Posted on 11/01/2006 2:47:03 PM PST by SmithL
Former president Bill Clinton joined U.S. Senate candidate Harold Ford Jr. in Memphis today at a get-out-the-vote rally with six days to go in the campaign.
"I think it’s time to stop and think," Clinton said to zealous supporters who filled about three-quarters of the 4,000 seats at the Temple of Deliverance Church of God in Christ. "We need somebody who cares about getting people together and getting things done and about thinking."
Advertisement Harold "represents the stop-and-think crowd," he added.
Clinton criticized the "ideologues" in Washington and applauded the conservatives and progressives alike who "are still searching for the truth," he said.
"If you are an ideologue, you get the answers and you don’t need the facts," he said. "If the facts don’t agree with your position, you ignore them or make up a new story.
"When I was a kid and I found myself in a hole, I said I should quit digging," he said. "An ideologue says ‘hand me a bigger shovel.’ "
Clinton also said race had become too central a focus in this high-stakes battle for the Senate.
"If Harold Ford wins on Tuesday, it won’t mean a victory of race, but a victory of going beyond race," Clinton said.
Clinton, outfitted in a black suit and hot pink tie, was greeted with an uproar of applause and cries of "We love you, Bill!"
After the nearly hour-long speech, Clinton stepped off the stage and was immediately swarmed by a throng of eager fans with banners, cameras and Clinton’s 2005 autobiography in hand.
"He’s a celebrity — he just has this presence about him," said Harold Ford Jr.’s cousin, Justin Ford, who attempted to snap a picture of the former president with his cell phone. "He’s definitely the biggest draw in the Democratic Party right now," he added.
Rev. Martha Wagley, pastor at First United Methodist Church, opened the rally with a prayer. Former congressman Harold Ford Sr., the candidate’s father, and other Tennessee Democrats, including U.S. Rep John Tanner, Church of God in Christ Bishop G. E. Patterson, and National Civil Rights Museum Director Beverly Roberts, were met with thunderous applause as they took the stage.
"We need change in this country," said Lincoln Davis, Tennessee’s 4th District congressman and Ford Jr.’s campaign manager. "In the words of the immortal Sam Cooke, ‘It’s been a long time coming. ’ "
Seated in the front row of the audience was 9th Congressional District candidate Steve Cohen, actress and singer Cybill Shepherd, Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton and Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton.
Seated nearby were Harold Ford Jr.’s brother, Jake Ford, who is running against Cohen as an independent, and aunt Ophelia Ford, a state Senate candidate.
Wednesday’s rally marks Clinton’s second visit on behalf of Ford since the primary election night Aug. 3 in Nashville. His visit is part of a nationwide tour to rally Democrats to the polls.
So, only the unindicted Fords were invited.
I heard that mentioned off-handedly on a rock station last night, mentioning a cancelled RS concert but oddly no mention of the party.
This took place in the largest black church in Memphis. Imagine what the MSM would say if Corker and Bush held a rally at Bellevue Baptist in Memphis.
How is this going beyond race if Ford wins this election?
Does Clinton mean to imply that if you vote for Corker, that your reason for doing so was because of the races of the candidates, and you made a choice for that reason?
But what about any Black people who vote for Ford because they would like a Black senator? Are those people racist?
What about any liberals out there, who would like to make a political statement by electing a Black senator?
And why are Democratic candidates allowed to campaign in churches, but Republicans are threatened with churches losing their tax exempt status if they campaign in a church?
After Clinton leaves Memphis, all the DNA experts will move in to sort out the mess.........
Excellent point!
I've been saying that for years.
Why is it when blacks vote for a black candidate, they're simply voting for "one of their own"?
But when whites vote a white candidate, they're all racist as*holes"?
Over the years, I've posed that question to several liberals.
I'm still waiting for a good answer.
In the past, candidates who campaigned with Clinton usually lost... I remember local Democratic Party operators were complaining about him coming to HI. Hirono, the Dem candidate for governor, was running tie with Lingle. A week before the election, Clinton came, and Hirono's numbers fell right away.
Ford is doomed. comrade clintoon bestowed the "kiss of death" upon him.
If the good folks in TN didn't vote for algore, they won't be voting for clintoon's buddy Ford, either.
Clinton? Well, if past history is any indicator, having Bill Clinton campaign for you is the kiss of death. Ford apparently is going to lose this election.
Those old mafia dudes used to hide to have their meetings. Todays crooks meet out in the open under the guise of the democrat party.
"I can't remember a single thing that would make any one of them stand out."
A gallows?
Just down the road from me. I am in Covington.
"This is mah favorite city," Clinton said to zealous supporters who filled about three-quarters of the 4,000 seats at the Temple of Deliverance Church of God in Christ. "When I used to ask Monika a question when she was under mah desk, she always re-plied 'mmmphhhssss'."
Have you ever been to the really neat pool owned by the furniture store guy in Covington?
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