Why in the world is anyone watching hannity and colmes?

It would be nice if Mr Ford actually behaved like a Democrat... He is like Zel lite. He just doesn't get it.. Keep going on Faux News

John you're right. Ingraham actually makes sense with this one. And I also supported Ford last year and felt they used the southern strategy to defeat him once he was pulling ahead of that empty suit Corker.

Greg @ 5:

St. Vitus @ 2:

Why in the world is anyone watching hannity and colmes?

They watch FOX so you don't have to.

Damn! You stole my response.

The Blue Dogs seem to be the last vestiges of the conservative Democrats that didn't get a clue in the 70s and switch parties.

Ye shall know them by their droppings.

And so the DLC begat Harold Ford.

(It had to be said.)

There is no "middle", that's the real problem with that strategy. People may be "in the middle" on certain issues, but those are generally the issues they don't care about. And like Jim Hightower said: "There's nothing in the middle of the road but a yellow stripe and dead armadillos. "

Of course, they understand it.

It's the only reason Bush has won.

It's the only reason people watch Fox.

How can the DLC not understand it by now?

You cannot win by not taking a stand!!!

You cannot win by not offending some people!!!

You cannot win by waffling!!!

You cannot win by playing all sides!!!

And you certainly cannot win by being Republican, only not as much so!!!

I think Ford is a paid FOX analyst...Can someone check?

"The democrat party"?

Fox News is a national disgrace.

Yup, she's right...er...correct.

Ford is the old-guard of Dems; and his kind of spineless middle-of-the-road-republican light politician are the kind we progressives and liberals want out of the Democratic party.

The Dems will win elections because they will STAND FOR SOMETHING.

The whole "moderate" card is a ruse. What of these so-called "moderate" positions do the American people support? Limitless occupation of Iraq? excluding human and rights, environmental standards and labor rights from trade deals to be written by corporate interests behind closed doors? Shipping well paying American jobs overseas to cheap, unprotected labor? Allowing corporations to pollute the environment unhindered. Government spying on peaceful domestic opposition? Corporate corruption of government? The selling of our democratic system to the highest bidder? The conglomeration and concentration of our publicly owned broadcast spectrum into the hands of a few vested corporate and elite interests?

I say, none of the above!

Ford sounds like a radical right wing operative to me.

Condor @ 27:

"And I ask you... what the heck is the middle?"
I don't know if I can answer that, but I'm pretty sure crooksandliars.com doesn't occupy it.

I'd they they do more so than you.

Tell Laura inkham that it's the Democratic Party not the Democrat Party....

Who the hell is this Harold Ford idiot? Maybe someone voted for him, but I didn't, so could he kindly stop talking like he speaks for anyone but himself.

Anyone who gets so much uninterrupted face-time on Faux News cannot be a real Democrat. Murdock simply does not let anything other than rightwing bullshit go out on his 'news' channel.

Bob Beckel showed his disdain for the netroots later.

That's because they (media) can't control the netroots and not having control of the dialog drives them nuts.

whiteline @ 13:

Two words for anyone who will side with a right-wing Republican harpy over a moderate, even DLC Democrat.

Roberts. Alito.

Who will Hillary nominate? Who will Mitt?

Get those coat hangers ready, kids.

You got that right.

Meanwhile if rich Republican girl in Utah gets raped, daddy can fly her to San Francisco for an abortion if it is outlawed in Utah. If abortion is outlawed nationally daddy can fly rich little Republican girl to a foreign country. The poor and middle class won't find that option quite so easy. Rich Republicans are going to make sure they get theirs even if they restrict options for the rest of us.

One of the major problems (there are several) with old weird Harold's middle of the road premise is that you simply hand legislative victories to the right.

Legislating is like haggling over the price of something. You want to pay as little as possible (1) and the seller wants to get the maximum price (10.)

So you haggle and dicker, and end up somewhere around the middle (5.)

Under OWH's theory, you stake out the middle. (5) But the seller still starts in the same place (10) so you end up halfway between (7.5)

Democrats should run to the left and work to persuade swing voters to follow. Then when negotiating with the GOPers in Congress and with the White House, they can compromise on something that accomplishes part of what they want.

Assuming that the Democrats gain seats in Congress and capture the White House next year, they can steamroller the GOP on every issue, or they can do what was SOP until the GOP took power - they can try to build bipartisan consensus in enacting legislation.

I certainly hope that the Democrats don't do like the GOP and try to freeze the other side out of the political process. That's Rovian politics.

Sorry to say, at this point Republicans win in 2008.
The people from the Democrats that turn up on these shows are just unconvincing little punching bags...

