I have a hard time explaining why I hate people like Harold Ford and Evan Bayh so much. I think it’s because, just as the truly hard-core Firebaggers might believe that Obama is worse than Bush because at least you know Bush going to screw you (which is bs, of course), I myself do feel, at some level, that Harold Ford and Evan Bayh are worse than Bush for this reason. Maybe I’m crazy, I don’t know.
Anyway, Harold Ford is speaking at my university this evening for some kind of a black history month event. Do you think there’s any chance I’ll be able to ask him a tough question of some kind? What would be a good question to try?
The Main Gauche of Mild Reason
I think your usual village centrist spoof will do well.
mr. whipple
Ask him what he has to gain with the stupid hippy punching.
DougJ
@The Main Gauche of Mild Reason:
You’re right I open the question by saying I’ve always respected him for being an independent, principled centrist.
MikeJ
Ask him if he intends to file income tax returns in NY state. Or did he settle that already?
mr. whipple
Ask him if he can see his home in TN from his helicopter.
Tim I
Ask him why New Yorkers should sent him to the Senate when he has never filed a tax return as a New York resident.
Or ask him why Morgan Stanley pays him out of their Memphis office when he lives and works in New York for the past three years.
Allan
How’s it feel to take the crown from Michael Steele as America’s most unintentionally hilarious black man?
soonergrunt
@mr. whipple: WIN.
Aaron
“In the wake of the Citizens United rulling, is it true that you wont be running for US senator in new york and instead Bank of America will be running for NY’s US senate seat, with you as its spokesperson?”
“What exactly do you do for bank of america for a million dollars a year anyway, other then being their future political lackay on retainer?”
Fergus Wooster
Do you sob yourself to sleep in the bathroom every night, smearing on lipstick in front the mirror and denouncing your reflection as a dirty, dirty whore?
MikeJ
Does he support the reëlection of Steve Cohen in TN-9, his old seat?
mr. whipple
Ask to see his immaculately pedicured toes, and ask if he sees that as a necessity for centrist Senatorial cred.
Bob (Not B.o.B.)
Harold Ford is black?
I know how you feel. I feel the same way about some local Dems who seem to have no general guiding principles. I would much rather deal with (and better respect) those who I disagree with, but seem to have a general unwavering set of conservative principles.
Fergus Wooster
Actually, I think #9 has the winner so far – what does he do to earn $2MM a year for Bofa/Merrill, or is it the obvious advance bribery.
kid bitzer
you could wear a blond wig and ask him to call you?
Alan in SF
The really maddening thing is not that people like these exist, but that the Democratic Party tolerates members who are diametrically opposed to, and actively trying to sabotage, the party’s agenda.
mr. whipple
Ask him that since the Democratic side of the Senate already has several pro-corporate, bank friendly whores, what unique pro-corporate whoring skills he brings to the table that we don’t already have on our team.
asiangrrlMN
@Fergus Wooster: You made me laugh. Heh.
They infuriate me because they have no principles. I agree with Bob, not B.o.B. that I would rather argue with someone who passionately believes what s/he is saying than with someone who is just mouthing platitudes to score points.
balconesfault
I’d ask if in the Senate he’d support turning a portion of the Social Security trust fund to his Wall Street amigos.
Dave
‘The economic collapse caused by Wall Street, has caused Rochester XYZ kinds of pain. Since you’re running to represent the whole state of New York, who do you feel deserves more help?”
JK
Ask him how he feels about the filibuster
Jamey
“Do you feel slighted because your birth-father, Gerald, never acknowledged you while he was President?”
Fergus Wooster
@asiangrrlMN: Victory!
Tazistan Jen
Does he know how many houses he has?
mr. whipple
@Tazistan Jen:
Awesome.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
He’s running for Senate as a NY Democrat (isn’t he? Has someone shown him how absurd this is? I honestly can’t remember. I’m beat). Could you google up some numbers on the PO among NYers and/or among Dems and ask him if he agrees with Senator Gillibrand (and Schumer) and X% of NYers/NY Dems?
The Moar You Know
A good kick in the nuts would suffice, preferably one for each time he’s been on Fox.
