US Senator from Tennessee: Harold Ford Jr. v Tim McGraw

[Radical Activist]

Poll question: US Senator from Tennessee: Harold Ford Jr. v Tim McGraw

McGraw isn't running right now but here's an article where he talks about it:
http://www.time.com/time/press_releases/article/0,8599,695833,00.html

Who do you pick?

[Osamasux]

1. I've met Harold Ford and like what he's about

He spoke at a family member's graduation a couple of years ago and I had a chance to speak with him afterward. I liked the way he put himself up against Pelosi. He seems to be a thinker and a fighter.

[pnutchuck]

2. He sounds like an ignorent hick!

“I love Bill Clinton. I think we should make him king. I’m talking the red robe, the turkey leg—everything.”

Wouldn't cast my vote for someone who has dilusions of creating a monarchy in the US. And the idea that Faith would make a great senator's wife is just juvenile. If he really wants to do good for people, he should use some of the millions he's currently raking in and put it towards some real social issues.

[Radical Activist]

3. You don't think that was a joke?

God forbid someone in politics be human and have a sense of humor. He might, I don't know, actually connect with someone that way.

[pnutchuck]

4. The whole article seemed as though some half educated

immature cowboy was "thinkin' a runnin' for politiks." I'm originally from Texas and still have the sense to know that joking about creating a monarchy is in bad taste.

[Radical Activist]

6. I don't know where people get the idea

that Democrats are a bunch of politically correct liberal elitists who look down on the south. I just can't imagine.

[QC]

7. Yeah, that one's got me stumped, too.

I can't imagine where anyone could ever get such an impression as that. Everyone knows that the proper place for a person with a southern accent is under a GTO, changing the oil. Certainly not in politics.

[PopSixSquish]

11. Count Me as Stumped Too

Both Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle have made similar types of comments about Bill Clinton.

[pnutchuck]

35. I would have thought the same thing, if the sentence came from them too

and if you read my post, you'd know that I too am from the south and do not discount intelligence because of a southern accent. His statements were just juvenile and the fact that his main platform at this moment is the fact that Faith will make a great Senator's wife just proves my point. I don't find Kid Rock anymore intelligent either. He also says that he wants to wait until he's 50 to run and he thinks it's a good thing to go into politics to help people. Call me silly, but more good is done by non-profit groups and philanthropists like Bill Gates putting money into social programs. If he really wants to do good, then he could start now and this would begin building a portfolio for his future years in politics.

[Stinky The Clown]

21. hhahahaha

Here here!

[AntiCoup2K4]

27. some half educated immature cowboy was "thinkin' a runnin' for politiks."

Isn't that what's in the White House?

Harold Ford is a DLCbot and a Moonie, so I have no use for him whatsoever. If I lived in TN, I'd probably support just about anybody who ran against him in the primary. Unless it was another Moonie/DLCbot.

[redstateblues]

12. Spellcheck before calling someone ignorant please

[QC]

14. ROFLMAO!! n/t

[Cha]

22. Ditto!

:D

[Stinky The Clown]

20. Like a progressive media outlet?

I would love to see all our entertainment supporters put a few bucks toward that. I KNOW it would be profitable as half the country would watch. Compare that to the audience of FOX, MSNBC and CNN that they must split among the three of them.

[Freebird12004]

5. Tim

writes some real good songs .... that must count for something :silly:

[Cha]

8. Isn't that very cool? Tim McGraw ..a

progressive? He's darling..has a darling wife and family AND he's an individual who has Brains~!

[Radical Activist]

9. I wonder how progressive he is.

I haven't heard him say much about politics. It wouldn't be very hard to be more liberal than Harold Ford.

[Cha]

10. Maybe we'll find out someday..and you're

right..it wouldn't take much to be more progressive than Ford.

[DemOperative]

23. Only time will tell

if he's got what it takes.

[redstateblues]

13. Tim has said "Bush is the anti-Christ'

[Cha]

19. Well..there ya go!

I told you he was "darling"..I could just tell!:P

[Hippo_Tron]

54. That generally implies anti Iraq War...

A good progressive issue.

