SC State Sen. Ford: "Obama winning the primary would drag down the rest of the party"

[Kadie]

Endorsement raises doubts about Obama
By JIM DAVENPORT, Associated Press Writer
9 minutes ago


COLUMBIA, S.C. - Two key black political leaders in South Carolina who backed John Edwards in 2004 said Tuesday they are supporting Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

State Sens. Robert Ford and Darrell Jackson told The Associated Press they believe Clinton is the only Democrat who can win the presidency. Both said they had been courted by Illinois Sen. Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record); Ford said Obama winning the primary would drag down the rest of the party.

"It's a slim possibility for him to get the nomination, but then everybody else is doomed," Ford said. "Every Democrat running on that ticket next year would lose — because he's black and he's top of the ticket. We'd lose the House and the Senate and the governors and everything."

"I'm a gambling man. I love Obama," Ford said. "But I'm not going to kill myself."

more...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070213/ap_on_el_pr/clinton_south_carolina_2

[More Than A Feeling]

1. Way to validate racism.

Well done :sarcasm:

[Kikosexy2]

21. Gee...

Ford thanks for supporting a brotha'...NOT!

[NYCGirl]

2. Are we about to see the "electable" meme start rearing its ugly head again? NT

[Horse with no Name]

8. Methinksso.

I am not an Obama fan at all.
However...if this keeps up...I may have to become one to offset that kind of mentality.:mad:

[natrat]

28. yea winning an election in racist america is just an afterthought,please

[UCLA Dem]

3. Whatever.

[Double T]

4. Democrats shouldn't be kicking each other...........

and let the battle for the nomination just play out.

[lapfog_1]

5. Wow, without even a fight.

I just at a loss for words.

MLK would be so proud of these guys! :sarcasm:

[Pirate Smile]

6. Sure, Hillary could win South Carolina but Obama couldn't.

Color me skeptical.

Nice.:eyes:

[brazos121200]

7. Obama probably couldn't carry any southern states, which is not

unusual for a Democratic candidate for President. No Demo candidate has won a single electoral vote from a southern state in 10 years, since 1996 (Yes, Gore did carry Fla. in 'oo, but didn't get the electoral votes for it). What they are talking about is the rest of the ticket in southern states. Many good Democrats hold House and Senate seats from these states and they're afraid a flood of racist Repub. voters will decimate the party's hard-won gains there, affecting Democratic control of the Congress. Who can say they are not right?

[hwmnbn]

13. In his race for the Senate, he carried the.......

Illinois downstate counties. They are as redneck and cracker as anywhere. He also carried the suburban blue collar counties as well as the affluent North Shore communities. He got votes from unlikely constituencies. Why do you think he's a phenomena, because he gave a speech?

The racist repug voters are going to vote repug no matter which dem is running, so there's no loss there.

Lets wait and watch how his campaign develops and we can make an educated guess in a year or so.

[rebel with a cause]

23. As a Southern Illinoisan, may I say that we are not all

redneck crackers. Some of us are well educated and are politically aware of what is going on in the world. With that said, I will agree that this part of the state is inhabited by many bush loving idiots. I volunteered for Obama in 2004 and it was a very rewarding experience. Of course I live in the area surrounding Southern Illinois University, so we have professors, students and other college administrators making up part of our population and this makes life a little easier. But in the county that I grew up in, the area my children call "inbred country", the majority of the people there are democrats. They are racist but they are democrat racist.

[WI_DEM]

16. I think he could carry two or three southern states

For one thing the African-American vote is strongest in the South. Yes, I know that AA are not necessarily going to vote for Obama in the primaries, but I'll bet you that if he were nominated for President of the US that you would see turnout among AA nationally at record levels, just like the Catholic vote went by record levels for JFK in 1960. If he won huge with record turnouts among AA in some southern states all he would need is a third of the white vote and he could definitely take a few states. I wouldn't disregard his doing well in the south.

[brazos121200]

18. I am greatly impressed with Obama, and

am willing to wait and see how he does in the primaries. If he can win over these moderate and semi-conservative districts he might be able to carry some states in the south. He might possibly carry Arkansas, Mississippi, and one or two other southern states. After all, even Kerry got 40% of the vote in Mississippi. I am willing to be convinced, and would be happy to vote for him in the general electon if he should get the nomination.

[fujiyama]

19. I agree

and I also think he has the ability to speak to younger voters as well more effectively than any candidate in a while. Then again, he can speak to anyone - because he's very quick on his feet and sharp as hell.

I think those two "leaders" are anything but. They're validating society's racism. That's absolutely cowardly. Obama should be judged like anyone else - on the merit of his character - not his skin color...And on that he's doing a fine job so far...

