Senator Bob Corker Calls His 2006 Campaign Ads “Grotesque”
Posted on May 16, 2008 at 7:27 amE.J. Dionne catches Senator Bob Corker in a candid, reflective mood while reminiscing about his 2006 campaign against Harold Ford, Jr.:
Facing a tough contest against Harold Ford Jr., a young, telegenic African American congressman, Corker says he watched his campaign flounder as his consultants ran television ads that tried to paint his opponent, a moderately conservative Democrat, as a “liberal.”
“They were grotesque,” Corker said of his own commercials in an interview this week. “It was just the same old stuff.” By contrast, he said, Ford’s spots were “fresh and refreshing.”
Corker, the former mayor of Chattanooga, called in new consultants and switched to a more positive campaign. “We kept the race about Tennessee,” he said. “We focused on my life, on who I was as a person.” Independent voters who had been attracted to Ford started moving Corker’s way.
Yet the national party almost blew the race near the end, Corker said, by running an ad that many saw as racist. The commercial, aired without Corker’s knowledge, included a young, blonde, white actress declaring that she had met Ford “at the Playboy party.” It ended with her whispering the words: “Harold, call me.”
Corker was furious, and not just because his six-point lead melted into a four-point deficit. The party eventually pulled the radioactive ad, and Corker won narrowly. The senator has advised Republican colleagues in tough races this year to resist national party ads that mention their opponents.
Ford Misconceptions
Posted on May 9, 2008 at 1:28 pmThe “quiet Ford”, Shelby County Commissioner Joe Ford reflects on his life in politics and talks about how his family is perceived:
He believes people have many misconceptions about his family.
“Sometimes we don’t know how to approach people,” he said. “A lot of people think that they don’t know how to approach us, but sometimes we’re shy approaching people ourselves.”
The top misconception?
“A lot of people think that we sit around and have meetings and talk about what seat, what we’re going to run for, what’s on the agenda today, what are we going to bring up in committee, and we don’t do that,” he said.
(via Mediaverse)
The Family Ford
Posted on April 28, 2008 at 7:49 amBlake Fontenay traces the decline and the prospects for the future of the Ford family political dynasty:
Marcus Pohlmann, a political science professor at Rhodes College, questions whether the Ford family ever was a “political machine” in the strictest sense.
In the early part of the 20th century, Pohlmann said, political machines in big cities were able to thrive by doling out patronage jobs to supporters, who then used their positions to raise money and drum up votes for their bosses in future elections.
However, since the 1950s, Pohlmann said, government reforms have made it much more difficult to award enough jobs to political cronies to really influence elections.
Pohlmann said Harold Ford Sr.’s position in Congress wasn’t the type that would have allowed him to deliver a large number of patronage jobs, even if he wanted to do so.
That said, Harold Ford Sr. and his relatives did project an image of political strength throughout much of the 1970s and 1980s and beyond.
Burning The Little Black Book: Harold Ford, Jr. Marries Emily Threlkeld In Miami
Posted on April 27, 2008 at 11:25 pmWhile there are still certainly a myriad of potential roadblocks to his running for or winning a statewide race in Tennessee, one thing is for sure, Harold Ford, Jr. has solved his “bachelor problem“:
Around 300 guests, including the elite of Memphis and Washington, gathered at Miami’s Trinity Cathedral Episcopal Church Saturday to witness the nuptials of Harold Ford, Jr. and socialite Emily Threlkeld. The lavish ceremony included a total of 26 attendants for the bride and groom.
MORE:
Video outside rehearsals
Beverly Keel
The Audacity Of Waiting His Turn
Posted on April 23, 2008 at 5:24 pmGoldnI didn’t appreciate the advice Barack Obama was given by Harold Ford, Jr. on MSNBC and asks the undercover, Clinton supporting, former Congressman to imagine this Presidential campaign had it been him instead of Obama facing the Clinton machine:
Can you imagine what would happen if Harold were in Obama’s shoes? Can you imagine how Hillary would attack him? “Well, we all know that Harold Ford has no experience. He was only 26 when he was elected to Congress, what did he do before that? Not much. He doesn’t have enough experience. Oh, and he’s unelectable. Don’t ask us why, but he is.” And if the Jeremiah Wright brouhaha is any indicator, Harold would probably be asked to reject and denounce the vast majority of his family members.
