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It's a well-known truism in public relations, advertising and most importantly, politics: He who controls the framing wins the argument.

So perhaps it's not a surprise that the DLC is closing its doors under Harold Ford's chairmanship. Because, honestly, is there a bigger Republican in the Democratic Party than Harold Ford?

As a favorite and repeated member of David Gregory's Meet the Press round table, Ford is the GOP Party's best advocate, routinely undermining Democratic principles and platforms by not only accepting GOP framing, but actively pushing it. How sick is it that the purported spokesperson for the Democratic Leadership Council does nothing more than echo the pandering Lindsay Graham?

Once again, the very young, well-compensated Ford has no problem with extending the age of full benefits for Social Security to 70. Well, when the most arduous thing you do at work is pucker up to Republican memes, I'm sure you can imagine another 30 years of working. But tell me, Harold, what about the vast majority of people who rely on Social Security as the primary source of income in their retirement? Should we make truck drivers stay on the road to the age of 70? What do we say to those with back-breaking blue collar jobs? Suck it up until you're 70? Should my grandmother have been doing the surprisingly physical work of nursing terminal patients in her 70s? My mother is not yet 70. By Ford's calculation, she should still be working, the freeloader, instead of caring for my grandmother, allowing her the dignity of remaining at home despite her age-related dementia. Harold, you selfish prick, do you consider anyone's situation beyond your own cushy existence when speaking out AGAINST the Democratic platform?

As George Lakoff says:

Democrats help radical conservatives by accepting the deficit frame and arguing about what to cut. Even arguing against specific "cuts" is working within the conservative frame. What is the alternative? Pointing out what conservatives really want. Point out that there is plenty of money in America, and in Wisconsin. It is at the top. The disparity in financial assets is un-American - the top one percent has more financial assets than the bottom 95 percent. Middle-class wages have been flat for 30 years, while the wealth has floated to the top. This fits the conservative way of life, but not the American way of life.

Democrats help conservatives by not shouting out loud, over and over, that it was conservative values that caused the global economic collapse: lack of regulation and a greed-is-good ethic.

Democrats also help conservatives by what a friend has called "Democratic Communication Disorder." Republican conservatives have constructed a vast and effective communication system, with think tanks, framing experts, training institutes, a system of trained speakers, vast holdings of media and booking agents. Eighty percent of the talking heads on TV are conservatives. Talk matters, because language heard over and over changes brains. Democrats have not built the communication system they need, and many are relatively clueless about how to frame their deepest values and complex truths.

And Democrats help conservatives when they function as policy wonks — talking policy without communicating the moral values behind the policies. They help conservatives when they neglect to remind us that pensions are deferred payments for work done. "Benefits" are pay for work, not a handout. Pensions and benefits are arranged by contract. If there is not enough money for them, it is because the contracted funds have been taken by conservative officials and given to wealthy people and corporations instead of to the people who have earned them.

Democrats help conservatives when they use conservative words like "entitlements" instead of "earnings" and speak of government as providing "services" instead of "necessities."

I've been really angry by the lack of progressive voices on these shows. And Harold Ford--the ultimate in entitlement figures--is emblematic of the dangers inherent in a system that gives Ann Coulter a platform but still blackballs progressives like Markos Moulitsas.

Please Democrats, for the love and continuation of this democracy, STOP USING REPUBLICAN MEMES!

The above video comes from Nicole's post called: Harold Ford Jr. And His Fellow Republicans Advocates for Cuts to Social Security

I know times are tough, but this couldn't happen to a bigger jerk:

The Democratic Leadership Council, the iconic centrist organization of the Clinton years, is out of money and could close its doors as soon as next week, a person familiar with the plans said Monday.

The DLC, a network of Democratic elected officials and policy intellectuals had long been fading from its mid-'90s political relevance, tarred by the left as a symbol of "triangulation" at a moment when there's little appetite for intra-party warfare on the center-right. The group tried -- but has failed -- to remake itself in the summer of 2009, when its founder, Al From, stepped down as president. Its new leader, former Clinton aide Bruce Reed, sought to remake the group as a think tank, and the DLC split from its associated think tank, the Progressive Policy Institute.