Batocchio
Ford is mainly sleazy. Bayh is someone who betrays his own (supposed) team even on extremely important matters – and the press largely buys the false image Bayh presents. I still think Bush and the GOP are far worse, and they’ve certainly been far more destructive. But Bayh isn’t merely a political hack, suck-up and an opportunist – although he is. He’s gone out of his way to backstab his party even when they’re winning. Movement conservative politicians are reckless sociopaths, if predictably so, but Bayh, Lieberman and the gang pursue a special brand of unnecessary douchiness.
SiubhanDuinne
@JK:
Are you kidding? He’d NEVER shut up!
JK
Ask him how he feels about reforming the Electoral College
Keith
“Do you favor a gas tax holiday on helicopter fuel?”
“What the hell was the name of that HBO faux documentary you were on a few years back? Damn, that one electrified the ratings!”
“Who’s your favorite Founding Father?”
mr. whipple
Ask him why Fux News loves him so much, and why that would appeal to NY Democrats.
RSR
Ask him if he had a garbage plate. Or if he thinks garbage plate collection should be privatized.
>>Ford looked very much like a candidate, eating at Nick Tahou Hots…
MikeJ
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could Chuck Schumer?
mr. whipple
Ask him how he differs from Joe Lieberman.
JK
Doug,
Try channeling the spirit of Tim Russert and asking Ford if supports the Bills, the Jets, or the Giants in football and the Mets or Yankees in baseball.
Kryptik
Do what any good citizen should:
Press him on the local issues. Make sure they’re stuff with enough specifics that someone who is really concerned with state concerns should know about.
Also, a couple OT notes to keep this all to one post (not to mention the fact that we’re on state concerns anyways):
1) Utah State Sen. Mark Masden wants to observe the birthday of “gun pioneer” John Moses Browning by shoehorning the observance alongside MLK Jr. day. Remarkable tonedeafness, considering Utah’s bad history with the holiday and MLK Jr.’s own worries about gun proliferation.
2) State Sovereignity nuttery is alive and well in South Carolina. State Rep. Mike Pitts has submitted legislation to ban federal currency in the state and return to the use of gold and silver coinage, citing the “the unconstitutional substitution of Federal Reserve Notes for silver and gold coin”.
Corner Stone
@DougJ:
Definitely. And you have to work some combo of “the deficit” and “Social Security Crisis” into it as well.
“Mr. Ford – I applaud your ability to consider our biggest issues in a centrist, independent way. As a US Senator, what steps will you propose to privatize Social Security, and what social spending programs will you propose cutting to reduce our deficit?”
Jim, Foolish Literalist
I’ve been googling and cant’ find it–the terms are too general–but didn’t Ford say at some time last year, on Fox, that he might be more comfortable as a Republican?
Allan
Is it possible to request that this entire thread be entered into the minutes of the event?
soonergrunt
@RSR: WTF is a garbage plate? New York thing?
Xopher
Ask him to list the stops on the A train, going uptown from 125th Street.
mr. whipple
@Xopher:
Niiiice.
Waynski
Ask him what he’d do to speed up the construction of the new Penn station. He probably knows next to nothing about it even though it’s been an issue for New Yorkers since Moynihan was alive (they’re going to name it after him):
http://www.newpennstation.org/site/
Stooleo
“Why is this night different from all other nights?”
That will probably stump him.
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
Ask him to explain how the US financial sector today differs from Japan’s in the early 1990s, if at all, and what steps he feels we should take in our fiscal and monetary policy to avoid a Lost Decade here, like the one they had.
ruemara
Ask my question! “Mr. Ford, will you take your trifling, scoundrel, republican ass back to whatever powerwaffle factory that spawned you and never darken the door of a tv studio again?”
RSR
@soonergrunt: do the google image search at your own risk. And yes, I’ve had them:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Tahou_Hots
A Garbage Plate is a combination of one selection of cheeseburger, hamburger, red hots, white hots, Italian sausage, chicken tender, fish (haddock), fried ham, grilled cheese, or eggs; and two sides of either home fries, French fries, baked beans, or macaroni salad). On top of that are the options of mustard and onions, ketchup, and Nick’s proprietary hot sauce, a greasy sauce with spices and ground beef. It’s served with rolls or Italian toast on the side,[3] which is made fresh at the bakery next door
Of course, now I’ll probably have to explain white hots…
The Main-Gauche of Mild Reason
@DougJ:
Ask him if his failure to pay New York state taxes is, in fact, a principled centrist stand against fiscal irresponsibility in our govt. I couldn’t frame the question without it sounding like a gotcha, but I guess you could.
