Ford Fission

In a letter to the NY Times, very publicly declaring his non-candidacy for the New York Senate seat currently held by fellow Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. took a few very hard shots at his party elders. Using words like, "bully", "heavy-handed", and "intimidate" to describe the treatment he received at their hands, Ford left no doubt he is more than a little upset. Moreover, the other words he employed in the letter could just as easily flowed from the pen of a moderate Republican. He made clear that he holds his party leaders responsible for jeopardizing Democrat control of the Congress by pursuing an out-of-step overly partisan national agenda.

While I'm by no means the first to say it, better keep your eye on this guy. When he first emerged as a national figure in 1996, winning as a very young man Tennessee's 9th congressional district centered in Memphis, I thought then that he'd one day run for president. I've watched him over the years and have remained impressed. While clearly a liberal, he has always demonstrated conservative sensibilities. His southern roots I suspect. On television (I've never met him personally), he is without fail friendly, smooth, articulate, and, most important, reasonable. He virtually never comes across as an angry, inflexible partisan like so many others who are the public face of the Democrat party. And his record matches his rhetoric. This stands him in sharp contrast with President Obama, who also comes across as a reasonable fellow, but has governed nevertheless in an extremely partisan fashion. Frankly, as a nation, we chose to ignore the clear warning signs. As was reported during the 2008 campaign, during his short time in the Senate, Obama achieved that body's most liberal voting record. And need we even mention his unfortunate associations with the likes of Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers, et al?

If Ford's letter is any indication of deeper and broader fissures within the Democrat party, we can all take heart. It's not only good for the short-term prospects of the GOP, it's great for the long-term future of the country.