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A Carpetbagger Too Far

By W. James Antle, III on 1.6.10 @ 4:55PM

Former Congressman Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.) is reportedly exploring a primary challenge to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), the most absurd political adventure of the year for reasons the Washington Post's Chris Cillizza ably explains. Ford has real political talents but he was also the only competitive Democrat to lose a Senate race during the Republican thumpin' of 2006. The positions he had to take in that unsuccessful race will all be used against him in New York. That background and his current job as head of the Democratic Leadership Council makes him a poor choice to challenge a sitting senator whose main intraparty critics believe her past statements and House voting record are too conservative.

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Hank Archer| 1.6.10 @ 5:59PM

I guess this time Ford probably won't tell New York "Drop Dead!"

Al Adab| 1.6.10 @ 6:24PM

As an old aquaintence, what is Ed Cox up to these days? He and his wife make a powerful team

china racking| 1.7.10 @ 2:06AM

http://www.racking-shelving.com
http://www.cold-store-equipment.com

Richard Baker| 1.7.10 @ 8:44AM

I guess Mr. Ford has tired of Tennessee?

Jim Hlavac| 1.7.10 @ 10:28AM

What on eart' can youse guys from Tennessee know about NY -- either city or state? To ably represent the place one must at least be able to pronounce Schoharie and Schenectedy and Rennselear, and perhaps Copiague and Hoppauge and Nissequogue -- and know where they are. And know the difference between the Buffalo Bills and The NY Mets. Can Ford even figure out which is the Throgs Neck or the Whitestone, the Queensboro or the Gil Hodges Memorial Bridges? Has this man ever eaten a Knish? Or will he order a ham and swiss on white with mayo at Rosenblum's deli?
Does he know anything about NYC other than that a gorilla climbed a skyscraper and the Arabs took two (or three) down?
The City itself has nearly twice as many people as all Tenn -- in an area the size of Nashville -- and there are neither island nor oceans, or even a decent sized lake among the Volunteers. Does he know this intuitively, or just from a map?
It was bad enough that folks from Massachusetts came -- R. Kennedy, and then it was Connecticut -- J. Buckley, and then it was her from Arkansas/Illinois -- H. Clinton -- is there no stopping anyone from anywhere to just waltz into a state they never lived in, know nothing about -- and whose accents are grating to my Nu Yawk eahs -- now, what -- "Hi y'all, I'aaaam from Memphis and I'aaam a heah ta help y'all in Brooklyn"?
It's patently absurd, if true. If a joke, well, then, there's a comedy club in Manhattan I'm sure, where such things can be said -- if Ford could figure out which tunnel was which to find his way from the mainland to the NY Isles.
And is there be no one qualified from 18,000,000 Nu Yawka's who know da place well enough to get elected? 50 states to chose from and he abandons his own for one 700 miles away from his hearth? What a putz, meshugannah, and a mishigosh of fekachte schnitzelkopf.
'Taint no grits in da Bronx, Ford. Go help your won state, or Kentucky or someplace. Egads, it berl's ma' blood at tirty tird and tird, dat's fa' shaw -- fagedbout it Fowd -- stay home.