Here is a perfectly observed article by George Lakoff of "Don't think of an Elephant" fame. His take on "centrism" is that there is no "center," nor are there centrists. You have total conservatives and total progressives as well as what he calls "biconceptuals": progressive on certain issues and conservative on others.

Progressives, according to Lakoff, have to speak to these groups using the issues where they share the same values. In contrast to the DLC types, which try to split the difference, and end up looking like the spineless opportunists that they are.

Link follows. Highly recommended.

Some people wonder why Harold lost. Wrong question. The DLC is designed to lose while giving the illusion of democratic representation and a multi-party system.

American Macaca @ 43:

http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/contributors/1237

I saw the Lakoff article earlier, but I think it misses the real point of the so-called "moderate" stance of the DLC and what it's meant to achieve. It isn't about winning elections for democrats. Politics is about ideology, it's not a sport where you are just trying to win and have no constituency with economic interests. As we have seen in the last two decades, the DLC is remarkable mostly for its ability to lose elections for Democrats. Mostly they attack principled and ethical Democrats in the Democratic party and collapse in the face of Republicans. That's what the organization is designed to do.

Take a look at my comment @11, check the links and see if you don't agree that there is more to the DLC than meets the eye.

Laura is still a boob. Her argument is so typically repug, cut and dry, black or white. If they don't count in numbers, why bother with them? Although I can't think of one thing I like about repugs or their stance, there are still things I don't like about the dems. Basically moderates are neither repug or dem.

For instance, if this blog brings up anything ethic, especially about African-Americans some so-called progressive and/or democratic people tend to let their conservative slips show.

Apparently, Harold feels most comfortable on Fox News, which tells us a lot about both Harold Ford AND Fox. Clearly, he is being used by Fox to further their agenda of undermining Democrats. He is either complicit in the activity, he is too ignorant to realize that he's being used or he simply doesn't care. Maybe they should change the name of their organization to DWRWTBRLC (Democrats Who Really Want To Be Republicans Leadership Council).

Next several elections are gonna require vigilance because I imagine there'll be a lot of repubs posing as Democrats. Too bad the states don't have automatic recalls for that sort of thing.

hope @ 52:

Next several elections are gonna require vigilance because I imagine there'll be a lot of repubs posing as Democrats. Too bad the states don't have automatic recalls for that sort of thing.

No, but we do have primaries. There were enough informed Democrats in CT to oust Lieberman, it can be done elsewhere. Follow your Congress critters voting record, inform your neighbors and friends, take over your local party committee and always vote in primaries. The best solution is to take back the Democratic party.

Another Blue-Blood bites the Dust! Ford's Political future is over. This guy could not get Elected to be the local dog catcher.

As is typical of the mainstream media, they are trying to frame the debate for simpletons. I think that most people have various positions, depending on the issue. For instance, I am fiscally conservative. I think that the Federal Budget should be balanced, as Bill Clinton. My reason is liberal, because I recognize that the Republican's motivation in running up the deficits is to destroy Social Security by making it untenable to repay the Social Security IOUs.

My biggest motivation in opposing the Iraq war was that Iraq in Sunni hands was opposed to Iran. That's classic Reagan. Play the two countries against each other. (We can leave out the part of transferring arm sales money to the contras).

I am opposed to some government dickhead coming in and interfering with the doctor patient relationship, such as federal initiatives to interfere with state law allowing the right to die, as in Oregon, or the use of medical marijuana.

I'm opposed to the current form of free trade or WTO, where the idea is to drive American wages down by outsourcing work. The trade deficits clearly show that this policy has been an abject failure.

That's the issue why I think the Ford and the DLC is trying to marginalize the left. Essentially the DLC position is to back Hillary who likes taking money from lobbyists, who she describes as "real people". Being the front runner, the Presidential race is once again a choice between the lessor of two corporate owned evils.

These multinational corporations have foreign subsidiaries whose interests aren't necessarily aligned with the U.S. Also, the trade deficits are surpluses elsewhere, which are being converted into Sovereign Wealth Funds which in turn are invested in things like our stock market. So, a percentage of our politician's corporate masters aren't American either. No wonder they are more interested in pursuing a new World Order, rather than advancing the interests of ordinary Americans.

Ford needs to get a real job. He blew his 15 minutes of fame.

Ingram actually made a great point. There is no real political center. The so-called moderates/independents go with whomever is most persuasive. That's absolutely spot on, and she made Ford look like a fool (which isn't too difficult).

This will be the only time that Laura will make sense for a long time. Once in a while, even a conservative gets something right, but it doesn't happen often.