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Ford In The Bag For HRC
Posted on at 12:31 pmMatt Pulle asserts that after watching Harold Ford, Jr. on MSNBC last night there can be no doubt about where the “neutral” Ford stand in the Democratic primary contest:
Harold Ford continues to have trouble cloaking his jealousy of Barack Obama, whose progressive, smart candidacy is everything that Ford’s run for Senate was not. Yesterday on MSNBC, Joe Scarborough asked Ford if he would have beaten Corker if he could have outspent him as much as Obama did Hillary Clinton in Pennsyltucky. At first, Ford tried to duck the question graciously, but then Scarborough needed to ask it only one more time for the former Memphis congressman to take the bait: Ford snidely replied if he had more money he could have made up those 25,000 votes, saying that as matter-of-factly as if he were reciting the alphabet.
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Call Me Mrs. Ford: Emily Threlkeld To Wed Harold Ford, Jr. On Saturday
Posted on April 22, 2008 at 8:40 amFrom the NY Post:
Eligible bachelor and former Tennessee congressman Harold Ford Jr. is being taken off the market Saturday. The dashing Democrat plans to marry Emily Threlkeld in Miami. Threlkeld is a fashion designer and stepdaughter of former Morgan Stanley Chairman Anson Beard. We’re told the couple invited 300 guests to the wedding, to be held at an Episcopal church in the sun capital. A rep for Ford confirmed the nuptials.
PREVIOUSLY: The announcement
Time To Blame The Donuts
Posted on April 21, 2008 at 7:49 amColby Sledge reports that during an appearance at Vanderbilt University, Tom “Captain Awesome” Lee and Michael Powell, former operatives for Harold Ford, Jr. pointed to the lack of support for their man in the suburbs as the reason for their man’s loss in 2006:
During a panel that was supposed to be about how the media is covering this year’s campaign, Lee and Powell spoke pretty candidly about how Ford lost to Sen. Bob Corker because of the suburbs — particularly in Williamson and Sumner Counties, and even in areas that had previously supported Democratic candidates.
In counties around the state’s major cities, they said, their campaign lost two points from voters who supported John Kerry in 2004.
Was it really the donut counties that kept Ford from victory or was it simply that he did not, in the end, get the historic turn out from his base in West Tennessee that he needed to match the Republican stronghold of East Tennessee?
Post Politics: 7 April 2008
Posted on April 8, 2008 at 9:54 amThe longest-serving congressional district director in Tennessee history, Joe Hill, is retiring after 35 years. Hill started his tenure under Congressman Ed Jones in 1973 and stayed on when Congressman John Tanner was elected to the Eighth District seat in 1989. Hill will now serve as a member of the Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole.
CBN political reporter David Brody notes social conservative uneasiness with a possible John McCain/Mitt Romney ticket.
Fred Thompson travels to Arizona to catch up with his old friend, John McCain.
A recent Rassmussen Reports survey shows Hillary Clinton to be the best Democratic candidate to go up against John McCain in the General election — at least in Tennessee.
Former Republican Congressman Bob Barr announces the formation of a committee to explore a possible run for the Libertarian nomination in 2008.
Memphis mayor Willie Herenton will outline his vision for the Memphis City Schools in what he calls “the most important presentation in his entire public life” on May 6.
Gov. Phil Bredesen gave a guest lecture last week on the ins and outs of his superdelegate primary plan to a Vanderbilt Political Science class taught by Professor John Geer and Harold Ford, Jr.
Fourteen Tennessee businesses have signed a letter to Senators Alexander and Corker in opposition to new patent reform legislation before Congress.
David Oatney notes state Senator Mike Williams’ evolution on the subject of term limits since his days in the state House.
Roger Abramson pens the definitive polemic on the continued co-option of Martin Luther King, Jr. by the Tennessee GOP.
Randy Neal compiles last week’s state legislative and congressional filings of candidacy in a handy browsable database.
Absolut Vodka sparks a debate over immigration policy – and some creative Photoshopping – with its latest advertisement.
Joe Lance discusses the pros and cons of Phil Bredesen as Veep.