HRA
Ask him if he ever has voted in a NYS election and who he has voted for.
DougJ
@RSR:
Yeah, I think he’s a candidate. He has no chance, though.
Citizen Alan
The reason I detest them both, along with Ben Nelson, Max Baucus, Mary Landreu and Blanche Lincoln, is that IMO they are all people who would be perfectly at home in the GOP but they run as Democrats because they can do more to undermine progressive ideas as backstabbers on the inside than they could as just another Republican asshole. For example, I think it is perfectly in keeping with Evan Bayh’s character that he would wait as long as possible to retire so as to prevent anyone even arguably progressive from trying to get certified (I mean a real progressive candidate — they exist, even in Indiana — and I’m not talking about that wacky restaurant lady) and to ensure that the Democratic nominee is the absolute most conservative one the state party machine can come up with.
Basically, they’re all just moderate Republicans who want to help out the GOP but know they’re, for whatever reason, unelectable as a Republican in their home states, so they do what they can to help out their real time from within the Democratic party. They’re better than the real Republicans, none of whom are moderate and all of whom are crazy and/or treasonous, but not by much.
Bnad
@Corner Stone: Please to avoid saying “privatize”–it’s seen as a DFH attack word, not the serious centrist word for shifting the Social Security Trust Fund to Wall St. “Diversify” should work better. Or “protect by diversifying.” Optional: prefacing with a soundbite about the Social Security “crisis.”
mr. whipple
Ask him if he stands with President Obama in levying a tax on Wall Street banks, or if he thinks the financial titans have already suffered enough.
goblue72
They are hateful because they are bought and paid for corporate shills. But until we ban money from politics, many of our politicians will be bought and paid for corporate shills. And as such, if they have to wear somebody’s laundry, I’d rather have them wear our teams.
Look, I’m a die-hard Red Sox fan, but if the Sox signed, for instance, A-Rod, you can bet I’d be cheering him on like he was the second coming of Ted William’s frozen head.
Problem isn’t that Bayh or Ford or Lieberman (I – Travelers/Aetna) are corporate shills – its that our inept Democractic leadership continually displays the complete lack of balls, ruthlessness and sheer willpower to keep these hacks in line. The day Lieberman went rogue, he should have been stripped off all his committees and sent to go chair the Sentate sub-committee on Toilet Paper Oversight. Every single earmark he had in place in the federal budget should have been found line by line and stripped out. He should have been sent to hold the gavel for the midnight “hearings” you see on C-Span where one lone Senator nobody’s has ever heard of rants to the cameras while some bored out his skull backbencher has to sit there and “chair” the hearing.
These guys are prostitutes. Treat them like it – occassionaly you sweet talk them, occassionally you throw them some money, and occassionally you smack them with the back of your hand.
asiangrrlMN
You are on fire, mr. whipple!
@goblue72: I root for the Vikings, but against Favre. I wanted him to get sacked and concussed every game.
FYWP
“If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?”
cat48
I’m just nosy so ask him how many homes he and his wife own between them. I read in a NYT article about his wife that her mother had bought them their $1.5M apartment which they are now selling. Wish I had a Mom like that.
His wife just turned 28 so he is sorta a cradle robber or maybe just a fortune hunter. Her stepdad worked for Morgan Stanley
Gus
Why do you need to explain it? They’re so obviously, blatantly in “public service” solely to serve themselves. They’re The Wire’s Clay Davis writ large. I can deal with power-mad pols, politics is mostly about the pursuit of power, and it can be used wisely and for the public good. But money-mad pols who obviously see public service as an opportunity to get rich make me puke.
Gus
Why do you need to explain it? They’re so obviously, blatantly in “public service” solely to serve themselves. They’re The Wire’s Clay Davis writ large. I can deal with power-mad pols, politics is mostly about the pursuit of power, and it can be used wisely and for the public good. But money-mad pols who obviously see public service as an opportunity to get rich make me puke.
Lev
I don’t think you should go, Doug. Even asking him a question legitimizes him as a candidate, and he’ll just offer weak excuses if you ask him something like where he differed from Bush when he was in Congress. If you want to do it, I recommend asking him something to make him uncomfortable, like 9/11 truther stuff.
