SURGOINSVILLE - As if on cue, a train rumbled down the railroad tracks just as U.S. Senate hopeful Harold Ford Jr. stepped to the microphone to energize a Democratic rally of nearly 200 supporters inside the old Bellamy Hardware Store building on Saturday morning."Here comes the train. That's what we're going to do," the Memphis Democrat and congressman told the applauding crowd while the locomotive passed close behind the building. "They say that Democrats can't do well up here and I just don't believe that."
Train-like momentum in attracting voters is something Ford will be after if he is to win over traditionally Republican Northeast Tennessee and earn the U.S. Senate seat to be vacated by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist after the 2006 fall election.
Ford tried to get the pre-primary stages of his campaign on track with a two-day weekend swing through Kingsport and Hawkins County. He shook hands with Fun Festers at the Fun Fest Parade Friday night. He also attended the Fun Fest Kids' Fishing Derby at Warriors Path State Park and placed bumper stickers on cars at Hardee's in Colonial Heights on Saturday morning.
"We will probably officially kick off the campaign here (in 2006)," Ford said while walking down Kingsport's Center Street during the Fun Fest Parade. Ford disclosed that Sullivan County Commissioner Moe Brotherton of Colonial Heights and state Rep. Nathan Vaughn, D-Kingsport, will be state co-chairs in his campaign.
But Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Bob Davis said Ford is kidding himself if he thinks he can carry East Tennessee.
"He's wrong on issues related to gun control and keeping more money that you earn in your pocket," Davis said in a phone interview. "He was against President Bush's tax cuts. He's wrong on traditional family value-type issues that East Tennesseans believe in like life and sanctity of life, and opposition to gay marriage. Those are the kinds of things we're going to be pointing out if he is their nominee. ... He's got a voting record very similar to (former Vice President) Al Gore's and (former presidentialhopeful) John Kerry's. ... His unfavorables are as high as favorables. He's seeing the same (polling) numbers we are."
Ford said he knows Republicans will try to characterize him as an out-of-touch liberal.
"I'm against gay marriage," Ford said at the stop in Colonial Heights. "I'm against partial birth abortion. I have the same values as people in my state. You'd think they would be running for the job and explaining what they want to do. Instead, they want to attack me for something I'm not and I'm not going to let them get away with it."
During the parade, many of those who shook hands with Ford seemed to have a "I-know-you're-someone-but-I-don't-know-who" look on their faces, but one couple automatically knew him as one of the regular guests on Don Imus' "Imus In The Morning" national radio show.
Ford also sought feedback from those along the parade route, especially on what America needs to do with its military presence in Iraq.
He said a troop drawdown next year in Iraq may not be the smart thing to do.
"I want to get out of there as quickly as possible but I think the real answer may lie in sending more troops for the short term to help stabilize the situation," Ford said. "We send our troops to an area to help clean the insurgents out. And once we sweep the insurgents out, our troops leave to go to another area. Four to six weeks later, the insurgents begin to resurface. Four to six weeks after that, they were stronger than they were before we left."
Ford pointed out a strong Iraqi military and constitution needs to be in place before any kind of pullout.
"Once they have military to defend the government, if those people want to fight among themselves about things, let them fight among themselves," he said. "We can't keep 150,000 U.S. troops on the ground indefinitely."
At the Surgoinsville rally, Ford said Democrats have a challenge to convince voters that they can lead in handling the nation's finances and national security matters.
"We can't just be seen as a party that criticizes and be seen as a party that's always pointing out what's wrong," he told supporters. "We have to be in the business of offering some answers. One of the things that voters say about us is that we're good at criticizing but we've not been good in recent years at offering ideas and solutions. ... If we can't lead, then shame on us. The tradition of this party is never step down or shy away from a tough battle."
Ford also stopped short of criticizing Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen's move to cut thousands of enrollees from TennCare, the state's financially troubled $8.7 billion Medicaid program.
"I'm a Democrat and I love Governor Bredesen, but I have to tell you, it's hard for me to understand why we gotta cut 300,000 people -- working people, poor people -- off TennCare," Ford said. "The reason I'm a Democrat is because I think if you work every day and you have kids and your kids get sick, you ought to be able to go and get health care for your kids."
On Social Security, Ford said President Bush is right by saying that Social Security will run out of money at some point in time, but wrong on the idea of establishing private investment accounts for younger workers paying into the program.
"If we allow this money to be invested in the (stock) market, we would lose the greatest if not the most successful government program to be created in the 20th century," said Ford, who indicated he would favor a Social Security payroll tax increase for wealthier Americans.
Ford also insisted that Democrats need to air their views, despite being labeled as "unpatriotic" and "cultural misfits" by Republicans.
At the stop in Colonial Heights, longtime Sullivan County Democrat Billy Wells of Bluff City said what Ford might have a problem with is that Northeast Tennesseans might confuse him with his uncle -- former state Sen. John Ford, a Memphian who was arrested in the "Tennessee Waltz" federal bribery sting.
But Harold Ford Jr. suggested he plans to spend considerable time campaigning in the region.
"I plan to come back and come back and come back and come back," he said at the Surgoinsville rally.
From: The Kingsport Times News
