Harold Ford, Jr. Throws Former Campaign Manager Under The Bus
Posted on June 14, 2008 at 9:59 amIt was a long curious day for the Tennessee Democratic party yesterday. Divisions in the party were exacerbated when John Rodgers of the Nashville City Paper reported the words of Tennessee Democratic Party state executive committee member Fred Hobbs on Barack Obama:
“I don’t exactly approve of a lot of the things he stands for and I’m not sure we know enough about him,” Hobbs said when asked why he thought Davis wasn’t endorsing Obama. “He’s got some bad connections, and he may be terrorist connected for all I can tell. It sounds kind of like he may be.”
Adding insult to injury, Beecher Frasier, Chief of Staff to Democratic Congressman Lincoln Davis of Tennessee’s rural and conservative 4th District, was portrayed in the same article as saying he didn’t know for sure if Obama was “terrorist connected” but assumes he’s not.
The Tennessee Democratic Party almost immediately sent out a release rebuking Hobbs. Beecher Frasier, later in the day, released a statement setting the record straight asserting that “no one in their right mind, including me, believes Senator Obama has ties to terrorism.”
The state executive committeeman Fred Hobbs then, as reported by the Huffington Post, apologized for the comments and confirmed that he would be voting for Senator Obama in the fall.
However, at least one prominent Tennessee Democrat with a history with Beecher Frasier wishes to make clear his associations with the man. Late last night, NashvillePost.com received the following statement from Harold Ford, Jr.
Let me be clear about 2 things
First, Beecher Frasier is dead wrong. Senator Obama is a Christian, American patriot with a vision to make America safer and stronger. I am going to join millions of Tennesseans and Americans by working this year this to bring life to that vision by electing Barack Obama President of the United States.
Second, Beecher’s past association with me is just that - past. I’ve had no relationship with him since 2006. I don’t want a relationship with him, or anyone else who says these things. His comments offend me as an American and embarrass me as a Tennessean.
In 2006, Beecher Frasier took a leave of absence from the staff of Rep. Lincoln Davis to work for Harold Ford, Jr. as his campaign manager in his bid for U.S. Senate.
Rep. Lincoln Davis was very supportive of Harold Ford, Jr.’s run for Senate so these comments have to come with their own special sting for those close to both men.
SEE ALSO:
Brainstem’s impressions
Sadcox
Bill Hobbs
Music City Oracle
Red State
Silence
Comments
17 Responses to “Harold Ford, Jr. Throws Former Campaign Manager Under The Bus”
Dear Fred Hobbs,
I would like to applaud your recent statement implying Barack Obama is a terrorist. We here at Bigots United for McCain know that John can not possibly win on the issues. We need fine upstanding Americans like you to muddy the waters and cast doubt on the character and frankly the citizenship of the presumptive Democratic Nominee. We simply do not need a black man in office. Do we want our grade school children pointing to Africa on the map thinking it is where they live? No Sir!
If Obama gets in we will not be able to privatize Social Security and the country may very well spend a lot of money on health care for its populous instead of fighting wars in far off exotic lands. By the way, did you know Obama is Exotic? He is! And you can call him that on TV and not have to apologize!
John McCain can’t say so but he appreciates your support so I will say it for him. We love your strong commitment to your race and to the Presidential race being won by a real American who is not black.
Remember! Race, Party and then Country!
Michael Meehan
Executive Director
Bigots United for McCain
Bigots United for McCain dot com
Finally! Harold Ford Jr. has attacked a fellow Democrat for THE RIGHT REASONS. I’m marking this day on my calendar.
Oh, for a minute there I thought Ford was rejecting and renouncing the Ford campaign’s rhetoric about gay marriage.
Bill Ayers. Unrepentant terrorist. Obama associate.
A “patriotic” American would rather rub a fist in his face than rub elbows with him. Not Obama.
Of course, you could also count the fact that his image appears next to Che Guiverra posters a whole hell of a fucking lot. You never see McCain’s picture next to a terrorist’s.
Ford is right. The statements of Hobbs and Frasier are intolerable. Hobbs should be removed from his position in the party, and Frasier should be fired…
Senator Obama’s association with Wright, Pfleger, Ayers and Rezko, accompanied by his “off the record” remarks to the San Francisco elite, now are accompanied by photographs of his picture along side that of Che Guevera, another acknowledged revolutionary. Increasing the evidence is that Senator Obama is a Marxist.
