Harold Ford tells a whopper: "I am pro-choice -- have always been.."

madfloridian

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Tue Jan-12-10 11:13 AM
Original message

Harold Ford tells a whopper: "I am pro-choice -- have always been.."

Here is the full quote from today...the man is shameless.

"I am pro-choice -- have always been since I entered politics almost 15 years ago. My cumulative grade with NARAL during 10 years in Congress was right at 80 percent. Any assertions to the contrary are false," he wrote.

Dear Harold Ford, you don't get to have it both ways.

Video:

Harold Ford is NOT pro-choice. In his own words.

The video has a compilation of Ford saying "I am not pro-choice." He even implies he would use his seat to get abortion banned, that Congress would teach people the difference between right and wrong.

The words of NARAL:

NARAL Pro-Choice New York opposes the potential Senate candidacy of Harold Ford, Jr. and would like to make it perfectly clear to all voters that Harold Ford, Jr. is — unlike the overwhelming majority of New Yorkers — anti-choice.

The ongoing debate on healthcare reform has put in clear perspective how one legislator’s vote can have a dramatic impact on the lives of American women. New York State has not – and will not — provide that anti-choice vote. NARAL Pro-Choice New York — and more importantly, the voters of our state — will not stand for it.

Here is more from Ford's post today in of all places the New York Post.

I moved to New York more than three years ago, have been a New York resident for more than a year and am a registered voter in New York City. My wife and I both work in Manhattan, proudly call lower Manhattan home and plan to start and raise a family in New York.

I am pro-choice -- have always been since I entered politics almost 15 years ago. My cumulative grade with NARAL during 10 years in Congress was right at 80 percent. Any assertions to the contrary are false.

I remain committed to promoting gun safety and handgun control, and I look forward to working with Mayor Bloomberg and Newark Mayor Corey Booker and their coalition to reduce handgun violence in cities across America.

Despite what critics say about me, I enjoyed uninterrupted support from organized labor throughout my time in Congress.

And from the moment I arrived in Congress, I supported civil unions. Like New York's senior senator, after listening to and participating in the national conversation about full equality and fairness, I support same-sex marriage.

Read more: Ford gearing up for Senate race.

He is an opportunist more than most. His religion-based stances on women and gays have been well-known. He should be ashamed of now saying he is pro-choice and has always been. I would like to think New Yorkers are on to his spin.

Ford is thought to be considering a challenge to Kristen Gillebrand, who was appointed to the seat last year when Hillary Clinton became Secretary of State. But is New York ready for his brand of conserva-faithiness?

Take a look at this ad Ford ran in his 2006 Senate race. Filmed in a church, with a cross just over his shoulder (the same sort of imagery people howled about when Mike Huckabee used it in 2007), Ford testifies to church being where he learned "the difference between right and wrong." Funny, then, that he went on in that same ad to brag about how he voted "against amnesty for illegals." In another "faithy" vote, Ford, then serving in the House, was one of 47 Democrats who voted with the Tom DeLay-led Republicans in favor of federal government intervention to try to stop the removal of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube.

At Netroots Nation last year Ford and Markos debated. There was a difference, a big one, about the party's message.

Markos v Ford

The moderator was DFA's Arshad Hasan.

Arshad asked both candidates what should be done to build the party.

Ford focused on appealing to Republican voters, saying that Barack Obama would need to receive the support of people who voted for George W. Bush twice to win the presidency. Markos talked about fielding authentic candidates who represent real American, progressive values, because there are few in Washington, D.C. who truly have their ear to the ground and are listening to their constituents.

I am not sure what Ford is up to right now. And not sure why he would write an op ed for of all papers, the New York Post. But I am some ideas about it.