---

The DLC is already showing signs of disrepair. Its website currently leads a Harold Ford op-ed from last November, titled, "Yes we can collaborate." It lists as its staff just four people, and has only one fellow. Recent tax returns weren't immediately publicly available, but returns from 2004-2008 show a decline in its budget from $2.6 million to $1.5 million, and a source said funding further dried up during the financial crisis that began nine months before Reed took over...

I wish this was the end of this bullshit, but it's not.

The truth of the matter is that the DLCs function has been taken over by Third Way. Nobody needs to fear that the centrists aren't going to be well represented in the Democratic Party. They run the place.

If you forgot what Ford brings to the table, here's a taste. We have enough phony Democrats on hand. I'm sure he'll land on Wall Street somehwere.

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David Gregory famously rejected any responsibility for actually providing his viewers any kind of fact checking or context, which makes the all-too-rare inclusion of Rachel Maddow on the round table that much more critical, since Rachel--armed with facts and an interest in truth, unlike her colleague Gregory--feels no such compunction from calling out others, even if they are (allegedly) on her side of the debate.

Then again, when we're speaking of former congressman and DLC chairman Harold Ford, it's hard to know on whose side he is, besides his own. In his true corporatist, right wing meme-swallowing style, Ford has been pushing the stupid "we must address the deficit" pearl clutching advocated by the Republican Party and advocating for tax cuts.

Um, hello? Can anyone provide a single reputable economic study that shows that the best way to stimulate the economy and actually reduce the deficit is by cutting taxes? I know that this is a fetish for Republicans, who think the answer to everything is cutting taxes--want to reduce crime? Cut taxes! National health care? Cut taxes! Teenage acne? Cut taxes!--but seriously, can anyone look at the state of our economy after the last 30 years of slavish devotion to Reagonomics and honestly say that cutting taxes is the answer to anything other than increasing the income gap and destroying the middle class?

Of course, you'd never get David Gregory pointing that out, especially not at a table peopled with former RNC chair (and still current deed-holder) Ed Gillespie and David Brooks. But luckily, Rachel is there to call Ford out on his embracing of unproven conservative ideals and point out that the only PROVEN way to do what they say they want is the tactic which the Republicans are preventing:

HAROLD FORD, JR: But the payroll tax cut-- in order-- in order to pay down the debt, you gotta do two things. You gotta get your spending in order and you gotta grow. When Bill Clinton was in office, the real advantage we had was that the economy grew. They made-- they took-- they made some tough choices around spending. I was in Congress for a good part of that. But the same time, we had this I.T. explosion and growth in the country, which created millions of jobs.

My only point is if you cut the payroll tax for small businesses, you keep money in those communities. If you really want a stimulus, cut the payroll tax at a hardware store. Cut the payroll tax at a foundry. Cut the payroll tax at a--

(OVERTALK)

RACHEL MADDOW: If you really want a stimulus do what we-- what's proven to work in stimulus, which is states like extending unemployment-- benefits, which is something that Republicans are blocking... (OVERTALK)

Thank FSM we have Maddow just questioning this oft-repeated but rarely challenged tax cut fetish. Maybe, just maybe, a viewer or two might actually think about the situation intellectually, no thanks to David Gregory.

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Lil' Luke told Andrea Mitchell that Mike Pence and Gov. Daniels had a great opportunity to get into the Senate election race now since Bayh just screwed the Democratic Party and decided to not run anymore. Lil' Luke was very excited about this report because it turned a bad news day into one of great excitement, but obviously he got horrible information from his village informants.

See, the problem is that there isn't enough time for Pence or Daniels to gather all the signatures needed to file as a candidate.

Howie Klein writes:

The GOP is stuck with Coats because it's too late for Pence or Daniels to file. But because Coats and Bayh did file, the state Democratic Party gets to pick a Bayh replacement. Early speculation is that Ellsworth can have it if he wants it and if he doesn't, it'll go to Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel or ex-Rep Tim Roemer, Ambassador to India. It has now been confirmed that Harold Ford hasn't flown around Indiana in a helicopter or filed to pay taxes there.

Mike Pence came out with a statement that he isn't running. The Village loves these types of stories much more than actually informing Americans about important legislation. What the heck is Lil' Luke talking about?

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A golden oldie from the incredible C&L archives on Harold Ford from an appearance he had with Hannity & Colmes:

Colmes: Barack Obama had a great point when he said those who voted for the war in Iraq and then had to apologize for that vote should probably be the last people to criticize he---who was right about the war in Iraq all along.