ABC News reports that Secretary Of State Condoleezza Rice is actively seeking the Vice Presidential nomination.
According to a press release, People First of Tennessee received a letter from the TN Division of Mental Retardation that its self-advocacy contract will not be renewed. The organization suspects that their outspoken opposition to state spending cuts was the cause.
A conservative blogger gives the Clintons kudos on the release of their tax returns and their contributions to charity.
Lamar Alexander in the Washington Post on pulling the plug on his Presidential runs in 1996 and 2000: “”A lot of people invested time and money and effort into my campaign when I ran. One of my feelings was that I let them down. I haven’t done as well as I should have.”
At a fund-raising breakfast Friday for State House District challenger Tony Shipley, former Sen. Bill Frist said he will make a decision about running for Tennessee Governor “by the early part of next year.”
State Senator Doug Jackson: “I’ll tell you what, when you let the hillbillies into the White House, they’ll get the ashtrays and even the Sweet n’ Low.”
Republican Presidential candidate John McCain explains why he voted against the Martin Luther King Holiday during his first term in Congress.
Tom Humphrey breaks down which party seems to have the advantage in state legislative races now that the filing deadlines have passed and the fields are set.
Former governor and Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee leads a Gallup Poll measuring who Republicans would like to see as John McCain’s running mate.
Tennessee’s Republican Party spokesman isn’t the only one opposing the continued openness of the state’s firearm carry permit database while benefiting from the current status of the records. Rep. Mike Bell concedes that the database helped him challenge those making hyperbolic claims of cost regarding a gun rights bill he had sponsored.
Both the younger and the elder Harold Ford issued harsh rebukes of statements by their family members reported in the Commercial Appeal last week. On Friday, Jake Ford, an independent candidate opposing Rep. Steve Cohen, and his campaign manager brother, Isaac, insinuated that Cohen was unfit to serve because he was white and a majority of the constituents in the district are not.
Harold Ford, Jr. distanced himself from his brother in the starkest possible terms: “It’s beyond concern. I want to make clear my brothers’ comments are not mine. I reject them. … I don’t believe any candidate’s fitness for office should be measured or determined by race or gender.”
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Post Politics: 4 April 2008
Posted on at 9:49 amBlogger Mick Wright decides to take the plunge and files a petition to oppose his Republican state Representative Curry Todd in the Republican primary.
On the anniversary of his death, many bloggers embed the YouTube of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s final speech.
Harold Ford, Jr. suggests there is “evidence” Republicans will use to show Barack Obama lacks sufficient patriotism.
Shelby County has already more than double the number of handgun permit holders compared to the rest of Tennessee’s counties.
Frank Cagle explains that “the idea that a private communication between a constituent and a public official should be a public record is media run amok.”
One of the first Governors in the nation to endorse Hillary Clinton for President says that the superdelegates should not vote to overturn the popular vote in the Democratic primary.
Radio talker and NashvillePost.com internet strategist Freddie O’Connell shares thoughts on his former campaign manager’s race for school board and the entry of former Councilman John Summers into the race and discusses whether winning the seat is Summers’ only motive for getting in the game.
A bill enabling a special committee studying the administration of the state’s death penalty to continue its work until October 1, 2009 passed a House subcommittee recently to the joy of one blogger.
Former Howard Gentry for Mayor communications man, Evans Donnell, celebrates the entry of Gentry’s wife into a race for school board.
A conservative blogger doesn’t seem broken up that state Senator Jamie Woodson has drawn opposition this year.
A former East Tennessee Congressman gets his name on a medical building.
A bill seeking the limitation of frivolous medical malpractice lawsuit passed the state house yesterday.
At a conference devoted to wireless technology, former Presidential candidates and Senators Fred Thompson and John Edwards talk about anything but the stated topic.
Blogger Angelia cannot seem to find video on the legislative website of the now infamous recall of the bill which would have closed gun permit records to the general public.
Tennessee Republican Party Communications Director Bill Hobbs has made a public records request for the database on the state’s handgun carry permit holders, information that the TNGOP does not believe should be public. The sponsor of that bill which sparked so much controversy is optimistic for the future of the initiative.
Blogger David Oatney discusses the possibility of a 269-269 electoral vote tie in the upcoming Presidential election.
