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Junior goes gay-friendly

by: Michael Bouldin

Mon Jan 11, 2010 at 08:44:01 AM EST


Well, that didn't take long: per the NY Post's Fred Dicker, Harold Ford Jr. now supports marriage equality.

"He supports gay marriage, in the interest of fairness and equality," Ford spokesman Davidson Goldin told The Post.

Ford backed up that statement himself this morning on the "Today Show."

Host Matt Lauer asked, "So you're now in favor of same sex marriage?"

"Civil unions and same-sex marriage, yes," Ford said.

The dexterity of this switch in positions would make any garden snake proud.

Michael Bouldin :: Junior goes gay-friendly
Empire State Pride Agenda sums it up:

Ford supports a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. In fact, he voted for the Federal Marriage Amendment both times it reached the House floor. He has also gone out of his way to condemn court rulings (New Jersey's, for example) that called for equal treatment under the law for same-sex couples. During his last year in the House, Ford received a 25 (out of 100) rating on HRC's Congressional Scorecard.

But not so fast, lest bad people be tempted to note the flip-flop: Junior has always been on the equality team deep in his little heart. The Post, again:

Saying he supported civil unions when he ran for Congress in Tennessee in 1996, Ford said, "My support for fairness and equality existed long before I moved to New York."

Asked by host Matt Lauer if it was a "change" in position, he invoked Chuck Schumer and Bill Clinton, saying:

"Maybe in the language. But I'm a believer that benefits should flow to same sex partners and if indeed the fiction of the language, the title, should be changed, much like Chuck Schumer who changed his mind on it and Bill Clinton's evolved, I'm of the opinion now that nothing is wrong with that."

Which would presumably explain why Junior came out in 2006 with a completely unprompted and irrelevant statement on the NJ Supreme Court's 2006 decision denouncing it, even if he was at the time pursuing a Senate seat in Tennessee.

So you can pick the Junior you want, I guess.

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The Lies of Harold Ford Jr (4.00 / 3)


New version (4.00 / 2)

Screwed the date up before. Also, this video may appear later at Crooks and Liars with Bouldin's text.


[ Parent ]
It's set to "private" (4.00 / 1)
Might wanna fix that.

I'm not gonna rock the boat. Rockin' the boat's a drag. What you do is sink the boat!
- Truth and Soul, Inc.


[ Parent ]
One that works (hopefully) (4.00 / 1)


[ Parent ]
you should post this (4.00 / 2)
as a diary. i'll put it on the FP.

nice work!

TODAY is day one. It always is.


[ Parent ]
I'd like to see an journalist ask him (4.00 / 3)
"You say, 'I've been in support of civil unions since I was elected to Congress in '96.' How exactly have you supported them? Did you introduce any legislation that would have created them? Did you sign up to sponsor another rep's legislation? Did you sponsor the Uniting American Families Act that would give GLBT Americans the right to sponsor their non-citizen partners in immigration proceedings? Have you DONE a single thing aside from campaign and voting against gay marriage?"

[ Parent ]
He did vote no (4.00 / 2)
on the Gay adoption ban in 1999.

So there's something.


[ Parent ]
I did google that up after I posted (0.00 / 0)
Props I suppose, it was a DC ban. Don't remember that issue in the news and having trouble pulling up the context. It didn't pass and I'm inclined to think if Ford voted no, it wasn't a close vote.    

[ Parent ]
Actually it was very narrow, just a 2 vote margin. (4.00 / 1)
It was an amendment that got voted down 215 no to 213 yes.

That said, one good vote does not excuse supporting the FMA twice, publicly campaigning against gay marriage, claiming it was against his faith, proudly cutting TV ads denouncing it, etcetera, etcetera.

If he'd come out and said "I was wrong, and here's why," it would be different. If he'd tried to articulate why religion and equality aren't mutually exclusive, it would be different. He'd not only be able to say honestly that his opinion had changed but he'd be making a real difference in the public dialog. It might still be opportunistic that he only said it now when he wanted to run, but at least he'd be taking responsibility for his change of opinion.

As it is, trying to pretend that he's always secretly been in favor of equality, that simply makes him a snake.


[ Parent ]
Well, isn't that convenient? (4.00 / 2)
Photobucket
I'm not even inclined to take this statement seriously, but why does he say:
"Civil unions and same-sex marriage, yes," Ford said.

What does that mean? Both? "Whatever you got I'm for it! Just don't look at my record or the YouTube trail or any of my quoted statements on the internets!"

In a related item, Mitt Romney has come out calling Harold Ford an opportunist, cynical flip-flopper with no convictions.


By the way, if we're gonna nick name him: (4.00 / 2)
Call him "Edsel" as someone here has been saying. All hype and headlines, but ultimately, no sales.

In 2006 (4.00 / 1)
I was opposed to same sex marriage. Now I'm not.

In fact, ABC News polling shows that in 2006 36% of Americans were in favor of gay marriage, but now 49% are. Heaven forbid Harold Ford be one of those.

I know what you're all trying to do, but why not be happy that the guy came around to your point of view rather than attacking him for doing so?

If politicians considering switching their position know that they're going to encounter rabid animosity from the very people they're newly supporting, that's a HUGE disincentive to switching positions.

Lets not lose sight of the forest for the trees people.


Except that he's lying his ass off. (4.00 / 3)
Instead of saying "I had an epiphany" or "I changed my mind," he's trying to pretend like he always held that position, and that there wasn't a great heaping mound of evidence showing that he was virulently and vocally opposed.

That makes him a liar, a hypocrite, and a damned fool to boot.  


[ Parent ]
No, (4.00 / 1)
it makes him a politician.

I support Gillibrand, but y'all are way over the top.


[ Parent ]
That's the sort of nonsense that encourages politics as usual. (4.00 / 4)
To give a pass to someone who's proven as a liar by his own campaign ads is to accept dishonesty and deceit as being the best we can hope for, and it's the sort of thing that destroys our political system by dragging it down to the lowest possible standard for behavior.  

[ Parent ]
You presume his new found support means anything (0.00 / 0)
I know what you're all trying to do, but why not be happy that the guy came around to your point of view rather than attacking him for doing so?

You presume it's sincere, and when ask to cast a vote on marriage equality, or any other GLBT issue (like DADT, Uniting American Families) he's not suddenly going to develop 'concerns' and go all Lieberman.

I'd remind you Lieberman was all for a Medicare expansion. Until it became a real possibility.

I think what truly offends me most it to Ford, GLBT issues are a political football to kick down a field. He has no concern for issues of fairness or equality, or empathy for the struggles gay people go through. We're merely political footballs. Sometimes you kick one direction, sometimes halftime is called and you kick them the other direction.

I honestly don't know what he thinks he's doing. People who give a damn about GLBT issues have a far, far superior choice in Gillibrand. He should have stuck with his "No marriage, Civil Unions" stance. I don't know what good this change does, aside from making him look like a craven, opportunistic fool.


[ Parent ]
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