Ford: I don't know who's been right about this war all along...

Colmes: Sure you do...

Ford: That's open for dispute.

Colmes: You don't know who's been right about the war all along?

Ford: One thing is clear. What we're doing now is not working.

BNF's made a nice video mash-up for us that exposes his anti-gay, pro gun, anti civil rights, anti- choice, Bush loving creds. His sudden change of positions to justify his entrance into NY politics is incredible.

I remember Ford's 2006 election very well. I wouldn't raise him any money, but did write a lot on the smear ad that the republican party promoted about him. It was tough watching him proclaim his Blue Dog credentials and then he did a campaign commercial inside a church.

Now he's a carpetbagger trying to run in NY and running away from his old positions as fast as he can.

I imagine NYers are smart enough to see right through his lies.

Scarce did a nice post on Harold Ford called : The many lies of Harold Ford Jr

And now Ford is using the odious NY Post to disseminate more fabrications on his record and the type of Democratic politician he would be.

It's true: I am strongly considering running for the United States Senate.

I do so because our best as a nation has always come when we test our ideas and ourselves, and when we trust competition to refine the steel of our convictions and the truth of our arguments.

Some have already questioned whether I should be running.

Others are falsifying my record in public life.

New Yorkers deserve a free election....read on

Adam Bink has a few thoughts about him.

Harold Ford, Jr. thinks New York Democrats are stupid. Like, you want a Democrat who says he's liberal? Here's one on paper! That they'll just read a checklist of progressive issues in his stupid op-ed, read that he is suddenly in favor of marriage equality after flip-flopping on the Federal Marriage Amendment, voting twice for it, and then not announcing his newfound position in 2007, 2008, 2009 or early this year, and fall in love.

As usual, Media Matters has a great rundown of his bullshit.

Harold Ford Gets It Wrong On Harold Ford

If Harold Ford runs, there will be a big uprising in the blogosphere to defeat this jackass. Being a former New Yorker, I get really pissed off when frauds like Ford think they can waltz into the state and lie about their record. DLC Democrats are a dying breed anyway. The sooner they're altogether extinct, the better.

While addressing Obama's recent horrible poll numbers from Newsweek on the TODAY Show Monday morning, Harold Ford was asked if Obama's flip flopping on some issues had impacted those numbers and Ford--without provocation--attacked MoveOn and the entire liberal blogosphere for not being happy with his FISA vote. There was no need to criticize us, because we weren't part of the question she asked. So I can only conclude that Ford was referring to FISA and he took an opportunity to throw us all under the bus. I think there were a few other issues that we didn't even complain about. Why would Ford pull those attacks out of thin air? It's all to please the Villagers. That's why you're a loser, Harold.

Q: There's also a lot of accusations now about both campaigns about flip flopping, specifically against Obama about flip flopping? Do you think there's something going on, does Barack Obama have to worry now?

Ford: No....this race is fluid, this race is finally forming. Two things. Barack Obama is running for the President of the US, not the President of MoveOn.org, the President of any liberal group. He's running to lead, be a decision maker and a visionary for the country on the economy, national security and the immediate issue of Iraq.

I'd say McCain has flip flopped on many more positions than Obama has so the question is way off, which how a good Democrat should have responded, but beside that, what is Ford talking about? The country wants to move left. Check out all the numbers. Almost eight years of Bush have decimated the conservative movement and the economy, so people want a real change. Running as a liberal should be a goal to run towards, not a problem to move away from even if the media wants this race to be about personalities and not policies.

Here's a message to Ford: I want Obama to win the presidency very badly for all the obvious reasons, but I will not sit by idly while he allowed retroactive immunity to be passed. There was no need for that issue to even have been brought to the floor of Congress or for him to vote for it. He wasn't the only one to vote for it either, by the way. You can donate here to our Blue America page to help the cause. Is Jonathan Turley a dirty f*&king hippie too?

I'm sure you got the appropriate props from your media and DLC buddies for slipping that one in. Harold.

