In yesterday's Kingsport Times, Van Hilleary once again opened his mouth and showed his ignorance by saying that Harold Ford Jr. is "way too liberal" for Tennessee.It appears Van is trying to follow the failed script that the NRSC has been trying to play in using the liberal card on Ford.
However, as I have said before, it is not going to work because Ford is a moderate Democrat who works across partisan lines to get things done on behalf of the people.
Just ask Tony Snow, President Bush's spokesman, or the Senate Republican Conference's Communication Director. They both agree with that notion.
What we should be talking about is how Van is way too extreme for Tennessee.
Van is the one who said he supported lowering the minimum wage instead of raising it. Van is the one who called funds for a civil rights museum "wasteful spending". And it was Van whtookks thousands and thousands of dollars from Jack Abramoff and his Indian gaming tribes.
Those are hardly Tennessee values.
We all know that Harold Ford Jr. is not a liberal. However, it is going to be hard for Van and the Republicans trebuttt the charge that he is too extreme for Tennessee because the facts back up that assertion.
It is time for a new generation of leadership, not more of the same extremism that we currently have that has produced failure after failure.
161 Days
Days of Congressional Inaction on Ethics
Above is the number of days that have passed since Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to bribing Congressman.
It is also the number of days in which Congress has failed to pass an ethics reform bill that would limit private travel, ski and golf junkets, and would call for a full disclosure of expenses by lobbyists on members of Congress.
It is time for Congress to step up and pass an ethics reform bill that would do all of the above. In addition, it is time to end the pork barrel spending system as we know it and establish an independent ethics commission that would review ethics complaints against members of Congress.
I am proud Congressman Harold Ford Jr. is fighting for that reform!
Read Congressman Ford's call for reform of the House rules here!
