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Ten. Dems Blame Fox News And GOP For Their Own Skewed Perceptions Of Obama
Last week, Tennessee Democratic Party Executive Committee member Fred Hobbs set off a firestorm when he was asked by reporters why "Blue Dog Democrat" Representative Lincoln Davis was delaying his endorsement of Obama, and Hobbs answered,
"I'm not sure we know enough about him. He's got some bad connections, and he may be terrorist connected for all I can tell. It sounds kind of like he may be."
He went on to say,
"[Obama] has associates who are connected to terrorism. It does throw a red flag up for me ....I certainly don't think he's a terrorist. I've just heard he has associates who might have those ties."
Davis's Chief of Staff Beecher Frasier made matters worse when he was asked if he thought Obama had ties to terrorists. He answered that he "didn't know for sure" whether Obama had ties to terrorists. Within 24 hours, Frasier issued another statement, "No one in their right mind, including me, believes Senator Obama has ties to terrorism. It is truly ridiculous for anyone to try to make hay out of these comments."
The Tennessee Democratic Party also quickly issued a statement on Friday that the Tennessee Democratic Party is united behind Obama. On Monday, they published the statement on the front page of their website. The statement also blamed Republicans for the outrageous comments coming from its own party leaders:
Mr. Hobbs is obviously misinformed, and his statement highlights the perpetual efforts of the Republican Party, especially here in Tennessee, to turn internet smears and highly offensive gossip into their party's message against Senator Barack Obama as we head into the General Election. Instead of debating the issues, the Tennessee Republican Party continues to rely upon slanderous and salacious tall tales. They are borrowing from the playbook first written by Richard Nixon and employed in the race against Congressman Harold Ford Jr. Tennesseans of every political persuasion are tired of these tactics.
Harold Ford Jr. also jumped into the fray, disassociating himself with Frasier, who managed Ford's failed senate campaign in 2006:
Let me be clear about two things.
First, Beecher Frasier is dead wrong. Senator Obama is a Christian, American patriot with a vision to make America safer and stronger. I am going to join millions of Tennesseans and Americans by working this year this to bring life to that vision by electing Barack Obama President of the United States.
Second, Beecher's past association with me is just that -- past. I've had no relationship with him since 2006. I don't want a relationship with him, or anyone else who says these things. His comments offend me as an American and embarrass me as a Tennessean.
On Monday, Fred Hobbs wrote a letter to the Tennessee Democratic Party Executive Committee in which he apologized for his comments about Obama and blamed Fox News:
I am writing to apologize for my recent remarks about Senator Barack Obama. My statements to various Nashville media were wrong and offensive. I apologize if my remarks in any way hurt any of our great Democratic candidates, including Senator Obama. Also, I apologize if my comments embarrassed our state or my friends at the Tennessee Democratic Party.
I was not as well prepared as I should have been when speaking with reporters, and I should have taken more time to research Senator Obama's positions. My comments did reflect questions I had after what I had seen reported on Fox News, but I should have taken some time to check the accuracy of what I saw on television before speaking publicly. My statement that Senator Obama "may be terrorist-connected" was incorrect, and I apologize for making it.
As a lifelong Democrat, I believe in the values and ideals of the Democratic Party. I am honored to represent the 13th Senatorial District, and I look forward to working with Senator Obama, each of you, and every Democrat in the 13th District to elect Democrats this November.
Tennesseans were calling on Al Gore to endorse Obama over the weekend as the senior and most-respected Democrat in the state. Gore appeared with Obama at a rally in Michigan last night to announce his support. Gore's endorsement leaves only two Tennessee superdelegates undeclared, Rep. Lincoln Davis and Rep. Bart Gordon.
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Its truly amazing how many NONPARTISAN people swallow
FoxNews' propaganda whole. That, to me, is much more astounding
than how PARTISAN apparatchiks live and breathe the FoxNews party line.
(Maybe they're tricked by, and take at face value, the "News" in "FoxNews",;they don't see the inherent smirk and irony in the phrase "Fair and Balanced"?)
Yeppers, not only do we know who the audience is, we also now know where the habitate ... thanks to this wild identity based politics thing this election!
Recognizing their diet .... (FoxNews) and their total willingness to "fear" at command, don't think i'll ever even fly over those "united" states ... forget about a visit ... hopefully, that should do something for their tourist industries!