Email him here and ask why he went out of his way to attack us, but be gentle. You know how fragile he is .... harold@fordfortennessee.com

Harold Ford so very much wants to be part of the punditocracy that he does what they all do eventually. In one clip he carries himself well by telling Tweety that McCain married into a beer fortune after Chris was going into his Obama doesn't understand the working class nonsense. OK, that's pretty good. However, in the next clip he has to tell the Villagers that McCain's speech was his most powerful evah! Did he see the speech? It was awful. Giving the speech in Kenner, LA was a terrible choice because he could have gone to a Blue state to spread his message and the green background made him almost unbearable to watch. Yes, McCain's very good in intimate settings, but giving speeches to larger audiences is not one of them.

Download | play Download | play (Beer Fortune) (h/t Heather)

Ford: And he is married, and this is no disrespect or slight to his wonderful wife, but he married into a wonderful beer fortune.

Download | play Download | play (Powerful speech) (h/t Heather)

Ford: A powerful speech by John McCain this evening!

Even FOX News couldn't control their disdain for his speech. I'll have video shortly of that. Is it part of the Villager sign up card to praise McCain even when it's not called for?

It shouldn't surprise anyone when Meet The Press assembles a panel of four spin doctors* that they will furiously try to out spin one another, though in at least one instance there was a qualitative difference. Three were selling old models, John McCain and the DLC , while Bob Shrum was more or less left on his own to paint rosy pictures of that New Kid on the Block, Barack Obama.

Download | play Download | play

Former republican presidential aspirant Mike Huckabee and political consultant Mike Murphy (hired gun in the past for both John McCain and Mitt Romney, among others) were bemoaning the fact the republican brand was damaged, while trying to sell the idea that John Sydney McCain was just the tonic for a beleaguered party. Huckabee's spin was the usual tired and worn "Maverick" nonsense, McCain as the non-traditional traditional republican. Or something like that. Murphy's hyperbole would extend further, calling McCain a "Change Agent," a centrist who would bridge the partisan gridlock in Washington. (Murphy said all that with a straight face, too.)

Harold DLC Ford, Jr came in, chomping at the bit, when the conversation moved to the three recent congressional losses by republicans in heavily red districts, seats in Illinois, Louisiana, and Mississippi. In each of the races Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were used by the RNC in tv advertising as the scary 'libruls' to dissuade the republican districts from voting for the democrat. This strategy was a dismal failure. But to Harold the real lesson to be gleaned from all this was that moderate democrats were on the ascendant, and that presumably the democratic party should not stray too far to the left lest it implode. The party brand might be a problem but as long as the candidate running was not 'threatening' everything would be fine.

Each selling an idea without any real facts to back up their assertions. One could ask, for instance, how Sen. Barack Obama became the most liberal in the U.S. Senate with a collective rating (80%) from liberal interest groups similar to that of Joe Lieberman (78%), while John McCain's rating (9%) by the same groups is down near the bottom of the barrel of true lunkheads like Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Jim DeMint (R-SC), all at 8%.

Beware of salesmen selling you a bad bill of goods is an old and in this case, apt piece of advice.

*Informal a person who provides a favourable slant to a news item or policy on behalf of a political personality or party [from the spin given to a ball in sport to make it go in the desired direction]--Collins Essential English Dictionary

(Photo of a tasty looking cafe au lait and oj in Quebec City via Bill on Capitol Hill.)

The Sunday Talking Head thread is up and ready for the reading. It's quite an interesting mix this morning, with everything from Iraq to infrastructure and a lot in between on the topics menu.

Perhaps it is just me, but I think the subject of Harold Ford's loss last year and this op-ed that Kos and SusanG penned for the WaPo yesterday might come up in passing on Meet the Press. Here's hoping that Markos gets an opportunity to ask Mr. Russert why it is that he even bothered booking the politically tone deaf, irrelevent, self-promoting Ford in the first place, and why Russert still masquerades as a news man now that all of us know that Dick Cheney owns him. What, you don't remember that Cathie Martin classic?

-- MTP (putting VP on MTP), plus a pro and con of putting VP on MTP Pros: best format, we control the message

Could make for some fun viewing this morning. Here's hoping, anyway. Plus, there is likely to be quite a bit of discussion on the "buy yourself some voters, promise them a buffet and stick 'em on a bus day" Iowa GOP straw poll. And of course, Bob Geiger has his regular cartoons.  So, what's on your mind, catching your eye in the news or on the blogs this morning?