[UTDemocrat8204]

30. Hey and there also

is Arnold. So he showed anybody can be in politics.

[judaspriestess]

15. a country singer a progressive/democrat?

all I can say is wow!!!

[Radical Activist]

16. Imagine how that might help in '08

If Senator McGraw were to tour the South with the Democratic nominee. That could put a couple southern states in play if we have a good candidate that can appeal to Southern voters.

[Radical Activist]

17. On second thought, Steve Earle would be even better!

But I don't think the Socialist Worker or Green parties are very strong in Tennessee right now. :D

[AntiCoup2K4]

28. Steve Earle would never get elected.

Recovering addicts can only run for office if they are Republicans. Steve's been very open about his drug problems, so they wouldn't have to dig up the dirt.

[Radical Activist]

31. He's also a borderline Marxist

and that's how he describes himself. I know he can't get elected, which is why I wrote the line about the Green and Socialist Worker parties. I still love the idea of him being in office though. Let me fantasize a little bit.

[JI7]

18. i think McGraw might have an easier time getting elected

because he is famous, but he does country music so they don't see him as part of the "liberal hollywood" crowd. there were actually many well known country music people backing Kerry(not as many as Bush though) and i wish they had made a bigger show of them than some others. i think a lot of people who might not consider voting for Kerry would have come out to an event just to see them and then while they are there they could hear the message and would probably have liked it. So a famous person like McGraw in a top Democratic position would help the party overall in places like the South.

and i hate to say this but i do think Harold Ford's race would play a part in some people deciding to vote against him. but then again it would be nice to have another minority in the Senate, especially one from the South.

but if McGraw is seriously considering i would like to hear him talk more on the issues. maybe see him and Ford together and compare/contrast.

[Radical Activist]

24. It would be wonderful to have an African-American from the South

in the Senate. Maybe this is wishful thinking but I would rather it be someone who holds views more like John Lewis than JC Watts. Ford disappoints me in that respect.

Memphis always votes Democratic so Democrats from Memphis who run statewide don't have much of an advantage, no matter what race they are. Someone like McGraw who could pull swing voters from Nashville and middle Tennessee would have a strong advantage.

[JohnKleeb]

29. I know exactly what you mean

I was disappointed that John Lewis didn't get Coverdell's seat when he died because I admire John Lewis a lot. I don't know if McCraw has any interest in running, I tell you this as a yellow dog democrat, I'd be happy with either of them over Zach Wamp who the republicans are considering running Frist doesnt run.

[msongs]

60. sure would but only if he is not another republican-lite eom

[Devil Dog Dem]

25. We are LUCKY to have Tim McGraw in our camp!

PLEASE let him run for office as a Dem in Tennessee! That would be awesome!!!

[Radical Activist]

32. I think he just has to be convinced to do it

Maybe I'll start a Draft McGraw website.

[Devil Dog Dem]

46. I'll contribute!

That would be great!

[Geek_Girl]

33. I Second That!

I think it would be awesome if Tim McGraw Ran and he'd have the best chance of winning

[Devil Dog Dem]

47. Yep. I don't care if he is a lightweight on policy.

As long as we win, baby!

[Radical Activist]

49. I'm sure he would

The middle Tennessee voters around Nashville usually decided statewide elections. I think he'd have no trouble getting those voters even if he is very liberal.

[Devil Dog Dem]

55. If we had party leaders worth a damn they'd make overtures to him.

Repugs wouldn't let this one slide by if the situation were reversed.

[Radical Activist]

57. The TN Democratic Party is still

pretty much a good ol boy club. They let some minorities in, but the state party is mostly too conservative and weak. They haven't done much for a long time. I hope the state party structure gets new leadership soon.

And you're absolutely right that they should be recruiting him.

[Osamasux]

26. Here's a pretty good Metro Pulse Online story on Ford

from back in June, but right on topic.

http://www.metropulse.com/dir_zine/dir_2004/1423/t_cover.html

[Radical Activist]

34. I miss the Metro Pulse

I loved living in Knoxville. Thanks for the link.

