing the claim being made—and inevitably, many come to believe it.

On balance, it’s hard to say who is dimmer—callers like the one from Tennessee, or “journalists” like those on that high-minded panel. But one thing is certain; the people who made that ad about Ford are laughing all the way to the Diebold machine. Ford gets driven into a ditch, while high-minded scribes share their high-minded views about the ascendancy of race. Viewers get to see how high-minded the journalists are. In the process, they also come to believe that Ford is taking money from porn kings.

If people weren’t willing to be this dumb on TV, it would be hard to dream it up. And yes—we’re talking about that high-minded panel, not about that Tennessee caller.

(To hear the caller’s full discussion, just click here, then fast-forward twelve minutes into the tape of “Washington Journal Entire Program” for Sunday, October 29.)"

[Dob Bole]

18. If only he were a famous country singer...

Ford has the machinery and organization, and he's positioned himself and run his campaign well. He just needs a little extra...something to win.

I guess what I'm saying is, GOTV is not going to be enough. Ford still needs to win over a few extra voters, and I don't know if he'll be able to do that in the next week.

[Uncle Joe]

19. Well I believe "Your Cheating Heart"

would be an ideal song for Democrats to use against the Rethugs in general.

[Crunchy Frog]

20. We'll find out in another week. n/t