Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. -- One Of The Good Guys

After all I've said about "politicians are just entertainers", and none of them can be trusted, and it's all just a sham, and all that stuff, I'm going to actually say some good stuff about one of them.

I'm talking about Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. (D) of Tennessee. He is currently hoping to leave the House of Representatives by running for the Senate, replacing the retiring Bill Frist (R). He is opposed by Bob Corker (R) for the Senate seat.

Not only do I think Harold Ford should be the next Senator from Tennessee, I'll even go so far as to say that I think he'll be our first black President. Yep. There, I said it. I know that's a bit of a leap, but I think he is the most likely & qualified candidate, and I think it will happen some time in the next decade.

This 2006 mid-term election in probably one of the most important, and most scrutinized, elections in the last 20 years. Right now Republicans hold all 3 branches of government, which provides for virtually no "checks and balances". The Executive does what the Legislative branch wants, who does what the Judicial branch wants, who does what the Executive wants, etc., etc. But with this upcoming election there is a very good possibility that Democrats may take over one or both of the Legislative branches of government. A good thing, in the name of balance of power. And with a President as power-dependent as Bush, it's definitely time for some check on that power. The Democrats need to win about 15-30 seats in the two houses for the balance of power to shift.

I'm no Republican or Democrat or anything else, as I've said a thousand times, but I urge any of you other moderates and fence-riders out there to lean to the Democrat side this time if you can, just because the country needs it. There are some "key" seats up for grabs that are close races, states that are considered important political states -- because of either their distinct predictability or unpredictability -- like Connecticut, Ohio, and Tennessee.

For many years, Tennessee has been basically Republican. One of the leading (and most God-awful) Senators in the Senate has been Bill Frist, who has been elected and re-elected several times. He's one of the most conservative and most insincere and nauseating politicians of the last 10 years. Thank God he's retiring.

Now, we have Harold Ford, Jr. with the opportunity to be the first black Senator from Tennessee since Reconstruction. He's been a Representative of the 9th district (serving West TN, including Memphis) since 1996, having been re-elected four times. I've been paying attention to him since about 2000 or so, and somewhere around 2002 I had my first "there's your first black President, right there" moment.

Think about some of the leading black politicians in America today -- Colin Powell, Condoleeza Rice, Barack Obama -- all would be solid Presidential candidates. But, I have to admit, their actual political views aside, Ford has far more "electability" than anybody else. And unfortunately, the way a person looks and speaks, over substance and policy, dictates who gets elected in our modern political system. On this front, he falls squarely into the "black, but not too black" category that can win over more conservative white voters. He's light-skinned and light-eyed, generally soft-spoken, intelligent, and eloquent. I realize that's a very (almost obscenely) shallow way to judge anything, but that's the reality of our political system -- the "electability" of our politicians is often determined by demographics, physical traits, and speech patterns. And for a black politician to run for President, he will have to win over a good portion of our generally white-dominated society and political system. Barack Obama is a brilliant guy and an inspiring speaker, but I think he is unelectable for President -- he's too dynamic, too outspoken, and his name his Barack Obama. No matter how qualified he is, he still scares Whitey. Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice are almost the exact opposite -- they're a little too "white". Powell's speech sounds more "white" than mine, and almost the same for Rice; plus, she plays classical piano. Both are very straight, and very square. And Republican. Ironically, this also scares Whitey -- when it's coming from a black person. Whitey sees this as disingenuous, or "trying too hard".

But Harold Ford is right smack in the center on all those shallow "electability" issues. First, his last name is Ford -- can't get much more "Mom's apple pie" than that. Second, his first name is Harold -- sounds like a guy your Dad works with. Third, although he's light-skinned and articulate and all those things Whitey likes, he's still not "too white". He speaks his mind without being bombastic, he's eloquent without being nerdy. He seems like a reasonable guy, yet not somebody you'd want to piss off. Fourth, he's from a political family. His father, Harold Ford, Sr., was a Tennessee Congressman from 1975 to 1997. You know how America loves it's political families -- do you realize that if Hillary Clinton wins the Presidency in 2008, we won't have had a President without the name Clinton or Bush since 1988? And won't until 2012 or 2016? That would be 28 years of Bushes and Clintonses. Shall I start on the Kennedys?

As far as issues, Harold Ford is a moderate Democrat. This is from Wikipedia.com (and since it's Wikipedia, you can judge its accuracy for yourself): "Ford's voting record is considered much more moderate than conventional wisdom would suggest for a district like the 9th.... He supported a ban on benefits for same-sex couples, as well as the Federal Marriage Amendment (which would ban same-sex marriage). He has told Democrats they should be more supportive of George W. Bush on the war in Iraq and criticized Senate Democrats who attempted to filibuster Samuel Alito. He was one of the few Democrats who voted for the Bankruptcy Bill, and supports some restrictions on abortion. However, he has also opposed Bush's energy proposals (including oil drilling in ANWR), has demonstrated support for adoption rights of same-sex couples, and indicates a willingness to reform illegal drug policy."

I personally disagree with a few of those stances, but it must be taken into account that he represents Memphis, a black majority constituency. While black voters are generally more liberal on fiscal social issues like welfare, health care, and social security, they are more conservative on religious issues like same-sex marriage and prayer in schools. I think his voting record has reflected the views of his Tennessee 9th District constituency, and doesn't necessarily reflect how he will vote as a Senator who represents the entire state (although TN is still mostly conservative), or how he would act as President. In a nutshell, from what I've seen of him so far, he seems too reasonable to be too conservative or too liberal. But he also seems to have the balls to have strong convictions for his constituents and to stand by them.

I know there's a few people from my home state of Tennessee who read my stuff. Do yourself (and the rest of the country) a favor, and vote for Harold Ford, Jr. for Senate in November.

Roger