The article points out an interesting irony of an African-American Democrat who isn't liberal enough for the white Democrats in Tennessee. Ford is running to win the general election, so he's lucky the Democrats aren't running anyone against him right now.

Let me paste part of the article:

“I’m a Democrat because I think we are more often right. But there are some things some Democrats believe that I don’t. I don’t think government is an insurance program. Government is about making sure people have opportunities on their own; the safety net should be there when necessary, but not as an ongoing thing.”

Spoken like a true “New Democrat,” which Ford proudly is. He is also a member of the “Blue Dog Coalition,” a collection of self-described moderate-to-conservative congressional Democrats said to be “choked blue” by the national party’s liberal wing.

He has made some interesting political alliances during his tenure on Capitol Hill. As early as December 2001, Ford was out front on the issue of Iraq, signing a letter of support for action against Saddam Hussein. His co-signers were leading Republicans, including Sens. Trent Lott and Jesse Helms, Republicans from Mississippi and North Carolina, respectively.

He’s also been vocal about the Social Security issue, working with conservatives—including the libertarian Cato Institute—on ways to restructure the program. He is even open to some level of privatization for Social Security accounts, though he would not go nearly as far as many conservatives would.

[Radical Activist]

36. kick for those

who still aren't sure if Ford is a DLC conservative or not.

[Tinoire]

37. Book-marked. Thanks n/t

[Walt Starr]

38. Anybody but the Republicratic-Democan candidates

Ford is PNAC/DLC so I wouldn't vote for him on a bet.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

39. Sounds like an (R) against a DLC(R) or a DLC(R).

*Shrug* of indifference.

[Radical Activist]

40. How do you know

what McGraw's politics are? He may be to the left of Ford.

[Walt Starr]

41. I don't vote for Republicans, regardless

So if Tim McGraw ran as a Republican against Harold Ford (R-DLC), I couldn't vote for either.

[Radical Activist]

42. McGraw would run as a Democrat

in the primary against Ford.

[Walt Starr]

44. Oh, then definitely McGraw over Ford

I mean, Ford is a Republican in Democratic clothing.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

43. Hell, some Republicans are to the left of Ford.

The article linked wasn't very forthcoming about McGraw's politics, 'cept to say that he was a "progressive". Where he stands on the issues is hardly clear.

But, who knows? Maybe he'd make a good candidate. It's just hard to believe that a "good ole boy" country singer would be very far left of center.

[Radical Activist]

45. You never know

Willie Nelson and Steve Earle are pretty far left. A celebrity like McGraw is probably the only way a real liberal could get elected in Tennessee. His popularity would insulate him from some of the out of touch elitist big government liberal socialist name calling Republicans always do.

[Osamasux]

52. Woody Guthrie was about as progressive as you can be.

[Kyle Reese]

48. Tim McGraw is a Democrat? WOW

Who would have thought....

[GOPBasher]

50. Damn! That's really cool that Tim McGraw is a Democrat!

Surprised the shit out of me.

[Radical Activist]

51. Damn right it's cool!

We should use him before he's washed up.

[Hippo_Tron]

53. If Harold Ford were a genuine progressive, I'd pick him

But from what I've heard about him, he's not. McGraw could win the election much easier.

[angee_is_mad]

56. Ford is ambitious, not progressive

so he would do whatever it took to get white southern votes, w/o having to put on a white robe and hood.

As a black woman in the south, he scares me.

[Radical Activist]

58. The robe might be negotiable

You're right about his ambition. He has wanted to be Senator for so long that he forgot to stand for something. There are a lot of white Democrats in Tennessee who would do a better job of representing the views of Ford's district than Ford does. That's pretty sad.

[angee_is_mad]

59. Sad, but true

I remember when he took over his father's seat. He was OK then. As the years progress he has moved farther to the right and forgot how he got there.
Obama, he ain't!