Black Point Man for the Right

[pnorman]

Black Point Man for the Right

The Black Commentator. Posted January 8, 2005.

In joining in the Republican mission to destroy Social Security, Congressman Harold Ford has journeyed far afield to inhabit a place dangerous and alien to black interests.

"You have to understand people like George Bush. He's a nice guy. We need to learn from him. Remember what Bill Clinton did: He figured out what Republicans were doing well, and instead of complaining about it, he figured out a way to do it better." - Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. (D-Tenn.)

The black body politic has been invaded by corporate money, which seeks through its media arms to select a "new" black leadership from among a small group of compliant and corrupt Democrats. Memphis Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. is a principal vector of the disease, an eager acolyte of the corporate-funded Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), and now the point man among black Democrats in the Republican mission to destroy Social Security.

Ford should also be known as the "Black Man Who Dances With Blue Dogs" – one of only two black congressional members of the Blue Dog Democratic Coalition (the other black Blue Dog is Georgia Rep. Sanford Bishop). C-SPAN congressional scholar Ilona Nickles aptly describes the Blue Dogs as "closer in purpose to a former coalition of southern Members of the House known as the 'Boll Weevils,' whose heyday was in the early 1980's. These Members defected as a group from the Democratic party to vote with Congressional Republicans on budgetary and tax bills."

Harold Ford is preparing to defect from the Democratic and Congressional Black caucuses in service to George Bush's Social Security privatization scheme, which he has embraced in principle. Blue Dog and DLC congresspersons form the core of the Democrats that Ford hopes will join Republicans, like South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham, "to create an ownership society in a variety of creative ways, and move away from 'if you're for privatization, you're with the Republicans' and 'if you're against it, you're with the Democrats,'" in Ford's words.>
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http://www.alternet.org/story/20931/

Through Avantgo, I get Alternet and a few others synched into my PDA (Sony TH-55) each day. Helps keep me abreast of things, while I'm away from the computer.

pnorman

[slor]

1. He was supportive of the war too...

so I do not like him. I will be honest, I am proud when I see African Americans, and Women (of all races and ethnic background) in politics. However, and let me be clear: YOU DO NOT GET MY SUPPORT JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE BLACK, when you promote idiotic ideas! This is my fear about Barack Obama, I really hope he seizes the chance to lead the populist revolution that is coming. If he chooses to go the DLC route, we will walk over him, on the march for real change in the country. Beware democratic "centrists", wanting to center with a far right tilted rethug party, you too, will be swept aside by the people.

[asjr]

2. Admittedly my memory is not as good as it used to be, but

I used to think he was an up and coming Democrat who would work for the good of the country. I admired him. When did he change, or has he always been this way and I just wasn't aware of it. I really thought he was a progressive TN Democrat.

[AirAmFan]

3. Money may not be the only inducement the Rethugs used to woo Ford

over to their side. They may have some juicy photographs, videos, witnesses, or other blackmail fodder on him. Remember Abscam? The FBI had no trouble dirtying up some Dem pols in Philadelphia. Why couldn't the Rethuglicans do the same thing using their own internal thugs, except use the fruit of their investigation for blackmail rather than for prosecution?

Ford now has two years before he has to face his own voters in Memphis. I hope he goes down with the Rethugs over trying to destroy Social Security, and that every last detail the Rethugs might be using to blackmail him comes out in the National Enquirer!