We’re starting to feel like Harold Ford Jr. is the uninvited guest at the seated dinner party that is the U.S. Senate race in New York. Nobody really wants him around, but because he rolls up is a Bentley (read: he’s loaded!) and brings everyone a Starbucks gift card (read: he’ll hand out statements just to please) we let him stay, but not for dessert. He’s threatening the seat held by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who as senator did more for LGBT equality than even her predecessor Hillary Clinton. And now that Ford flip-flopped (evolved?) on his gay marriage stance, we’re being fed the humanistic reason for doing so: his wife told him a story about gay people he never met.
Emily Ford, 29, is a stunning woman with Hollywood good looks. And whether the story she told Stephen Colbert is true or not, one thing is clear: Like her ambitious husband, she’s got a line for everything. This is okay, because it’s how politics works, and likable wives of male politicians are invaluable assets, but it’s Emily who’s being used to defuse critics of Ford on his sudden support of gay marriage — perhaps because Harold couldn’t do it himself on Colbert’s show. The Times replays the interview (that we somehow missed):
On the marriage issue, Ms. Ford seems to have played a role in changing her husband’s mind. In an interview on “The Colbert Report,” Mr. Ford credited his wife with influencing his views, an acknowledgment that pleased her.
Ms. Ford said in her interview the other day that she had several conversations with her husband about gay marriage. She told him about a gay step-uncle who had died of AIDS and a gay aunt, both of whom were in loving, committed relationships. “Harold never met my uncle or my aunt, but he knows how important this is to me,” Ms. Ford said.
And presto, Ford is a gay marriage supporter.
Now, we don’t know when Emily told her husband about these two important people in her life that Harold never got around to meeting (the pair married in 2008), but of course this happened after Ford, running in 2006 to be a U.S. senator from Tennessee, proudly announced his “No” vote on gay marriage.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
At the heart of door-to-door campaigns to convince regular folks to support gay marriage is a singular message: Everybody knows a gay person, and doing things like supporting Prop 8 is a vote against the rights of somebody in your inner circle. Perhaps Harold Ford Jr. finally recognizes this now.
Or perhaps he just recognizes the political advantage of having his wife say he does.
rainfish2000
Don’t forget while this reverse “carpetbagger” now claims his undying (situational)”love” for our human rights in the GLBT Community, he also, while a Rep. in the US Congress voted, not once but twice, to amend the US Constitution to ban same-sex marriage equality via the so-called “Marriage Protection Amendment”. Yes, he voted twice to indelibly write DISCRIMINATION for all time into our Bill of Rights. He wanted a “Gay Exemption” to the birthright protections delineated by our Federal Constitution for just the tens of millions of GLBT American citizens and no other minority.
Sooooooooo…how about just
FUCK OFF, HARRY!!!
Sort of like Obama, but in reverse, who was for marriage equality when he was a local Illinois politician, then became against it as a Federal Senator.
check out his flip flop too (in case you have forgotten):
http://rainfish2000.blogspot.com/2009/03/from-our-commander-chief-hypocrite.html
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In response to:
“…Ford, running in 2006 to be a U.S. senator from Tennessee, proudly announced his “No” vote on gay marriage.”
ycktr
No more votes based on promises.
ONLY vote for those who have a RECORD of support…particularly when their seat ISN’T up for grabs.
Go to hell Harry. You had a shot. You failed. No votes for you.
!
Zach
Agree with the others. I find it hard to believe some people actually believe what he’s saying now, when his record clearly reflects something else. Harold wants us for our votes, nothing more.
AndrewW
Harold Ford was against same-sex marriage when he was in Tennessee – a State that is 76% religious. Now, when Harold Ford is in New York – a State that is only 48% religious, he supports same-sex marriage.
His wife didn’t change his mind – the polls did.
pogobock
This is all Obama’s fault.
bellyup
Politicos get all liberal and sweet during campaigns but when it matters, they’ve left us hanging, and by us I mean the people…Anyway, I hate bentleys and starbucks.
Scott NY'er
There is no political solution to our equality. Harold Ford is just more evidence that we waste a lot of time and money chasing political solutions. When will we learn?
Robert, NYC
Well now, lets see if he runs, let him declare marriage equality as a priority on his agenda. Then maybe I’ll believe him. Remember, Bill Clinton was strongly opposed to same-sex marriage and is now on board. I wonder if Hillary now enjoins him on that?
Patrick
Time to go back to TN.
Michael W.
Voting to alter the constitution to ban gay marriage is UNFUCKINGFORGIVABLE on so many levels. There is nothing Harold Ford Jr. can say or do to change my mind about him, I don’t care how many gay anecdotes his wife shells out.
It doesn’t matter if you’re gay or straight, it is utterly preposterous that any Democratic New Yorker would have to THINK about who to support between Gillibrand and Prince Harry.
I understand we need to encourage more people like him to come to our side, but he is one person I do not want standing with me.
Brian NYC
@Michael W.: He’s not standing with you or the LGBT Community – he changed his mind because of the Polls in New York. It’s that simple and that sleazy.
MickW
Good for him, I’m happy more people are changing their minds everyday.
greenluv1322
What is up with your hatred of Harold Ford Jr.? Do you not think he is capable of changing his mind based on something his wife tells him is important to her? It’s obvious that none of you are in a committed loving relationship. I am and it can drastically change your opinions about something you were for or against in the past. Again, I smell RACISM!
Chitown Kev
@greenluv1322:
Wrong answer.
I read just as many black gays that are opposed to Harold Ford.
Nobody trusts Ford and you seem to think that his 2 on the record votes to write discrimination into the federal constitution should be unchallenged because now he says that he’s changed.
Mary, please.
Now, if I remember correctly, Gillibrand is up for this seat again in 2012. And Ford hasn’t announced his candidacy. So if he were to primary Gillibrand in 2012 AND he were willing to get out there and answer the tough questions about his anti-gay voting record, if he were willing to be an asset to the community, then we would be talking about something.
Right now we ain’t talking about nothing.
Brian NYC
@greenluv1322:
@Chitown Kev:
@MickW:
Political groupies, all of you.
Most people in Tennessee are against same-sex marriage.
Most people in New York support same-sex marriage.
That explains his “change,” not his wife, his friends or his hair-stylist. He is simply playing to the polling data. If he didn’t have this magical change of mind he wouldn’t have a chance in NY.
Harold Ford is a weasel. Just like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Politicians are weasels – that’s their occupation.
$0.02
#15 BrianNyc did you not bother to even read ChitownKev’s post or did you just see him refer to the black community and automatically assume he was a Ford supporter because he too is black? The nerve!