Today, as scheduled, Congressman Harold Ford Jr. visited with the group Democracy for Tennessee in Nashville. Although the event was billed as a coffee, it turned into more of a town hall meeting for the group of supporters who attended the early morning get together.Congressman Ford led off by introducing several special guests who were in attendance from all parts of the state and went on to thank everyone for coming out and showing their support. After his initial remarks, the Congressman then got down to business. In about a 20 minute speech, Congressman Ford laid out his plan on a number of top priority issues such as energy, education, the economy, social security, and Iraq. He stressed the point that as Democrats we must stand for something--not just oppose the Republicans. He added that we can shout and complain about the Republicans and their agenda, but until we start winning elections again, it is going to be hard for us to change the course of action. That is why, he said, that it is crucial that we nominate someone who can go on to win the general election in the fall of 2006. He went on to point out that the Republican party has committed twenty-five million dollars to the U.S. Senate race here in Tennessee, which is a sign that they take his candidacy and message seriously.
After the Congressman's speech, he opened the floor up for questions. The questions had a wide range of topics from the DLC to hate crime legislation to the war in Iraq. The Congressman gave each question the same amount of respect and fully answered all of the questions that were asked. After the question and answer secession was completed, Congressman Ford again mingled with the crowd, as he did preceding his speech, before leaving to attend the Williamson County Fair.
Special thanks goes out to Democracy for Tennessee for putting this great event together along with the SEIU which housed the event. I would personally like to thank Congressman Ford for attending the event as well as his wonderful staff for all their hard work in helping plan and organize the event. It was a real public service for everyone who attended.
