If we had to lose one I am sort of glad is was Ford

[Toots]

He was way to Conservative for my liking. If I lived in TN I would have held my nose and voted for him but as it apparently has turned out we won the Senate anyway. I think he was just too conservative to excite many Liberals and that may have well been his downfall. Hope there is a lesson here for him and he doesn't read it the wrong way. I think if he would loosen up a little he would make a fine Senator but just not yet....

[DinahMoeHum]

1. Some said it boiled down to MO, VA and TN Senate seats

If we could win 2 out of those 3, we could win the Senate.

Looks like it's happening - VA and MT

:kick:

[TornadoTN]

2. While I'm not happy that he lost, I echo the sentiment

I worked tirelessly for Ford, even though he didn't impress me with his views on most issues (Iraq, NSA, Torture, etc.), I still felt he was the better candidate and would at least work with the Democrats.

Yesterday, I started to really see where he had went wrong - Independents in this state just didn't see enough of a difference between Corker and Ford to cast their vote for Ford. The old "devil you know" mentality came into play, plus Corker had the spin machine and the mud manufacturing in his corner, while Ford was constantly on the defensive. Quite honestly, Ford never really came out and told what he was going to do if elected other than to trumpet that he was really independent and was liked by Bush.

[Clark2008]

3. I'm not. I have to live here.

And Ford may be conservative to you all, but to us, in Tennessee, after 12 years of Fristy-boy, Ford was as liberal as Dennis Kucinich.

However, TN is officially purple. We have a Dem governor and a Dem General Assembly (state congress) and a black man came within 3 percentage points of winning a US Senate seat, post-Reconstruction.

I'm saddened, but not disheartened.

In two years, maybe we can oust Lamar!

[EvolveOrConvolve]

4. I ABHORED Fords views

But another Dem in the Senate would have put us over the top, and relegated the Virginia recount (and recounts of recounts of recounts) moot. His views would have moderated in the Senate.

[cynatnite]

5. No, you're wrong...

TN is primarily a very red state that still has a lot of racism. He had to walk the conservative tightrope in order to even be competitive and he did very well here. For a Democratic black man to get 48% of the vote in TN is no small thing. He ran one of the best campaigns I've ever seen.

So, now we get the RW talking point who is more crooked than Frist for a senator.

[Clark2008]

10. Really? I don't see that much racism.

You must live in the very upper part of ET where very few people have actually SEEN a black person, much less know any. (LOL!)

Actually, we're a very purple state: Dem governor; Dem General Assembly and a black man who was 3 percentage points of being our next US Senator.

I think our new motto should be:

Tennessee: We're not as backwards as we used to be.


:evilgrin:

[bullwinkle428]

6. I really think it was the ugly racist campaign tactics that killed him -

just too many people within the state harboring a Klan mentality, and the RNCC just played them like fiddles. I think he would have made a fine senator once he settled into the job...I unfortunately missed his concession speech last night, but from all accounts of DUers, it was quite amazing. It's really too bad that smear tactics still work like that - I did work canvassing and phone-banking here in Iowa, and can't tell you how many people were just disgusted by the mudslinging...

[TornadoTN]

7. I'm not sure the race issue worked as well as they hoped

As a campaign worker that has worked for months on getting Ford elected here in the Reddest of the Red part of Tennessee, we really never saw this having any effect - in fact, it worked just the opposite from what we saw.

After talking to State HQ several times during the day and night, we started hearing that a lot of the exit polling showed Independents in this state (who usually lean Right) just didn't see enough of a difference between Ford and Corker on the main issues for them to cast their vote for Ford. While I disagree with the choice, I can't say I disagree with them in principle - they were almost mirror images on the war, wiretapping, torture, war on terror, etc.

[Clark2008]

11. Agreed.

I don't think it was the racism - I think it as two other things:

1. A lack of alternative media. All our media is conservative to moderate. There is only liberal talk radio in Memphis and no one gets to hear the Democratic point of view outside that city.

2. The resistance to change. So many Tennesseans vote Republican because they always have - even when it means, literally, voting for a guy who did an ad that basically said, "I'm inarticulate. Vote for me."

Racism was probably not as much of a factor as those two issues.

[ShaneGR]

8. Sounds a lot like Ralph Nader.....

You'd rather have a REALLY conservative person run Tennessee than a moderate. We're the big tent party, not I agree with you 150% party like the Republicans became.

[Blue_Tires]

9. if we had to lose one i'd rather it have been jomentum

but then again joe would have to be one of 'us' to begin with!