If Kerry picks classy, moderate Harold Ford of TN...

[Lori Price CLG]

Kerry would win the 2004 s-election as the Kerry-Ford team would be 'up' by so many points the week of the s-election, the powers that be would not DARE risk another coup d'etat.

Here is a link to Harold Ford's website, for those who do not know him.
http://www.house.gov/ford/

-Lori Price

[ringmastery]

1. Harold Ford

may well be the first black president one day.

But he's too young to be VP. I think he's only 33.

[Finch]

5. Sad but True...

... Harold's wouldn't be eligible to be VP until mid 2005! so he cant run... he'd have been a great choice, unlike many Black Congressmen and women (and don't slam me for this) he's a moderate and being from the south and a moderate is always helpful on a national ticket having said that... I reckon he needs time to grow a little, it would be great if he could make a run for the senate someday and then go on to take the presidency... he's probably the minority Dem with the best shot of one day becoming president... if we lose this time around then Ive been saying for a while Rendell/ Ford would be a strong ticket in 2008 (maybe too little to offer to left though?)...

[BringEmOn]

33. Unlike many Black Congressmen and women.....

"unlike many Black Congressmen and women (and don't slam me for this) he's a moderate"

<sarcasm> unlike many of those "nigra" Congressmen and women, he and other moderates such as J.C. Watts and Clarence Thomas, "know their place." </sarcasm>

[SiriusLiberal]

10. I wonder how they would handle that because

The constitution says a person must have reached 35 to be eligible for the office of the President. I'm not sure it actually mentions the VP.

Harold Ford will be 34 this May and 35 the May following the inauguration.

I keep hoping Ford will replace Frist as a Tennessee Senator.

[OhioStateProgressive]

17. to be VP you must be eligible to be President(nt)

[DLCfromGA]

19. True...

Harold Ford would be an excellent choice when he is old enough... great centrist, a new mold of Democratic leader

[newyawker99]

23. Hi DLCfromGA!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Padraig18]

2. He isn't old enough. n/t

[incapsulated]

3. I agree he is too young

But he may well be a future contenter in his own right for the Presidency. :)

[pinto]

4. interesting option. Articulate, a great speaker, has had national exposure

only thing I'm not "up on" is his poltics,,,duh. I'll check out the web site. Thanks for the post.

[Finch]

7. Moderate DLC'er...

... unlike many Black Dems, which will make him a strong contender in the future...

[indepat]

9. He voted to relegate to one person the right to launch pre-emptive war

and maybe also voted to make the repeal of the estate tax permanent, but sadly so did so many other Democrats.

[Lori Price CLG]

12. Oops on my error on Ford not being old enough...

A thousand pities Harold Ford is not old enough for the Vice Presidential nomination.

Rep. Ford is a moderate Democrat, but he has a lot of charisma. Maybe next election, if there is a country left in 2008... (provided Dictator Bush does not steal it again).

-Lori

[mot78]

6. No

And here's why:

1. Too young

2. He might run for Frist's seat in '06, which he could win.

3. He's DLC poster-boy, and he kept attacking Nancy Pelosi for being a "San Francisco Liberal."

If he runs in the future, like 2012 or 2016, I would consider voting for him, but if only he stops attacking like Lieberman Jr.

[Finch]

8. Nancy Pelosi...

... is a SF liberal!... don't get me wrong i think she's done great things tidying up after Geppy tenure as house leader, but she could never win a national race... having said that she's an excellent leader in the house just need to see how she does in Nov, thats her big test... Ford needs to stick to his guns on the issues in my view... but then again look at my avatar...

[mot78]

11. So

Republicans choose people like Tom Delay for their leadership. While I'm not going to criticize you for being a DLC member (unlike some others on this board), since they have done positive things for the party, they refuse to work with the base, and try to run away from it instead. Republicans on the other hand, have a symbiotic relationship with their base. If the DLC keeps persuing a reactive, "oh we're not crazy liberals" message, Republicans will keep winning a elections, and more Democrats will defect to the Green Party.

[revcarol]

13. Yup. And the DLC portrayal of Kucinich as Rummy's twin, only left,

was DESPICABLE, since I really am not into swear words on a public forum.Nice job pissing off some of the most active grass roots the party has....

[JohnKleeb]

18. despicable isnt even the word carol

you should add a curse word like f-ing despicable. Serious that was really dirty to say the least.

