Honoring a long tradition of Tennessee Senators, Ford will bring common sense and practicality to the U.S. Senate. He will bring a solutions-oriented approach as he reaches out to Democrats and Republicans alike to make Tennessee and America a better place to live and raise a family, just like he has done for the people of his congressional district for the last ten years. The fact that Harold Ford Jr. has never lost an election and averaged 80 percent of the vote each time he was elected to the U.S. House shows the continued confidence the people of his district on both sides of the aisle have in him.

As a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate and fiscally conservative Democrats, Ford has strived to promote positions that bridge the gap between ideological extremes. He also co-chairs the Community Solutions and Initiatives Caucus, a bipartisan group of lawmakers that seeks to help faith and community based groups solve social challenges, and the Congressional Savings and Ownership Caucus, a bi-partisan coalition dedicated to advancing policies to build savings and assets for all Americans, and low-income Americans in particular. He sits on the House Budget Committee and the House Committee on Financial Services.

With experience like that and a burning desire to fully represent Tennessee while making America a better and safer place can only mean good things for the people of Tennessee when Harold Ford Jr. gets to the U.S. Senate.

Watch video of his announcement at http://fordfortennessee.com/?option=com_content&task=view&id=21

- deleted as comment "astroturf" spam -

Bill,

This email makes you seem like a small a petty person. I'm sure you have a few bad apples in your family tree- we all do. Rep. Ford should be judged based on his own record. I know that based on what I have read about him in the press he seems like a conservative southern dem. with a strong anti-tax pro TN voting record. Plase try and keep your blog more professional. I don't always agree with your positions but until now I've always been able to understand why you hold them. This post seems very out of character.

JUNIOR's ratings from the NRA are an impressive F. The Conservative Union and Eagle Forum rate him about 6 points to the right of Nancy Pelosi and Teddy Kenndy. Yet the MSM continue to portay him as a moderate. Just because you don't rant and rave like Teddy K doesn't mean you are a moderate.

Jessica, you don't have much of a sense of humor, do you?

Geoff-

Did you get paid to write that? Or did you type it up for free?

Today, little thought is given to the Seventeenth Amendment. Most Americans either do not know that senators used to be selected by state legislatures, or they believe the change to popular election is beneficial. Herein lies the problem: Americans, as a whole, have lost sight of many of the principles and much of the wisdom that guided the Founders when they formed our system of government. Without this philosophical base, changing to the popular election of senators makes perfect sense.

The 17th Amendment

Since the passing of the 17th Amendment in 1913, the Federal Government has exploded out of control, usurping the rightful power of State Governments to govern the people.

Repeal 17th

Thanks for blogging Bill Hobbs. Keep up the good work.

Actually Bill, it lowers the level of intelligent discourse on your blog when you inject that kind of irreverent attack on a man's family into your comments. (implying that the attack was a failed attempt at humor is no excuse). If you can win on the issues - congratulations. If you can't then walk the high road. By virtue of this blog you are a public figure. Do you want people attacking you based on your extended family's actions?

Jessica-

It's funny how you're so sanctimonious. Do you know how Ford Jr. introduces himself at many democratic events?

He begins by telling people in a light-hearted way that he hopes they don't confuse him with his uncle. What is different about what Hobbs said than what Jr. himself says?

If Ford Jr. knows and understands it's a problem then perhaps you should learn to deal with it too. I'm sure his strategists have discussed it.

Is it fair that anyone with the Kennedy name has to deal with association with the liberal rantings of a red-faced Teddy Kennedy who left a woman to slowly drown?

You need to realistic. The challenge for Jr. will be to work twice as hard to prove he doesn't have the ethical problems of his uncle.

You may cry unfair, but that's just life.

Heh heh heh...with the arrests today of Harold's uncle and the Memphis mafia, I wonder what Jessica thinks now?

One of Harold Jr.'s biggest credentials is that he is not his Uncle John nor Uncle Emmitt nor his father. The other credential is that he is a member of the Ford family; otherwise, he would never have been elected to public office.

I'm not too concerned about his getting low ratings from Eagle Forum--they are just as outside the mainstream of American politics as Harold Jr. is. I'm more concerned about his actual voting record and each issue on which he has voted. It is a record with I largely disagree. That is on what he should be judged, not the rating of some far right group like the Eagle Forum.