Thursday, June 15, 2006

Question: Could An Out Of Touch Liberal Win Over Independent Voters 2-1?

If you were to listen to the deceitful NRSC and various other Republican outlets, you would be inclined to believe that Congressman Harold Ford Jr. is some type of out of liberal who does not share the same values as everyday Tennesseeans.

However, as I have pointed out many times before, that statement could not be further from the truth.

The fact of the matter is, Ford is a moderate Democrat who has shown that he is willing to work across partisan lines to get things done on behalf of the people he represents.

It appears the voters in Tennessee agree with that statement because in the new Zogby poll released this week, Ford is leading all his Republican opponents in winning over the much covenanted independent voters by a margin of 2-1.

In a release Wednesday, the Ford campaign said:

After months of negative attacks by national Republicans and a $3 million television and radio advertising campaign by Bob Corker, Harold Ford remains strong and is well positioned to win in November regardless of the opponent, a new Zogby poll shows.

This race will be decided largely by independent voters, who favor Ford by 2 to 1 over his Republican opponents, according to the Zogby telephone poll of 502 likely voters. The poll was conducted June 12 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

Zogby’s last poll on the Tennessee Senate race, an on line interactive poll, was conducted in late March and showed Ford trailing Bryant by 8 points, Hilleary by 3 and Corker by 2. The latest poll shows Ford within the margin of error of each Republican candidate. In today’s Tennessean, Zogby said, “I think Tennessee is a more competitive race than generally given credit for.”

“As we’ve known all along, this race is a dead heat,” said Ford Senior Adviser Michael Powell. “Despite months of attacks from the national Republicans and his opponents, Harold Ford is in a strong position to win this Senate seat. No matter which Republican candidate emerges from this divisive primary, Harold Ford is well positioned to win.

“Harold Ford will win because he represents a new generation of leadership. He is the only candidate who is talking about crossing party lines to work with Republicans to balance the budget, reduce our dependence on foreign oil by investing in renewable energy, take care of our veterans and make health care affordable.”


Now do you really believe that some out of touch liberal could win over independent voters by a 2-1 ratio? I think not.

Those numbers are just more evidence that the NRSC and company are lying through their teeth when they play the liberal card on Congressman Ford.

As I have said for the past two days, the NRSC should ask Bush spokesman Tony Snow and their very own Communications Director just how liberal Ford is. Both have went on record as saying that Ford is a moderate who works to solve problems in a bi-partisan fashion.
  • “Guys like Evan Bayh, guys like Joe Lieberman, Harold Ford on the House side, these are people who know how to reach -- cross both sides of the aisle. They're solid men.” -- Tony Snow, The O’Reilly Factor, 11/08/04

  • “Harold Ford…really believes in the issues in a moderate way.” -- Robert Traynham, communications director for the Senate Republican Conference, National Public Radio, 06/02/05

The more the NRSC and other Republicans continue to spread the lie that Harold Ford Jr. is an out of touch liberal, the more foolish they look and the more support Ford gains.

People are ready for a change in the form of good results. They are yearning for a new generation of leadership that will put partisanship aside in order to do what is best for the people.

That is why Harold Ford Jr. will be our next United States Senator. He is their hope for a better tomorrow.

162 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!