Why would any self respecting Democrat watch Faux Noise? I live near Nashville and I hear this crap all the time. Sounds like Freddy boy is groveling to keep his job!
Actually I think there is a good reason to occasionally watch fox news and listen to Limbaugh. We need to know the enemy and their tactics. Admittedly, I can't watch or listen long because I have high blood pressure. Oh and another reason (not necessarily a good one) - it gives one a great feeling of superiority realizing there are people out there that do not have the ability to understand how distorted the information from Fox and Limbaugh really are.
Now, the fact that a democrat would actually let Fox influence his opinion on anything is a whole different matter. I don't know Hobbs but I'm really trying to find a reason other than (1) ignorance, (2) sleep deprivation, (3) drugs, (4) wrong party affiliation, or (5) bigotry (which leads us back to 1 and 4).
Well I've been wondering who was watching faux news....now I know....
what qualifications does one have to have to hold some sort of public office in America - besides a rich father? Help a sister out somebody because this is defying my African brain
All you need is enough idiots to vote for you to beat the other guy. That's it. You can be a Nazi, or KKK, or a "Pro-Life" Republican. If your vote total is highest, you're in. That's why these guys watch Fox News, it's all about gossip, inuendo, character assassination, and being on the team, not truth. They're too lazy to think for themselves, they take their cues from right wing preachers, right wing radio hosts, right wing "think tanks" and from each other in the right wing echo chamber. That's why George Will actually had to apologize for writing that the Chinese were drilling for oil off America's coasts, but Americans can't. Fox says that all the time, so Will printed it as truth without checking. It's NOT true, Will printed an apology, but it doesn't matter. Will is an unrepentant Republican propagandist. The Blue Dog Democrats are no better than Will.
An American epidemic if ever there was one-- the failure of education, the failure of independent thinking, and millions blaming Fox for the ruin of the nation...
FOX News is a cancer.
Its beyond incredible, the campaign has been going on for a year and he hasn't taken the time to read one thing about the major candidate in his party?
Dem in name only I guess, because one would expect a political party member would know something about the real world and their own candidate.
Very funny. These "Democratic" reps from Tennessee are Manchurian Candidates from the Rep Pary, totally programmed by Fox News.
Why is a Democrat taking anything that Fox News says as fact?
For that matter.. why is and American taking what Fox News says as fact?
Fox News...
THE WORST NEWS AGENCY IN THE WOORRRRLLLLLDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
or...
Fox News!! THE NEW COMEDY CHANNEL!!!!
Liberoservative...I love your post. It is right on. The Democrat using FAUXNEWSTV as a source is really a REPUBLICAN in disguise.
Articulate arguable apologies angling against acute and asinine absurdity.
Next Headline: Bush-McCain to Drill and Destroy Wildlife.
McCain played a pretty Foxy game to look ahead when he said he is for it before Bush asked just now to do the same: Drill the Nature and Animals. And McSame for environment and he is different from Bush?
We'll he won't get none of those wild life lover's vote, will he! Nore will he get any of the Gore voters on going green now. thos inviromentalist are pretty hard people to get around, and there is litteraly thousands of them down there in Florida. Mccain and Fox ( ya fox again) thinks high gas will cause all these invironentalist to just go away and not say any thing about them wanting to drill in wild life lands, and the ocean off the states! Fox Just lie's, lie's lies lies! So the way to bury them, is to boycott them, and let them know we want what they PROMISE but don't deliver and that's Unbias fair and balance news! Can't believe any one believes fox news, it's become a comedy channel, if your into that kind of trash.
Sorry but no one is that dumb I would hope least of all a democrat this is what is called CYA. I'm guessing someone got to this democrat Rahm perhaps?
Carol
Its now clear - to me - how GWB took office
I love my state, but:
1) Tennessee ranks just about in the bottom 10 of any list that the government puts out. We tend to be a poor, uneducated, unhealthy, overweight, chain-smoking, environmently-unfriendly bunch. Not exactly Obama's core supporters.
2) Lincoln Davis and Bart Gordon both represent heavily rural districts that in turn, voted heavily against Obama, and those primarily Appalacian districts are now leaning heavily towards McCain.
3) Harold Ford Jr. ran a brilliant campaign in 2006. Bob Corker may be the biggest goofball in the senate (and there's a lot of goofballs to compare him against). It was close, but Tennessee elected the goofball over the smart black guy.