No, here’s what you ask him: why did the financial collapse happen. I would just love to see the fear in his eyes after hearing that question.
cat48
I’m just nosy so ask him how many homes he and his wife own between them. I read in a NYT article about his wife that her mother had bought them their $1.5M apartment which they are now selling. Wish I had a Mom like that.
His wife just turned 28 so he is sorta a cradle robber or maybe just a fortune hunter. Her stepdad worked for Morgan Stanley.
Lev
@Gus: Bayh and Ford both rode their dads’ coattails into office. Like getting into the family business, really. Same with Dubya. These are dudes who grew up around politics and kinda just fell into it, only they didn’t really care about much other than being important and getting power.
Come to think of it, that pretty much describes Al Gore before 2002 as well.
asiangrrlMN
@cat48: He’s only thirty-nine, so it’s not exactly robbing the cradle. Gold-digging, though, probably.
“Do you swallow?”
robertdsc
Ask him who’s hotter: Kirsten Gillibrand or Sarah Palin.
hilzoy fangirl
Ask him if he’s ever asked Joe Scarborough about his dead intern.
morzer
Dear Mr Ford, can you name any one policy position on which you have remained consistent for more than 2 years?
liberalart76
Ask him if he feel he’s earned his tax payer funded banker’s bonus and how much it was.
Church Lady
Please, please, I beg of you, do something to cause a scene. I would pay some serious coin to see you on TV, being dragged out of the Auditorium like some Code Pink nutjob.
Church Lady
@Bob (Not B.o.B.): Only 3/4. The family secret that his paternal Granny was white just came out in the last few years.
Lee
Ask him how much practice it took to be able to speak so much without saying anything.
MTiffany
I’d like you to ask Harold if Joe Scarborough’s cock still tastes like dead intern.
mai naem
He’s already bs’d his way out of the bonuses and bankers’ tax on Morning Ho.
Here’s my question and this is because I think he is a stupid empty suit who couldn’t even pass the Tennessee Bar even though he got the best of educations(St. Albans no less.)
Also too, ask him what magazines he reads?
What is the capital of New York – I would bet he would say NYC.
Ask him what the 5 NYC boroughs are – my bet is he says Upper West, Lower East, Greenwich Village, Manhattan and Broadway.
What’s the second largest city in NY? (Buffalo) He’ll say Brooklyn.
JK
Per James Lipton
What’s your favorite curse word? If there’s a heaven, what would you like to hear God say to you when you arrive at the pearly gates?
Per Michael Kay (NY Yankees announcer who asks every guest of his tv interview show this question)
What’s your favorite late night snack?
Stooleo
pure win.
fraught
@Xopher: Perfect!!!
MJ
Ask him what time it is and then punch him in the throat when he looks down at his watch.
beatty
@MIkeJ: hilarious! that made my day!
Anachronym
Speaking of Evan Bayh, he was on NPR this afternoon, and voiced pretty emphatic support for a) changing the filibuster rules to 55 from 60 votes, b) making them actually filibuster, and c) passing the damn bill d) via reconciliation. I was a little surprised. Is he going to tack away from the ‘center-right’ now that he doesn’t need to be re-elected? Or is that just wishful thinking? I’m hoping for another Specter-like effect (and fwiw, I do not expect Arlen Specter’s newfound love for the left to survive more than a week past the outcome of the democratic primary, win or lose)…
Mike Kay
@Anachronym:
my sense he was really insulted when his very own signature issue “a deficit reduction commission” was filibustered by the republicans. The kicker was he got 7 republicans to co-sponsor his bill, and every single one of them voted to filibuster the VERY SAME bill.
the shame of it, of course, is he never felt outraged as the republicans filibuster one democratic bill after another, he only became selfishly incensed because they did it to him.
Quiddity
Ford comes off as a phony. Sort of like how John Edwards bugged John Cole (I think).
Anachronym
@Mike Kay:
Hah! Okay, that would explain it.
Mike Kay
@Quiddity:
The problem with Ford is he always on tee vee grandstanding against Democrats and defending Republicans, no matter the issue.
bcinaz
Ask him , as a Merrill Lynch Employee, shouldn’t he be running as a Republican?