U.S. Senate hopeful Harold Ford Jr. took issue with Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman's recent comment about his voting record on abortion during a Monday morning conference call with reporters.During a stop last week in Chattanooga, Mehlman was quoted as saying Ford has a "100 percent National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) voting record."
Ford, a Democratic congressman from Memphis, insisted Mehlman's statement is false.
In a short phone interview after the conference call, Ford described his record on abortion as being similar to newly installed Supreme Court Justice John Roberts "in that I respect the law of the land."
Ford said his focus as a lawmaker has been on trying to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies.
"I'm a supporter of enhanced adoption laws," Ford said. "I had one of the signature bills in Congress on expediting adoption. It was all part of a morals package that I introduced at the beginning of the last Congress. I'm a believer in parental notification."
Ford also acknowledged that during his early days in Congress, he supported partial-birth abortion.
"Three years in the Congress, I had a long conversation with a physician outside of a town hall setting in Memphis that really started to change my opinion on it," Ford said of partial-birthabortion. "The last four years, I have been an opponent and voted against it in the Congress. I've had an evolution in thinking and change of position."
Ford is competing with state Sen. Rosalind Kurita of Clarksville for the Democratic nomination in the August primary. The main Republican contenders are former U.S. Reps. Van Hilleary and Ed Bryant and former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker. The candidates are vying to replace Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who isn't seeking a third term in office but is pondering a 2008 run for president.
During the conference call, Ford said Mehlman's "disparaging and false comments about my record" indicates there will be an effort "to literally just lie about what I've done in the Congress over the past nine years." Ford added it also is an indication that Republicans are concerned about the U.S. Senate race in Tennessee.
"If and when we make points in this campaign, we will make them with accuracy," Ford said. "In this Senate race, we're not going to allow outside officials, Republican officials or Democrat officials to come into the state and lie about my record. ... I'm sure Ken Mehlman would love to have a Democrat running who was liberal and out of the mainstream. Unfortunately, I'm very different. I think my values and ideas and politics match up with Northeast Tennesseans better than anyone in this race."
At some point during the Senate race, Ford said he would be campaigning alongside Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner and new Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine.
"We're focused right now on continuing to campaign in 95 counties," Ford noted. "I have no intention of magnifying or altering certain messages in one part of the state. I want to ensure that government works for everyone and not just a few people."
Source: Times News
More: Read Congressman Ford's campaign email regarding Ken Melhman's comments here!