Bill Ayers is a terrorist. He says so, the FBI says so, the New York Times says so. He tried to kill hundreds of people. He says “I don’t regret setting bombs…I feel we didn’t do enough.”
Ayers is Obama’s neighbor. They sat on boards together, Obama launched his first campaign with a party at Ayer’s house. Obama’s wife got her first job out of law school because of Ayers.
Do they have a connection?
Guys, calm down. The good news is that Obama is not a Marxist. Unfortunately, the bad news is that Obama is worse than a Marxist:
He’s an inattentive, factually-challenged, waffling, teleprompter-tied, empty suit.
Unbelievable. That Tennessee Republican Party continues to do things that make us all look like a bunch of ignorant rednecks, huh.
Wait…these are Tennessee Democrats? Never mind.
What’s the issue?
Obama is terrorist connected through the Weather Underground connections. He also has connections to anti-white racism, antisemitism, sexism and black nationalism, to name a few.
I cannot understand why Ford would make these comments. Frasier and Fred Hobbs haven’t said anything bad in their comments Ford is addressing. Obama has some associations that to sane, thinking people raise red flags. Don’t gloss over it.
Glad to see from the comments that this apparent attempt to whitewash Ayers et al from Obama’s career isn’t succeeding.
Fred;
We in the Democratic Party are supportive of dissent and celebrate our First Amendment Right to say what we think without fear.
However there is a limit. You have to understand that while dissent and free speech are American ideals that we hold dear, we cannot allow anyone in the Democratic Party to express views and opinions that are contrary to those taken by the Party and its leaders.
Regretfully we will have to ask you to turn in your donkey key chain and other party memorabilia. Do not attempt to contact or communicate with us in any way, even if it is to grovel and beg our forgiveness. We can forgive treason, spying, and working with the enemies of the U.S. but we cannot forgive anyone that dares to speak against the Party dogma.
Before you even think of going to our opponents with any Party secrets, you should contact Craig Livingston. That is, if you can find him, and ask why he has kept silent. You cannot expect the income after your words, no carrots for you. But you should pay close attention to the other inducements to remain silent. The ’sticks’ if you will.
Have a nice life outside the party. We here at headquarters are looking forward to your absence from the news media and politics in general
Yours
Howard Dean
Mr. Meehan,
This is a spat purely within the Democratic party. It pertains to comments made by Democrats about Democrats. I’m not sure why you think it appropriate to write your snarky, execrable “Bigots United for McCain” comment. This is *exactly* the kind of immature, broad-brush hatred - spewed throughout the Left-leaning blogosphere - that ensures that I will not support the National Democratic Party. If Obama is elected, I respectfully and somewhat proudly call him my president even though I won’t vote for him because I think he is wrong about issues that I care about. Will you do the same for McCain if he is elected? Somehow, I doubt it.
“That’s not the Wright/Pfleger/Ayers/Rezko I know.”
–Barack Obama, 2008
“That’s not the Beecher Frasier I know.”
–Harold Ford, 2008
Throw-unsavory-associates-under-the-bus fever: It’s catching!
[…] Davis expect a return on investment. What did Davis get for his troubles? Not much it seems. While Lincoln vouched for Ford with rural whites going so far as loaning out his Chief of Staff to serve as campaign manager, when the wormed turned and Davis and his staff found themselves in a racial beef, not only did Ford not help Davis out, he threw his man to the wolves. […]
Greg Williams writes
June 24th, 2008 9:18 am
Harold Ford would have gotten trounced without Beecher,
Harolds quick impulsiveness to throw Beecher under the bus should say alot to us about Harolds lack of character.
Beecher frazier worked diligently for Harold Fords senate bid. I personally have sought his help when trying to get healthcare benefits for minorities in my community and he has always given no less than 100% to that goal.
The incident regarding Sen. Obama was simply a poor choice of words, similarly to Michelle Obamas ,”for the first time…..proud American” statement.To take his statement and use it to calculate it into some racist/obama slam is malicious and does harm to the battle against real racism that is alive and well.
Beecher Frazier is quite simply a champion who represents the least among us. He is more than one sentence the right-wing takes and twist out of context