Markos Versus Ford: LIVE!!!!!

I'm here in the room, about a hundred feet from the stage. However, everyone should watch this debate between the founder of DailyKos and the leader of the centrist DLC, Harold Ford, Jr.:

The Context Is Crystal Clear Mr. Ford

After a damaging transcript came out about the head of the conservative Democratic Leadership Council, ex-Congressman Ford tried to backtrack. He said he was taken out of context when praising Congressman Shays at a recent function(R-CT).

Here's what he said (via his own blog):

When Harold Ford, Jr. walked onto the Quick Center stage for his OPEN Visions forum he knew whose district he was standing in.

"There is not a better Congressman in Washington than Chris Shays," said Ford, to a crowd of about 600 Fairfield University students and community members.

"No national legislator has been to Iraq more times than Chris Shays."

There are his comments, directly from his website. Now he claims he was being portrayed negatively and out of context:

"Chris Shays is my friend, and I was proud to serve with him in Congress. It's unfortunate he's not a Democrat.

However, I plan on endorsing the Democratic nominee for Congress in Chris's district and everywhere in the country for that matter - as I plan to work for the Democratic nominee for President with all my energy and heart.

My comments were clearly taken out of context.

Um, sure Harold. Those comments you made at the OPEN Visions Forum sound a lot like an endorsement for Chris Shays and not any future challenger. Sorry, you can't deny or spin your way out of that one. I'm sick of these so-called Democrats that rally for their Republican friends who vote exactly the opposite of what our party stands for. Harold says he wants to put ideas over ideology. Well Harold, getting out of Iraq is an idea, not an ideology and Shays supports staying in Iraq, thats his idea of smart foreign policy.

Get it? Got it?

What The Hell Is Harold Ford Talking About?

Harold Ford Jr. was heralded to do big things within the Democratic party. A young Congressman who ran for Senate in Tennessee last year was struck down for his "Republican-lite" ways and lost to Bob Corker, a corrupt sonofabitch. Now he is at his fallback position, running the center-right organization that is known as the DLC. Appeasing Republicans to win votes for Democrats (yes, it is as confusing for me as it is for you) is what they are all about, and Harold did not disappoint as he went on Fox News (surprise) to talk about Iraq.

From Crooks and Liars:

Download (226) | Play (203)

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.

Even Alan Colmes sounds more like the Democrat, Hannity didn't need to open his trap because it seems Ford was filling in for him here quite well. Everyone knows who has been right about the war since before the war even began. It is just that Republicans and DLC-types like Ford do not want to admit it.

The anti-war community was chastised for being weak, unpatriotic and sympathizing with the terrorists. When most of the country was gung ho for the war, along with media that covered their screens in red, white and blue with embedded reporters going for rides with the troops....there was a voice in this country that exhibited sanity and reason. It was a call to stop the war before it started. I myself marched in Los Angeles that beautiful day of February 15, 2003 to protest the invasion.

Over four years later most of the country now sees the mess we were misled into. America wants out. It is nice to see that Ford knows the current situation isn't working, but him and his bluedog Democratic friends are doing nothing to stop it. Their appeasement of Bush is sickening and more frustrating as the deaths of our troops and the chaos that is Iraq increases day by day. We need to get out of there, and we need to do it now.