The Black Commentator - Radio BC: Harold Ford Jr. Sucks Up to Bush and His War

Harold Ford, Jr., the Black Congressman from Memphis, Tennessee, is a clear and present danger to African American political cohesion. As such, he represents a grave threat to progressive politics in the United States, because fully half of Americans who can reasonably be described as progressive, are Black. African Americans are the bulwark of what's left of the Left in America. That's why the corporate Right, assisted mightily by the corporate media, has for the past ten years been working furiously to subvert Black Democrats. They have found a willing accomplice in Harold Ford, who this month kicked his campaign for the U.S. Senate into high gear. That makes Ford an extremely high profile Black Democrat - although his positions on key, "bright line" issues are at great variance with Black voters, including his own constituents.

Harold Ford this month made his fourth trip to Iraq, the country he and three other Black congressmen voted to give George Bush powers to invade. On his return, Ford wrote a letter to George Bush, a man he says he loves "personally" and considers a "friend." Ford virtually begged Bush to resist pressures to withdraw any troops, any time soon. "Don't withdraw prematurely" from Iraq, said Ford. He went on: "We've made great progress there. General Eikenberry and the team are doing a great job…."

Back in July of last year, Congressman Ford was calling for more U.S. troops in Iraq.

Before he left for Iraq, Ford complained that his opponents in the Tennessee Senate race will try to call him "some kind of liberal" - a word he uses with disdain. Well, that would be wrong, because Ford is no liberal, much less a progressive. And he is wholly unrepresentative of the broad Black Political Consensus.

But so what, you may ask? He's just one congressman. What's the big deal? The reason Harold Ford is dangerous does not lie in his person, but in the uses to which he is so willing to be put by forces that are hostile to Black interests. They desperately want to create the impression that Black progressivism is passé, and that a new, more conservative Black leadership is on the rise. They contribute lots of money, and the corporate media donate free publicity to make their wish a reality. Harold Ford may not be that smart, but he is slick. Ford presents himself as the Black star of that right-wing vision. He is a corporate funded cancer on Black politics. There are about five Black congresspersons who are just as politically corrupt as Harold Ford. But, for the most part, they're not holding themselves out as high profile role models. We at The Black Commentator don't want Harold Ford in the Senate under any circumstances. Black America cannot afford to be misrepresented at such a level. For Radio BC, I'm Glen Ford.

You can visit the Radio BC page to listen to any of our audio commentaries voiced by BC Co-Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Glen Ford. We publish the text of the radio commentary each week along with the audio program.