Unless you were just talking about medical marijuana and the right to die. In that case, I agree with you 100%.

"when you’re constantly targeting the middle or the moderates as Harold called them…it’s pretty tough because the middle is always shifting…"

No, its because the middle is a fucking weak place to be,...

"So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth."

Revelation 3,...

Sorry, I mean Marshall Whitman:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/22/us/politics/22wittmann.html?ex=1321851...

Mr. Ford was played for a fool. You could see he realized it after Ingraham finished her spiel.

It's beyond me how people cannot seem to see through the phoniness of people like Ford or Clinton. At least the Republicans really believe what they're saying.

Figure it out, folks. A politician is a politician is a politician. Nobody running for office is truly looking out for you...unless you're wealthy. Otherwise they don't give a shit about you. Sad but true.

Ms. Laura Ingram is so right for a change she's telling it like it really is and I do hope that all the Democrats are reading this very important revelation.

The blue dogs and DLC Democrats refuse to get the message, that they are no longer calling the shots in this political arena.

These people are considered small time Republicans that are worst then the real thing if the truth be known.

It is an outrage for these people to run for office pretending to be for the issues that concern Democrats and after they get elected to office do a three hundred and fifty degree turn to the right, as many of them are also engaging in corporate grabbing as they are voting against our interest in record numbers and all you have to do is go to the voting records of these freaks and it will tell you all you need to know about these people.

Any of them that have the unmitigated audacity to stand before the American people and tell us that taking corporate money has no bearing on their voting records are lying and we need to shout it off the roof tops.

It is wrong to take this money knowing the political cost, we have already and continue to pay with our jobs, medical coverage,Spying on us ,stealing our elections, the disastrous housing market downturn , the forgotten education system and on and on is just so much mess in this country, it would take a good fifty pages to list just half of the problems brought on by these people and for any Democrat to get involved with this administration is just more then any of us want to tolerate.

We actually have more Congress/Senate members of both parties, that are Doctor's , then we now have in the medical field. We have one corrupt fellow in Congress by the name of Tom Price, Congressman of Georgia, who is a medical doctor that uses his congressional office to promote his practice. I kid you not, just look at his federal stationary that he has Dr. Tom Price printed on it and paid for by tax payers in this country and he knows that is a direct conflict of interest. There are others that are doing the same thing and should be penalized and reprimanded by the speaker of the house for these infractions and made to repay for the stationary and all other documents they use for this purpose.

The main problem with these fools in suites, is that they are the basic reason we cannot get them to take our medical cover situation serious or any of the other very important legislation, they know is dear too and very important to Americans. They lie to us and tell us that they are voting in the interest of their constituants, as if the people of their states dont want medical coverage and do not enjoy the right to not be spyed on by this or any other administration for that matter. They are full of crap.

They are so busy covering up for and voting on issues to finance the corporate ran pharmaceutical goons who send these cheap lobbyist to the senate floor with a check book to purchase our country down the toilet and please don't take my word, just look and see who all the doctors in Congress are and then go to the records of these ass holes and they will tell you the story for me and then demand to know why they are voting as they are.

If any of these freaks are running for office and we have good people ready to replace them please do so and Mr. Ford is now a non issue at this stage of the game, because he has successfully allowed the right wing machine to just screw him out of his career, how sad he is running from right wing station to station. He was on Shaun Hannities radio talk show just today.

What the hell would a democrat be doing on that talk show is about nothing and so is Harald Ford, but he will not be successful in his attempts to get average well thinking Americans to be that ignorant and that is for sure.

a guy @ 25:

Poor Harold Ford. Hammered by both the left and right. That's one problem with triangulating to the middle. You wind up with no true core values and come off as wishy washy. Harold is trying so hard to please everyone, he's pissing off everybody. This is a lesson Hillary ought to take to heart.

Hillary doesn't "make mistakes" - she's as dangerous as Bush in that regard.
*

Laura Ingraham is a shrill, self-loating closet-case, but Harold Ford gives empty suits a bad name. I thought because he's liberal I wanted him to win, then I saw him speak. Wow, what a fool. He tosses out buzzwords and populist-approved policies without thought, with long, barren stretches between the moments where he seems to know what the hell he's talking about. I've never seen anyone less persuasive than Harold Ford.

The concept that any candidate (left or right) should take centrist positions is really saying "lie to get elected."

Triangulation, focus groups, using polls to determine what positions to take, are all forms of dishonesty. A candidate can't be authentic and passionate if they won't even admit what they stand for.

And if you don't have enough faith in your beliefs to defend them, you don't deserve to win. If you have to lie to win, you show you have no principles and can't be trusted.