4) The ballot initiate to define marriage as being between a man and a woman, passed with 80% of the vote.
5) The Klan was founded in Pulaski, TN and there is a privately-owned statue of the founder of the Klan that adorns the interstate in south Nashville.
Unless Obama's team picks our governor to be VP (and I still think Bredesen would be a good pick - he's done a lot of good given what he's got to work with and he's popular with both parties in the state), just go ahead and write us off as a red state. As much as I wish it were different, it is what it is.
Great post. As a Floridian I feel your pain. We suffer from schizophrenia. A total lack of identity.
This is a state that has the glamour of Miami , a dumbass redneck flying the biggest rebel flag ever made in the middle of a very middle class city like Tampa. For god's sakes look at our Governor. Anybody have a clue what his deal is? This a state that has all the "teachers"(women) that "slay" young boys.
This place is a freaking carnival....literally. Did I mention Gibsonton, Florida? Check this out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibsonton%2C_Florida
Have you ever heard of Lobsterboy? Gibsonton.
"just go ahead and write us off as a red state. As much as I wish it were different, it is what it is."
You gotta have hope ;-)
Get out there and start volunteering! One person CAN make a difference.
I do totaly agree with you, Ebeth. If Harold Ford had had anyone else in the Democratic party in Tennessee to lead his campaign except Beecher Frasier, he would have won. The good old bible thumping baptist churches in Tennessee are filling their inmates with such hate against Sen. Obama. How can they remain in the Tax Free status??? Someone tell me!!!! One notorious dumb fool in TN.. We're stuck with Squeeky Corker, and I don't mean squeeky clean!
Obama is a Christian and a brilliant man capable of knowing, learning and leading this nation as John McCain could never do. Young, bright and capable vs. Old, dull and without a clue. I'm sorry he was a prisioner, but of what other claim to fame has he??
"I'm sorry he was a prisoner, but of what other claim to fame has he??"
lenorlady, you have defined McCain to a Tee, His claim to fame is that he was POW of the Vietnamese for 5 1/2 years'. How does that make him a 'War Hero??
58,000 American soldiers died in Vietnam; those are our war heros.
"Tennesseans of every political persuasion are tired of these tactics." - TDP.
I really doubt that.
In fact, I don't believe that to be true.
Where and what is Representative Lincoln Davis take on this issue?....Is he still hiding from the press, delaying his endorsement of Barack Obama because of Obama's skin color?....I just can't believe these are adults, grown up people, when they take FOX News reporting at their word....Where is their sense of curiosity? ---At least the GOP has got an agenda which is to lie through their teeth to make sure we get a third Bush term with McCain....
Seeing this kind of attack on Obama coming from these reverse Democrats is just infuriating.
I practiced (psychotherapist) and taught psychology in Lincoln Davis' district in Tennessee for over 20 years. Consistently, his "middle class congressional scorecard" voting record has been zero or worse, which is true of all the congressional reps in Tennessee excepting Bob Clement of Nashville. I think this emanates from the reps understanding of the prevailing culture. Fundamentalists have few wants except that their reps protect The Lord from evildoers, e.g., gays, abortion clinics, women's rights, etc., while ignoring the sky-rocketing unwed birth and divorce rates, alcoholism, drug addiction, meth labs everywhere, that all seem to prevail in an ostrich-headed social system. Lincoln Davis (and virtually all of the Dem representatives in Tennessee excepting Clement) is far more a Republican than John McCain will ever be. Also I must add, Davis has the intelligence of a rutabaga. Harold Ford is another winner. Probably hasn't got any mirrors in his house to remind him that he's black.
Bob Clement left the House after he lost the 2002 Senate election and lost the Nashville mayoral election in 2006. Rep. Jim Cooper of Nashville is a good egg. He endorsed Senator Obama fairly early and represents Nashville well.
Harold Ford Jr. was a far better choice than Bob Corker, but I think his Aunt Ophelia and Uncle John killed his chances. Your statement about his "blackness" is way off target, given that his House district was primarily black.
Sir, you insult the intelligence of rutabagas.
And these no nothings get paid. For what? Maybe someone else is paying them. ANYTHING TO THROW MISINFORMATION INTO THE MIX. Find out who your leaders are. Find out their views. Then Act. OBAMA 08
Who knows maybe, the Tenn Dem. Party is getting paid to make sure BO does not win that State..
Don't worry!!!!! Barack will remember those traitor's in November.....
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