Attn: Chuck Schumer

If control of the Senate does come down to Tennessee, the Democrats may want to have a chat with Harold Ford Sr. The ex-congressman and father of current-Rep. Harold Ford Jr has another son on the ballot next month, Jake Ford. J. Ford is running as an independent for the Memphis House seat his family has controlled for 32 years. The Democratic nominee, state Sen. Steve Cohen (D), is a longtime rival of the Ford's.

So when the senior Ford rallied Democrats in Memphis on Sunday for his namesake, he couldn't help but get a plug in for his other son and a jab at Cohen.

Remarks after the jump

When asked about them on the campaign trail, Junior pleads that he has no control of the family. Perhaps not, but he's got to know that when his father veers into off-the-cuff remarks defending his little brother's arrest record at Ford for Senate campaign events, it only gives more fodder to Bob Corker and the GOP regarding the "Ford family" and "Memphis," wink wink, nod nod.

Harold Ford Sr may see a son elected to the Senate and he may get another to keep the Ford line alive in the House. But he may not be able to do both.

Harold Ford, Sr:

And, as I close, let me just say…I have to say this because there’s one person here who’s with one of the newspapers. You know, I have another son named Jake. And this newspaper never calls me. They don’t have the respect to call us. And this newspaper is talking about my son, Jake Ford. And, you know, I respect the newspaper. I don’t think they have any ill intention. I just think they just don’t know the facts.

The 9th Congressional District has had solid representation. And there have been those who’ve been talking about Jake Ford. But until they saw him on that debate on last Sunday, you wouldn’t have believed it if you’d been reading that certain newspaper in this town. I mean, here it is that when he was confronted with the crisis the other day about Jake being arrested –-he was a teenager, all of those things were dropped; he was never convicted of anything.

I mean, he was a teenager. And if someone would think that I’m not going to support my son Jake … I’m a proud papa! I’m a proud papa. If someone would tell me that Jake is running as an independent and I’m a Democrat, well, Jake is a Democrat. Jake couldn’t have been raised in my house unless he was a Democrat! And a person was saying, I want a real … Well, there ain’t no more real Democrat than me! Jake is a product of me. He’s a part of me. If you like what you had in the past, don’t give it up now!

His opposition won’t even come to the community and ask for their votes. He’ll run and put out pictures and put out press releases and try to distort my son. I’m asking all of you: Don’t let this man reject Jake Ford Jr (sic). Now, Jake Ford Jr. is the man that you need. And I promise you that Jake Ford Jr. – he don’t believe in no same-sex marriages! We’re from a Christian city here. He doesn’t believe in legalizing marijuana. This man that’s running against Jake wants some sex shops running in downtown Memphis on a Sunday! That’s our religious holiday. He shouldn’t be doing that and then saying he’s the most liberal Democrat. He is too liberal! I mean, paramutual betting. And this lottery! A lottery ain’t nothing but a tax on poor people. And why would you brag about lottery. And the very people that the lottery’s supposed to help are the very people that can’t go to college and benefit from it. So I say to you: Trust me, you trusted me as your congressman. We don’t know much about the other person. He missed 49 percent of his votes in 18 years in the state Senate.

And I’m asking you: when you go to that poll, don’t vote for no Steve Cohen. You vote for Jake Ford as your next congressman. [crowd noise, applause obscures most of the rest of his close] .. Thank you and God bless you!