[mndemocrat_29]

14. Ford will be a good future presidential candidate

While he's too young to run now, maybe in 2012 or 2016 he could be potential candidate (not in 2008 though, since we'll all be working to reelect President Kerry).

Also, it is almost a foregone conclusion that Ford will be running for senator of Tennessee when Bill Frist retires in 2006. That will be an excellent launching pad for him.

[Lori Price CLG]

15. I loathe Frist even more than Bush, if that's possible..

Bill 'Cat Torturer' Frist is truly a Nazi, which is why Dictator Bush put him in that role. It's going to be tough for Ford in 2006, as there was a lot of vote fraud in Tennessee in 2000 and by 2006, the Republicans will be sure there is a whole lot more.
-Lori

[mndemocrat_29]

28. Do you know anything about Zach Wamp?

He's supposedly going to be the Republican nominee for the Senate against Ford.

[Lori Price CLG]

16. I should have said: if the classy John Edwards does not want it, first!

If John Edwards is offered the V.P. slot, that's a fine pick, as well.
-Lori

[looking glass]

20. Too bad . . .

Picking Pelosi over Ford for minority leader was a HUGE mistake.

The old guard just doesn't know when to let go.

[mot78]

21. Old guard my ass

Picking someone who votes with most of *'s plans and attacks his own party over and over isn't going up against the "old guard". The DLC has been in charge of the party for 12 YEARS and besides electing Clinton, they haven't done shit for the party.

[maxanne]

22. ah yes

some of the old guard haven't yet embraced the centrist>right leaning Democratic Party. What a shame those old liberal dinosaurs don't just leave town.

[NewJerseyDem]

24. Not at all

Nancy Pelosi has done a great job as minority leader. She is very liberal, and probably more liberal than I am, but Harold Ford, Jr. is too conservative. He supports prayer in school, for instance with is just ridiculous. Plus, Ford acted with little class when he bashed Nancy Pelosi after everyone knew she had the votes and would become the leader and when he basically said that Gephardt should leave as minority leader without telling anyone that he really wanted him to leave so he could replace him. Ford has a lot of prospects as a great senator from Tennessee, if he can succeed Frist, but that's all he should be, a senator from Tennessee.

[looking glass]

25. Some don't remember it that way

Plenty of people saw it differently - given the choice between a promising young African-American from a battleground state, and a white establishment insider at the end of her career, from a safe state, the leadership took took the path of least resistance.

Ford was cut off at the knees, before there was even a chance to contrast ideology and leadership styles.

[NewJerseyDem]

26. Not true

Harold Ford, Jr. didn't even get into the leadership race at the start. It was Pelosi vs. Frost and Pelosi was winning so Frost dropped out. The caucus was uniting around Pelosi and then Ford got into the race and decided to bash the Pelosi, who was by that point definitely going to lead the democrats.

Ford is one of the youngest members of congress and has very little experience. Pelosi has served for years and had experience in the leadership as the whip. It was completely inappropriate for the over-ambitious Ford to try to become leader after having no experience. He could have run for Caucus vice Chair or some other position before he ran for leader. The entire thing was a publicity stunt by Ford who will do anything to get himself in front of the camera even if it means hurting the party.

[lams712]

27. No Blue-Dog Democrats!!!

Sure he's young, etc., but he's a little too far to the right for my tatse. I think ultimately he's part of the problem in the Democratic Party. IMO, we need a party that offers clear alternatives to Republicans, not someone that agrees w/ them a significant amount of the time.

[CatWoman]

29. in case none of you have noticed

we live in America.

Like Americans will vote for a black person to this office.

yeah, right. :eyes:

some of these ideas boggle the mind.

[ringmastery]

31. well he's not really "black"

He has fairly light skin, which ironically gives him some reverse prejudice in the black community with people criticizing if he's "black" enough. Lighter skinned blacks tend to be more acceptable to whites.

[CatWoman]

32. We must live in alternate universes

My best friend is black -- black mother/white father (her father was British). And she catches holy hell -- primarily from this sorry bigoted supervisor who hails from Arkansas. This woman also despises intelligent blacks.

I used to work in that division -- so I know of what I speak.

There was another black woman (tho both her parents were black, she was very, very light with blond hair) that she ridiculed as well.

[Mairead]

30. If he could (he can't) and did, I would actually work for Nader!

Ford is a DINO. Just listen to him!

I have no intention of donating to, working for, or voting for Nader--but if Kerry were that stupid, I'd do all in my power to ensure he failed of election.