Let the righties be the party of smarmy liars and hypocrites.

Look at Al Gore now - passionate, sincere, and popular. 7 years ago he was "packaged" by consultants and he was wooden, stiff and barely won the election.

If he had been just himself, he would have won by so big a margin that G-Dub's boys couldn't steal the election. So much for the Old Weird Harold Theory of Politics.

Its no wonder Ford lost his bid for U.S. Senate. I guess most folks in Tennessee would rather vote for an actual Republican than someone who is Republican-lite. I'm a Democrat and-at the time-I thought that Harold Ford was better choice than Bob Corker for the senate. But Ford's appearances on Faux News and being an apologist for the Bush administration sickens me.

Harold Ford is out of touch. Why he's making these proclamations on Fox Noise is beyond me. He needs to quiet himself and rest. I no longer believe in anything he says.

Maybe Laura is practicing for the CNN anchor gig...believe me she has the potential to be way more "Coulter-like"...but like many rwn she is capable of the hyprocisy when appropriate...

Sean @ 83:

I happen to live in an area that is saturated by right wing talk show hosts,

AKA - Amirikkka

Mug @ 40:

Sorry to say, at this point Republicans win in 2008.
The people from the Democrats that turn up on these shows are just unconvincing little punching bags...

The Repugs are going to "win" again even if they don't really win. Rove's resignation was planned all along so that he has more time to devote on keeping republican's in power ... he's stayed long enough to have all those recent executive orders done... so even if they don't win there will be an October suprise and they will stay in power.

Ford goes on this show, just like he heads the DLC, for two reasons: $$$$ (i.e., now that he's lost his Senate bid, he doesn't have to get a real job) and connection to D.C. politics (i.e., so he doesn't have to get a real job.)

As for the DLC, yes it is a horrible organization if you are a real Democrat. But make no mistake, they are far from dead. Hillary is THEIR candidate, and if she wins in 2008, it will breathe NEW LIFE into the DLC, who's positions she has adopted and she represents . . . even though her political radar is such, that she won't be seen publicly with them right now.

By the way, Murdoch backs Hillary and has had fundraiser for her. So, just like the odious Ford, Hillary is on Murdoch's payroll. Should tell you all you need to know about what the DLC is about, and what Hillary is really about.

Many Democrats (suckers all) think that if Hillary wins, just because she has a "D" by her name, then happy days are here again. Bullshit. If Hillary wins the nomination, and the presidency, the progressive movement in this country will be DOOMED for another 8 years, and so many progressives will be reduced to the ludicrous position of defending the woman, just because the alternative (the GOP) is so much worse.

Harold Ford creeps me out almost as much as Hannity does.

Laura, can you spell m a k e o v e r...........?? Jeez, talk about frumpy.

signed,

Shallow Hal

I can't help but think this guy is a jerk from the times I have seen him speak on different talk shows. He was terrible on Bill Maher's show earlier this year.

Basically, Blue Dog Democrats are the old "Dixie-Crats"...Republicans with Dem clothes on! Why do you think we're in the fix we're in? Why do you think things didn't change since the "Dem" majority?

Ford is a "Lieberman Democrat" - it's all part of the "Stockholm Syndrome."

umm harold ford looks like child molester in that picture..what a creepy moron. him and retarded joe lieberman should go fuck each other in the streets of baghdad.

"What's in the middle of the road? A wide yellow line, and dead armadillos." ...Hightower

Hannity flat-out lies yet again. And it is really sad that Ford wants to suck up to Hannity, but hack Ingraham calls it more accurately!

I always presumed that the sacred "center" that the DLC hungered for was based on the (wrong) idea that, by occupying the center, one would automatically start with the largest number of supporters. Then, by offering something to each "wing", you would end up with a majority.
The DLC idiots apparently have never realized that the center usually consists of "have no opinion"s and "don't know"s and it is the ideas and policies offered by the "wings" that bring the center to them.

Harold belongs to a family of politicians whose base has expanded from the Black inner city to Harold's state and national prominence. In gaining that dynastic hold there have been speaking nicely ethical lapses and sellouts to enrich themselves and not cause too much bother to the predominately white powerbrokers of Memphis and Tennessee. It would be "interesting" to see who he supports the DLC's establishment candidate Hilary Clinton,John Edwards,or Joe Biden. To endorse Barack Obama would get him labled as a Black Radical out for the burning of Tara and the pimping of Scarlett.

I have only used the parental lock feature on my TV one time, and it was so long ago that I have forgotten the pin number to unlock it. I have been spared the ugliness and stupidity of the Faux Noise channel for many years now, and it has done wonders for my blood pressure.