On The Road: Corker Brings In Giuliani
CongressDaily's Mark Wegner is in Tennessee.
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Former Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker, the GOP nominee for Senate, welcomed former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani to his hometown this afternoon to burnish his credentials in the fight against terrorism and to fault Democratic Rep. Harold Ford for lacking a firm commitment to national security. "These are serious times we are facing in our nation," Corker told reporters at an airport news conference. Standing next to Giuliani, a symbol of the recovery effort after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Corker said he supports the Bush administration's domestic surveillance program and the USA PATRIOT Act while he said Ford has a "very confused" record. "My opponent won't take a firm stand. He's for it. He's against it. And some days he won't take a stand at all," Corker said.
Corker also condemned Ford for voting "present" in 1999 when he had a chance to oppose former President Clinton's pardon of 16 members of the F.A.L.N., a Puerto Rican independence group. "Where was Harold Ford on this vote?" Corker asked. "He decided to vote present, which means you don't take a [position] one way or another. Congressman Ford sent a wrong message." Giuliani, who flew into town for a news conference and a fundraiser, praised Corker for his tenure as Chattanooga mayor for reducing crime and taxes, balancing the city's budget -- and for his dependability. "On terrorism, he's the consistency that we need. We can't go back to being defensive about it," Giuliani said. "Since Sept. 11, there is no reason to be confused. ... We have to be on the offensive." [MARK WEGNER]
Although Tennessee has voted reliably Republican in recent elections, Ford's speechmaking ability, moderate stances on the issues and a national tide for Democrats have put the race into contention and made it pivotal in the battle for the Senate majority. Republicans have attempted to draw sharp distinctions between Ford and Corker on issues and character. Ford's opponents have portrayed him as a playboy with a taste for "fancy" meals, clothing and parties. When Ford crashed a Memphis news conference Friday to protest Corker's ads dealing with his family, Corker's campaign called Ford's behavior "un-senatorial." However, Corker today repeated a demand that the Republican National Committee stop running a television ad that Corker called "tacky." It features a purported Playboy model who tells viewers, "I met Harold at the Playboy party!" One RNC source indicated the committee is likely to continue running the ad.
Both parties have invested heavily in the race. Disclosure reports filed late last week show the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spent nearly $2.6 million in Tennessee. The RNC reported spending over $500,000 on ads, in addition to $120,000 the National Republican Senatorial Committee paid for media placement and polling. The RNC began running a second television ad Sunday that questions Ford's image as a centrist. The spot criticizes Ford's voting record as "a little shaky" on abortion rights, gay marriage and for taking donations from "Hollywood's top X-rated porn moguls."
Is this at all a balanced take on the race?
The RNC's ad is obviously race-baiting, and coordinated with Corker's campaign. Why not just come out and say so? Hotline usually does a better job of cutting through the b.s. of politics.
Bob Corkers problem is he is a moderate in Conservative's clothing and all the right wing republicans know it. They are trying to figure out why they should turn out to vote for him at all. That is the key for this election. Will Tennessee's right wing bother to show up?
Ford is more than "a little shaky" on abortion. During his 10 years in the House, Ford voted against the pro-life side 87 percent of the time. Ford was the ONLY Tennessee House member, of either party, to vote to repeal the Hyde Amendment in 1997 -- and in fact, he has voted to repeal the laws against federal funding of elective abortion every time the issue came up.
Ford was also the ONLY member of the Tennessee House delegation to vote against the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act in 2002 -- a law that merely protects health care providers who do not wish to participate in providing abortions.
In 2003, Ford and Rep. Jim Cooper were the ONLY Tennessee members of Congress, House or Senate, to oppose "Laci and Conner's Law," which recognizes an unborn child injured or killed in a violent federal crime as a bona fide crime victim. (This bill did not even apply to abortion, but it was opposed by the pro-abortion advocacy groups, and so Ford opposed it, too. He gets high ratings from such groups.)
Even on the rare occasions on which Ford has voted to pass a pro-life bill (for example, the ban on partial-birth abortions), it is usually after he has voted for unsuccessful gutting amendments.
The details are documented in my memo posted here:
http://www.capwiz.com/nrlc/home/