A tax reform group that has in the past favored a state income tax wants to cut the sales tax on food and close a loophole that allows companies operating in Tennessee to shuffle money around between subsidiaries to avoid high tax bills.
Bellevue native and Cornell student Ilissa Gold notes the last gasps of the Ron Paul campaign on her Ivy League campus.
Katie Allison Granju notes that members of Congress have as much as $196 million collectively invested in companies doing business with the Defense Department.
Metro cop Juan “El Protector” Borges will once again challenge Nashville political scion Ben West, Jr. and intends to make West’s controversial comments on Hispanics last year an issue in the race.
Betty Bean profiles the iconoclastic retiring State Rep. Frank Buck in a piece in MetroPulse.
Despite recent election results showing Democratic strength in the district, a prominent political name decides against taking on former TNGOP chair and State Representative Beth Harwell.
Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist announces on his political action committee’s blog that he is “devoting significant energy” to achieving a Republican majority in the state legislature. Frist is rumored to be exploring a 2010 run for Governor of Tennessee.
Finally, if you are not a general peruser of the front page of NashvillePost.com you may have missed ace political reporter Ken Whitehouse churning out as much copy from his office down at the Plaza yesterday as many a fully-staffed newsroom. Click here and scroll for the impressive display.
Can’t see the full stories? That means you are not a subscriber. You can remedy that here.
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Post Politics: 3 April 2008
Posted on at 9:47 amJust one week after announcing her intention to seek the 71st District State House seat currently held by the retiring Rep. Randy Rinks, Dwana Pusser-Garrison, daughter of legendary McNairy County lawman Buford Pusser, has withdrawn from the race citing health concerns. Pusser-Garrison has multiple sclerosis.
Harold Ford, Jr. schedules his engagement party in Memphis on the anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Church Hill attorney Mike Faulk celebrates his Scots-Irish heritage and cites a book by a Democratic U.S. Senator in officially announcing his intention to seek the Republican nomination for the Tennessee Senate’s Fourth District. The Senate’s lone independent, Senator Mike Williams, currently holds the seat.
A blog dedicated to bringing retailer Trader Joes to Nashville claims victory.
Former Democratic candidate for president turned Libertarian Mike Gravel covers the Beatles’ Helter Skelter on YouTube.
Jackson Baker reports that a recent poll conducted by Ethridge and Associates shows Congressman Steve Cohen in good position for reelection despite announced opposition from Democrat Nikki Tinker and independent Jake Ford.
Terry Heaton links up to panel discussion involving Al Gore, John Siegenthaler and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales.
Media Bistro discusses the ideological diversity of the talking heads on the cornucopia of political chat shows on the cable news networks.
A magnanimous Barack Obama tells reporters that he would be more than happy to hire revered former Vice President Al Gore for a high level cabinet post.
Knoxville TV blogger Katie Granju wonders who exactly is in favor of “mountaintop removal” mining.
Both of Tennessee’s U.S. Senators praise a tentative bipartisan agreement on a bill to alleviate the mortgage “crisis.”
A Zip Code breakdown of Mayor Karl Dean’s submitted list of Metro Board and Commission appointees shows the mayor following through on his goal of geographical diversity.
61 year-old Ed Lawhorn, a Vietnam veteran and political independent, announces his intention to run for U.S. Senate versus Lamar Alexander. He will join Green Party member Chris Lugo on the general election ballot. Democrats Bob Tuke, a former party chairman, and former Knox County Clerk Mike Padgett are currently vying for the Democratic nomination for the seat.
In an increasingly digital world, Ben Cunningham warns that reliance on email rather than face to face meetings make relationships fragile in the face of conflict.
Nashville Scene editor Liz Garrigan announces a retooling of the alt-weekly’s blog Pith In The Wind and shows off some great artist renderings of political and media reporters Jeff Woods and Matt Pulle.
Deft political maneuvering in the state house Criminal Practice Subcommittee yesterday insures that the state’s gun permit records shall remain open until at least 2012. The bill created a Class E felony of unauthorized publication of permit information or records. An attorney general’s opinion stated that the bill might have been vulnerable on First Amendment grounds. Angelia Gibson-Herrell discusses.
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