In case you missed it on the main commercialapppeal.com front, Harold Ford Jr. will be in town Wednesday to publicly endorse his uncle, Joe Ford, in the Shelby County mayoral race. This is not exactly unexpected, although of course if the former five-term Congressman did not make some show of support, people would hold that against the candidate. Some might point out that the vigorous campaigning of both Ford Jr. and his father, Harold Ford Sr., did not help Joe Ford in the 1999 Memphis mayoral contest with Willie Herenton.
We suspect Ford Jr. may help his uncle by going on the attack against Republican mayoral candidate Mark Luttrell, the Shelby County sheriff. When Tennessee Democratic Party chairman Chip Forrester came to town earlier this summer for a rally, he pointed out that Luttrell had served as the county campaign chairman for Bob Corker's campaign for U.S. Senate against Ford Jr. (Luttrell also was a county leader for the McCain-Palin campaign). Don't be surprised if Ford Jr. takes the opportunity to speak directly to those Shelby County Democrats considering crossing over to vote for Luttrell, to remind them that whatever his moderate stance on issues in this race, he was and is still a local leader of the Republican Party -- the party of George W. Bush and the party hostile to President Obama's agenda.
On Monday, Luttrell emphasized his desire to not "stray" too far from "the center" into more those "emotional issues" that have consumed Republican politics like immigration, health-care reform and guns and stay focused on those things "that we know on Sept. 1 we will be facing in Shelby County." He said: "Sometimes campaigns get off track into emotional issues." That may not be what many voters in Luttrell's suburban Republican base want to hear, but Luttrell knows he cannot win this election without persuading Democrats to vote for him.
Joe Ford on Monday was eager to paint Luttrell as a partisan right-wing ideologue: "I'm a progressive Democrat and he's a conservative Republican."
We'll be at The Peabody today to talk to Ford Jr. It should be interesting.
We suspect Ford Jr. may help his uncle by going on the attack against Republican mayoral candidate Mark Luttrell, the Shelby County sheriff. When Tennessee Democratic Party chairman Chip Forrester came to town earlier this summer for a rally, he pointed out that Luttrell had served as the county campaign chairman for Bob Corker's campaign for U.S. Senate against Ford Jr. (Luttrell also was a county leader for the McCain-Palin campaign). Don't be surprised if Ford Jr. takes the opportunity to speak directly to those Shelby County Democrats considering crossing over to vote for Luttrell, to remind them that whatever his moderate stance on issues in this race, he was and is still a local leader of the Republican Party -- the party of George W. Bush and the party hostile to President Obama's agenda.
On Monday, Luttrell emphasized his desire to not "stray" too far from "the center" into more those "emotional issues" that have consumed Republican politics like immigration, health-care reform and guns and stay focused on those things "that we know on Sept. 1 we will be facing in Shelby County." He said: "Sometimes campaigns get off track into emotional issues." That may not be what many voters in Luttrell's suburban Republican base want to hear, but Luttrell knows he cannot win this election without persuading Democrats to vote for him.
Joe Ford on Monday was eager to paint Luttrell as a partisan right-wing ideologue: "I'm a progressive Democrat and he's a conservative Republican."
We'll be at The Peabody today to talk to Ford Jr. It should be interesting.
We also remember Junior refusing to endorse Cohen. He hasn't even rectified that this cycle, but who cares? His smarter father has endorsed Steve. Junior was just a kid when Steve, Senior, and others of us worked together on ballots. Junior's political instincts bite.