It was tough for any self-respecting progressive to root wholeheartedly for Harold Ford Jr. In his longshot bid to replace retiring Senate Majority Stiff Bill Frist, Tennesee's wunderkind Democratic congressman took the tired old "Republican Lite" strategy and amped it up into something more akin to "Republican Squared." War? Absolutely. Immigration? Inexcusable. Guns? Blast away! Gays? Keep your distance--from each other. Jesus? To Him be all glory.

My introduction to Ford's unorthodox campaign strategy came last summer, when I landed in Nashville International Airport, climbed into my rental Dodge, clicked on the radio, and heard this blast: "Every day over 5,700 miles of border stands unsecured.... Every day almost 2,000 people enter America illegally. Every day hundreds of employers look the other way, handing out jobs that keep illegals coming.... And every day the rest of us pay the price.... I'm Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. For too many years Democrat and Republican presidents alike have looked the other way. Now 11 million people live here illegally...and while most come for jobs, the odds are any terrorist with a map can also get in undetected."

Ford couldn't talk enough about "illegals." Or quote enough from the Holy Bible. Or adjust his accent often enough as he raced across the state, seemingly trying to personally wrestle every voter's doubt into submission. Like Bill Clinton, you hate to like Ford--but you can't help it. With his twinkish good looks and winningly oily charm, he easily out-campaigned and out-charmed his opponent, the supremely bland, moderately conservative Bob Corker.

In the end, Ford also out-Republicaned the Republican nominee. It was quite a feat for a Democrat to do that, you had to admit. But you also had to wonder: What kind of victory would it be for Democrats to elect someone who's staked himself out in opposition to practically every core principle of the party?

But there was another principle at stake in this race--thanks not so much to Ford's being black, but to the very worst instincts of the Republican Party. Everybody knows about the blatant race-baiting of the infamous "Harold, call me" Playboy ad. What's received less attention is the way Corker and the national GOP steadily led up to their dropping of that "final solution." All campaign long, in ads and on their website FancyFord.com, they whispered into Tennesseans' ears that Ford embodied all the worst stereotypes of that creature called Black Democrat: shifty, horny (for sleazy white women especially), posturing and profiteering. The Playboy ad turned the race from a likely Ford win to a narrow Corker election--but not simply because of its own malignant impact. The skids had long been greased. A certain set of white Tennessee men was ready to take the message to heart once it came hurtling at them so explicitly.

It's easy to see Ford's loss as a sign that the old racial mistrust -- the old prejudices--remain shockingly strong in 2006 Tennessee. There's no question that Ford was a far superior candidate, or that he had tailored himself to snugly fit the conservative leanings of many of the state's available independent and Republican voters. There's no question that race-baiting sunk him. But there is also this: In a supposedly solid-red Southern state, an African-American Democrat from a well-known, ethically challenged (and liberal) political family nearly beat a conservative Republican for a US Senate seat. A whole lot of Tennesseans voted for their first black person for a major office; a whole lot of others considered it for the first time. It will never be nearly so hard for them to pull that trigger again. And Ford, given his gleefully vaulting ambitions, will sure enough give them another chance.

Comments (4)

1. And like Sherrod Brown (Ms vanden Heuvel's new boyfriend)...

   Ford voted FOR the "torture bill".

   But isn't it odd, that one of the points of your praise of Ford is on...his color?

   "Unnerving as that was, many in this solid-red state cast their first vote for a black person."

   Maybe his VOTES will be more important than the IMAGE of "the South electing a black person"....huh?

   Posted by Mask at 11/08/2006 @ 08:54am

2. BTW, this is an ODD juxtaposition to the "Webb" article....

   Ford runs basically as a Republican and loses...ergo "running as a Republican-lite is a loser for Dems".

   Webb runs basically as a Republican and wins....yet it's a "progressive victory and evidence that Dems CAN run as proudly as liberals".

   Posted by Mask at 11/08/2006 @ 10:00am

3. JFC! Is this any kind of a real cause celebre or source of future aspiration? "Wow, a Democratic candidate nearly got in by being a backward bigot, but it's even cooler coz he's kind of black!"

   If Bob Moser is a 'progressive' then maybe a. The Party's already over because America and the rest of the world are in for at least 2 more years of the same anglocentric playbook b.s. which has been so poorly camouflaged since 1994 and particularly since 2001 b. Then Democrats only have themselves to blame, and perhaps everyone else has the Democrats to blame.

   In Australia, we have had a decade of some of the worst social and foreign policy in living memory. Even here, religion has been wielding political influence. The absolute contempt of our government for human rights - East Timor, refugees, Iraq, David Hicks, Aborigines, single mothers, etc. - has defied belief. Nationalism has been on a flag waving steroid bender, anything that can be privatised has been or soon will be, natural resources companies have the keys to the kingdom, and climate change is still being publicly denied by the government despite their recent concession that it exists.

   BUT - this is what the right wing will do when it can, like the scorpion that poisons the frog it's riding, it's in their nature. So who's to blame? Surely any opposition party would welcome not only these endless breaches of human rights and public expectations, and a string of exposed lies and corruption scandals, but would jump on them, denounce them, and promote a strong, positive alternative - just like your Democrats should have and hopefully now will.

   But no, the federal Labor Party has instead argued semantics. Virtually claiming victory by refusing to support mandatory detention without end for refugees, UNLESS any refugee under 7 gets a Happy Meal on the first of each month. Real power politics, way to go. Rather than being associated with losing by voting and speaking out they should, they claim victory by making minor adjustments to horrendous policies.

   If Bob Moser's attitude exemplifies the thinking of any part of the Democrat 'base', it's disturbingly easy to understand how the 'blue' party only became supporters of the civil rights movement 50 years ago for political reasons. It isn't democrats or republicans that are keeping your country and its 'allies' in the toilet, it's the politicians. Get some real people in power for chrissake - Chomsky/Colbert 08!!

   Posted by Buck_Fush at 11/09/2006 @ 02:31am

4. I hope Ford runs for anohter Senate seat two years from now currently held by a Republican. He loves to serve and deserves a chance to get elected as a Senator. We need more than one black senator and it is a shame there is only one.

   Posted by Angellight at 11/09/2006 @ 07:31am