[WI_DEM]

24. that's the other thing. Like JFK he represents the future and has

appeal among younger people, not necessarily only college students but adults under 35. Heck, I think he could inspire people of all ages.

[jaysunb]

9. This makes me sick to my stomach

I've been black for more than 60 years, and worked like hell from my teens til this day to see my people gain equality and fairness in this country. When I hear the very people that I fought and damn near died for make asinine statements like this, I want to slap the shit out of people who make them.

Don't get me wrong, there is a measure of truth in the statement, but giving public statements like this only embolden and verify the racist attitudes that won't let black people and this country move beyond it's sorid past.

If Obama is not your candidate of choice, simply say it and forget that other shit !

The good news is, most black folks are smarter than this....
:mad:

[RiverStone]

26. no matter what color...

I'm both surprised and annoyed that any elected DEM would sound so defeatist and critical towards one of our party's rising stars (nomination or not) in Obama.

And regarding your feeling in particular jaysunb, I encourage you to slap the "proverbial" shit out of Sens. Ford and Jackson with the very words you so aptly expressed here. :) They need to hear you - and hear from lots of others that this kind of whimpy b.s. has no place in our party - this early - and in particular, I'm wondering if they drank the MSM's kool-aid on Hillary - cause we sure as hell don't see her as the anointed one on DU.


peace~

[blm]

29. And something tells me Congressman Clyburn will have something to say about this,

and these two guys don't carry half the weight in SC that Clyburn does.

IMO, Obama will bring out WAY more votes in those quiet pockets of SC that get little notice.

[jaysunb]

31. You're right about Clyburn...

but lots of damage has been done by these two and AP.

I've phoned both of them and expressed my feelings in no uncertain terms, and have posted their statements on severalblack oriented websites.

This, will not go quietly into the night.....

:hi:

[natrat]

30. america is racist-a large portion will only vote white

yea that sucks and maybe obama is the first up to break down that racism----but the facts are the facts

[blm]

33. The same portion who are racist are also MISOGYNIST, so where does Clinton get off

with his declaration that RACE will hurt the ticket?

[Eurobabe]

32. Comments like this

make me dizzy-ly sick to my stomach too. I am white and geez, these guys don't have alot of faith in themselves or people down south do they? How the heck did THEY get elected? It can't be just by the black vote. Why do Democrats always eat their own? Why?

And when you are done slappin' the shit out of people that make such stupid, over-arching comments -- move over because I will slap the shit out of them some more!!

:banghead:

[blm]

34. btw....

just in case you left some heart in Cleveland..... heh.

Cue the Tony Bennett.

[Bluebear]

10. Hmm. They must "not be ready" for a black President.

What a disappointing way to think.

[Joe for Clark]

11. Explains why they live in South Carolina.

How short sighted.

Obama will probably not be the nominee in 2008 - but he has a VERY GOOD chance of being the VP in 2008. The man is 45 years old. He has time.

If he is the nominee, I absolutely will vote for him without qualm. We are gonna lose South Carolina anyway.

Gore is probably gonna run - no matter what he says right now. And if he does, I think Obama will be the first African American vice president in our history. And in a few years, the first African American President.

I am sure we won't carry South Carolina then, either.

Joe

[dogday]

12. That's SC for ya!

I lived in the bible belt for years, and yes, they are like that...

[Bluebear]

14. :shaking head:

What a shame.

[WI_DEM]

15. And they think that Hillary would be strong at the top of the ticket in SC?

I think Hill's people are pretty desperate to use this arguement--I think they fear Obama.

[Leopolds Ghost]

17. They sound like the self-hating guy in the Boondocks comic strip.

The one who always made cracks about how his fellow blacks would never amount to anything.

Who am I thinking of?

Aaron McGruder said it was a pointed reference to as certain subset of the black community who liked to point fingers downwards.

[global1]

20. Obviously The Clinton People Got To These Guys........

they should be ashamed of themselves. How did they become state senators in their state? Did they drag down the party when they ran? Is racism really that bad in this country that it would drag down "every Democrat running on that ticket....."

Come on - the only reason that they would say these things is that the Clinton campaign promised them something if Hillary wins.

They are a discredit to their race. If all blacks thought like they do now - the South would have won the Civil War.

To me - these two guys are dangerous to the Democratic Party.

[Mass]

22. Key word: South Carolina.

No Democrat can win South Carolina anyway!

[chimpymustgo]

27. I think the right ticket COULD win SC, and a few other southern states.

We CAN be a national party. Dr. Dean thinks so.

[Cocoa]

25. Ford has Senate envy

[in_cog_ni_to]

35. Holy shit.

Why would ANY Democrat say that? Ford loves OBAMA...MY ASS.:grr: