Nathan Moore's Thoughts
Fancy Ford Lives (You Guys Are The Best!!)
I just received this forward from a reliable source, with this email attached. This is from Ford’s University of Tennessee campaign chairwoman
From: XXX
Sent: Friday, March 10, 2006 12:29 AM
To: XXX
Subject: Fw: Team Ford stuffFYI
Sent: Thursday, March 09, 2006 2:44 PM
Subject: Team Ford stuffHey everyone,
Hope everything is going well for you!!! How are midterms??Here is some information for you!!
Be on the lookout for our newest television ad. It has Congressman
Ford talking about port security!! You can find it on the website
(www.haroldfordjr.com) if you are like me and never turn on the TV!!We will be doing information tables in the dorms!! We can’t go door
to door in the dorms, but some of the apartments don’t mind. We will
start these after Spring Break!!Also, this might be of interest to some of you. The local election
commission is paying people to be on the Counting Boards. The purpose
of this is to count the absentee ballots and such for the local
election. The dates of this are May 2nd and 3rd. If you are
interested in this, and want more information, I’m just the messenger,
so contact the election commission. The number is 215-2480.Saturday, March 11, the ACT now conference will be at the University
Center. Sign in is from 11-11:30. Lunch will be provided.
Congressman Duncan will be speaking at 11:30. The purpose of this
event is to promote political awareness and involvement. The college
coordinator, Ian Prunty, from the Ford campaign will also be there!!
If you want to come, there are activities planned all day, so contact
me for more info, or just come by and tell them you’re with team ford
when you sign in!!Thank you to everyone that wrote in to the Beacon!! We had a good
showing, and I appreciate that!!Also, THANK YOU so much to those that helped me getting the News
Sentinel for the office!!If there is anything you guys want to do or would like to see done,
please let me know. We will be having a meeting after spring break,
so be prepared!! We have a lot of eager volunteers and I am going to
be working with Ian to get us lots of activities to keep us busy!!!Let me know if there are any questions or concerns.
You guys are the best!!
Kavitha
To meet Kavitha, just go to her profile at College Humor here (note: this may not be safe for work).
Ahem…you guys are the best!!
UPDATE It appears the link to the entry has been removed.
March 24th, 2006 at 11:32 am
That’s one of the funniest and most delightful things I’ve ever found on a blog. If I’m the GOP nominee, I’m making sure every voter over 50 in the state gets a copy of that website.
March 24th, 2006 at 11:38 am
Yeah, pass it out at Nascar rallies, I’m sure the guys there would be really upset about it
What does Kavitha posing for a photo, scantily clad but not nude, have to do with her abilities to be chairwoman of UT for Ford? Should Ford have a qualifier on all volunteer applications, “Nobody above a ‘3′ need apply, ugly chicks only” or should his supporters simply be more discreet about their lack of American values, like Ken Melhman?
March 24th, 2006 at 11:47 am
Nathan -
I’m sure that she was brought on to the Ford campaign for her - uh, assets.
Maybe she heard that Junior could get her into Playboy?
Cheers,
Rob
March 24th, 2006 at 11:49 am
I’m just trying to figure out why its a big deal that she was on that website…
March 24th, 2006 at 11:55 am
You can’t get elected without getting a sizeable share of the elderly vote. The reason is simple - old people vote in much higher percentages than do young people. That picture wouldn’t not play well among churchgoing Baptists age 50-80, of whom there are many in Tennessee.
Ford is trying to appeal to conservatives across the state - he can not win if he is perceived as a liberal and a playboy, especially given that he bears the albatross of the Ford family name and all the Memphis political corruption baggage it carries.
March 24th, 2006 at 11:57 am
Shorter version: “Sluts for Ford” isn’t a winning strategy.
March 24th, 2006 at 12:15 pm
One day, one day…I expect you guys to actually discuss the issues surrounding Harold Ford, Jr. the Seante candidate. And not all this superficial, superfluous junk that voters with any sense would give two craps about.
But, I won’t hold my breath.
March 24th, 2006 at 12:27 pm
uhh…we’re doing that, too. Read what Bill wrote if you don’t get the relevance.
March 24th, 2006 at 12:33 pm
Nathan, it appears you guys are trying more of a guilt by association (the same tactic used against your candidate Bob Corker by Republicans) rather than a serious debate about real issues. And the fact that you have Bill Hobbs calling a girl he’s probably never met a slut, is kind of below par for decency.
March 24th, 2006 at 12:40 pm
Last time I checked you can’t tell anything about a woman’s level of promiscuity simply by looking at a picture of her. That is unless you are a sexist.
March 24th, 2006 at 12:42 pm
I don’t know. While Ford’s certainly fancy, I’m not sure he had any way of knowing his campaign chair at UT had posed on that website. I think the same thing could happen to any of the candidates for Senate unless they give the college students who volunteer for them extensive background checks. While it’s funny, it’s a bit unfair.
However, what isn’t unfair is pointing out that Ford spends campaign funds on Armani suits and luxury hotel stays, parties with Playboy bunnies and raises money from celebrities in NY and Hollywood. He CAN control that.
March 24th, 2006 at 12:45 pm
Brittney -
You don’t have to be jealous of Kavitha. I’ve been told that if you look a little more into the competition from the website, she lost in a landslide to some girl from California. Apparently, she got numbers that rival those of John Jay Hooker in any of the past dozen election cycles.
(Oops! Did I say Hooker? My apologies…)
So, Brittney, we should pity poor Kavitha and her fellow losers - including her candidate.
Cheers,
Rob
March 24th, 2006 at 12:48 pm
I’ve been told that if you look a little more into the competition from the website, she lost in a landslide to some girl from California.
Little birdie told you that, did he? heh
March 24th, 2006 at 1:01 pm
Well, the picture is of the girl half-naked and flaunting her assets, behaviour rather indicative of some degree of sluttiness. After all, she posted that picture on a website designed to be seen and ogled by hundreds of thousands of college boys.
March 24th, 2006 at 1:03 pm
But if you don’t like the word slut, I’ll change it.
“Strippers for Ford.”
March 24th, 2006 at 1:05 pm
Actually, it doesn’t matter if the girl is a slut or not. The picture would be offensive to hundreds of thousands of older voters in Tennessee, and when they learn that it is a picture of the girl that Harold Ford Jr. picked to run his campaign on the UT campus, it would cost him votes.
March 24th, 2006 at 1:06 pm
the picture is of the girl half-naked and flaunting her assets, behaviour rather indicative of some degree of sluttiness.
Sorry, but you are wrong. That girl could very well be a virgin. Judging her a slut based on her appearance is shallow and misogynistic.
March 24th, 2006 at 1:13 pm
Gee JB, are there pictures like this of you and Jeff out there?
March 24th, 2006 at 1:14 pm
I saw the picture, and all I can say is… “!!”
March 24th, 2006 at 1:21 pm
Nathan, when the shirtless photos of me on the Internet are exposed, I don’t want the Bryant campaign blamed.
I was young and I needed the money….:)
March 24th, 2006 at 1:22 pm
Bill, this picture might “offend” voters in Tennessee, but it wasn’t published in the Tennessean, its on a website designed for people looking for that kind of content. If the Republicans did decide to smear this girl by sending it out in mailers, the Republicans would be the ones “offending the sensibilities” of Tennessee voters, not the Ford campaign.
Also, the description “strippers for Ford” is just as inaccurate, because she is not naked in this photo. This is something you could easily see at the MTV Video Awards.
March 24th, 2006 at 2:25 pm
Brittney, you seem not to understand. It is not the actual sluttiness of the girl that matters, but the impact such a photo would have on elderly Tennessee voters - who vote in very large numbers - and what the photo would cause them to think about Harold Ford Jr. if they knew that Ford had selected that girl to run his campaign on the UT campus.
That said, a girl who poses for half-naked photos to put on a website to be ogled by college boys is, if not a slut, certainly not a wholesome young woman. Also, read the text she wrote to accompany her photo. She’s not the kind of young woman that elderly Tennessee voters want their daughters and granddaughters to be.
March 24th, 2006 at 2:28 pm
Ford’s opponents don’t have to mail copies of the webpage to voters - they merely need to talk about how Ford chose a girl to run his UT campaign who posed half-naked for a website and bragged on the site about taking and then sharing, to quote her, “naughty pictures int he bedroom.” That’s all they need to say. And then they need to remind people that Ford claims to represent “Tennessee values” and ask senior voters of they think posing for porn pictures is a “Tennessee value.”
March 24th, 2006 at 2:35 pm
I must be alone on this among Conservatives but I don’t find the picture to be troubling. I am not sure that I would vote for anyone who had an unblemished record of clean behavior in college.
She may be a delightful young woman and to assume anything else seems unfair.
A more disturbing aspect of her character can be intuited from the web site where she brags about sending suggestive pictures of herself to her boyfriend’s ex. That doesn’t strike me as particularly admirable behavior, especially since she specifically does not say the boyfriend cheated, only that he misinformed her. Given her respone, even if the boyfriend’s trip was innocent, I don’t blame him for being less than truthful.
The next thing you know, she will be heading up Congressman Ford’s plummers.
March 24th, 2006 at 2:45 pm
Bill, I understand perfectly. You called a girl you don’t know anything about (beyond a single picture accompanied by a small amount of text) a “slut” because she works for candidate you don’t support.
Partisan misogyny, plain and simple. And classless, to boot.
March 24th, 2006 at 3:16 pm
Well, I’m really glad to see that we’re yet again reducing all conversation about women in politics to a summary discussion of their looks.
However, what isn’t unfair is pointing out that Ford spends campaign funds on Armani suits and luxury hotel stays, parties with Playboy bunnies and raises money from celebrities in NY and Hollywood.
How does Harold Ford Jr. feel about illegal immigration, abortion, social security reform, estate taxes, earned income tax credit and gun rights.
THIS IS THE STUFF THAT AS A VOTER I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT.
I DO NOT GIVE ONE IOTA OF CONCERN ABOUT WHERE HE BUYS HIS CLOTHING, OR WHERE HE WEARS THAT CLOTHING.
March 24th, 2006 at 3:19 pm
Can someone please send me a book on “Tennessee Values” because many of the Tennesseans I have met down here have pictures of naked women in the garage next to their Harley. Will many women over the age of 50 like a picture like that? Probably not, but that is the same in all areas of the country. I think because we live in the Bible-Belt, you assume people have higher standards of morality, but they don’t. They simply have higher standards of morality for other people (ie Gay people).
March 24th, 2006 at 3:32 pm
I DO NOT GIVE ONE IOTA OF CONCERN ABOUT WHERE HE BUYS HIS CLOTHING, OR WHERE HE WEARS THAT CLOTHING.
Katherine, I agree issues are important and Ford is tough to peg down on any of those you listed. However, in my opinion the character of a candidate is just as important. I think it’s safe to say Ed Bryant, Bob Corker, Van Hilleary and Rosalind Kurita would not attend a Playboy party and would not spend money contributed to their campaign on frivilous items like Armani suits, luxury hotel stays and fine dining. These small details reveal a lot about who Ford really is and where his priorities are.
March 24th, 2006 at 3:36 pm
I am still trying to find the spot where I called Kavitha, specifically, a slut or a stripper.
Oh, wait. I didn’t. I merely pointed out that her image and text would portray her that way in the minds of some voters, and if they realize that Ford hired her to run his campaign at UT, they may not like it.
I then boiled that down into the snarky remark that being percieved as having a “Sluts for Ford” campaign strategy might not be a winning strategy.
Is she a slut? I don’t know. Would her photo and text on that website be enough to cause many a conservative senior citizen to consider her one? Yes.
And they might not like the idea of that kind of person being a part of Ford’s campaign.
March 24th, 2006 at 4:01 pm
Brittney, Gandalf,
Do y’all not have a sense of humor? Ford has a reputation as a player, and a history of going to Playboy Bunny parties, but he’s trying to pass himself off as a conservative in tune with Tennessee conservatives.
Now along comes his UT campus campaign chairman, putting up a half-naked picture of herself and bragging about doing a porn shoot to anger her boyfriend.
Of course we’re going to have fun with it.
And of course, if given the chance, we’ll ask Ford about it, and see how he dances around the question.
And then we’ll move on back to questioning why Ford is having so much trouble raising big money from actual Tennesseans, and then on to reminding people that he called the Kelo decision - allowing government to take your property for any reason it deems fit - a “positive” ruling.
March 24th, 2006 at 4:11 pm
Bill, you keep talking as if you are bashing Ford. I couldn’t care less if you bash ford, in fact I do it all the time. Its your, and Nathans, using this volunteer to do it. She did nothing illegal, unlike Bush’s kleptomaniac aids, yet she is being used as a prop to show Ford is morally loose. If you want to attack Ford, fine, just leave this girl out of it. Also, you used “Sluts for Ford” in the context of this picture, therefore by extension you called this girl a slut, whether you meant to or not.
March 24th, 2006 at 4:17 pm
My, this has turned into a breasticle festival just in time for Spring Break. Kudos for the Dems for putting a hot chick in charge. Now granted, she is rocking the “Girls Gone Wild” look. I am confident Kavitha will accomplish more among the Young Dems at UT than some patchouli-reeking, hacky-sack playing dude with multiple piercings.
I’m not saying that back in the day I would have put it all out there as a Political Science major…but I have to ask myself the bigger question, are her parents picking up the tab for her UT tuition? Because, 14 years ago, I would have been soooooo cut off financially and dragged back home to Nashville if I pulled a stunt like that.
March 24th, 2006 at 4:19 pm
My sense of humor is warped. I don’t laugh at calling women you don’t know sluts.
And, frankly, y’all’s excitement over this picture shows, to me at least, that all those corporate media articles about Republicans being very scared of Ford, Jr are right on the money.
March 24th, 2006 at 4:36 pm
I’m not scared of Ford. Polls show he will have trouble winning the general election. That’s because he’s a Ford, a liberal from Memphis, and his family is corrupt.
But I’m happy to do my part to help make his road a little more difficult. I would love it if the blog noise about the picture generated coverage in the MSM, if only because it would knock Ford off message for a day or so and force him to talk about Kavitha the semi-naked campus campaign chairman. And then the press might ask him about the Playboy bunnies… And I would enjoy watching the evening news for a couple of days…
March 24th, 2006 at 4:37 pm
Brittney…that made no sense at all. I found that site and died laughing. Maybe that David Bander jerk has something similar we can laugh at so we can show we hate men equally as much.
March 24th, 2006 at 4:42 pm
B-Ho
I would ask Ford about his campaign contributions, rather than some girl in his campaign. But silly me, I care about the issues.
March 24th, 2006 at 4:47 pm
I would love it if the blog noise about the picture generated coverage in the MSM
I bet you would love it. But it’s not going to happen any more than those Fancy Ford stories you were hoping for on local tv stations.
March 24th, 2006 at 4:48 pm
Bill has just demonstrated that he is all about some dirty politics. Not surprising.
March 24th, 2006 at 4:57 pm
Bob, I said before you have a tin ear, now you’re confirming it. You talk as if conservatives don’t go to Playboy parties. Why do you think Fred Thompson isn’t interested in leaving Hollywood? His thespian desires? If you all are pinning your hopes on this Fancy Ford nonsense, you all are seriously in need of group therapy. Next time I hear some Republican whining about the level of political discourse in this country I’ll remember this nonsense as a prime example. Besides, I know if you do ever run you are going to be praying for staffers that look like her. :p
Brittney,
I was thinking the same. They are scared shitless. However, I think there’s also some serious hater-ism going on here.
March 24th, 2006 at 5:20 pm
They are scared shitless.
No. Nor are they even scared by a (partially) shirtless person. They are just having a fairly typical reaction to women in politics. Either she’s mannish and can be disregarded for her lack of feminity or she’s feminine and therefore an inferred slattern.
None of this has jack shirtless to do with Ford’s actual campaign successes or failures.
Personally I don’t see Ford winning this thing. He’s too much of a partyschool candidate. He’s mistaken a fratboy joviality for “grassroots” support and has at yet to campaign on the issues. Republican voters will cross the aisle for strong issues (qed Bredesen) but generally not for personality. Ford has yet to run on anything other than personality, from what I can tell.
March 24th, 2006 at 5:40 pm
You people really need to get a life!!!!
March 24th, 2006 at 5:42 pm
It’s no wonder this country is going to hell in a handbasket, repuplicans have nothing better to do than worry about some picture!!
March 24th, 2006 at 5:48 pm
What? You gonna punch somebody in the mouth now, Jim?
March 24th, 2006 at 6:11 pm
I must say, the namecalling going on here is very mature. Where do you people get off calling a person you’ve never met and know nothing about ’slut’. Very chivalrous of you. Nice way to wave the conservative banner.
I’m a conservative myself, an officer of the College Republicans at UT actaully. So what if she put a pic up in a ‘hottest college girl’ contest? Its not exactly what I’d think of as being obscene. She’s a freaking campaing volunteer (i’d guess, as those positions are usually just held by volunteers). I’m sure you can find better things on Ford than that. If you can’t then you’re running pretty low on material.
Freaking smear campaigns…nothing makes me hate politics more than that. This is nothing more, and all you’re managing to do is sit behind your computer and insult a girl who has hardly done anything to you.
March 24th, 2006 at 6:11 pm
Some folks here are talking about the girl like she didn’t pose half-naked for a website that was all about half-naked college girls.
As for TV not doing the FancyFord.com stories, well, TV mostly gets its news from the newspapers and the Tennessean didn’t do the FancyFord story until Wednesday of this week, so the TV folks just found out about it.
March 24th, 2006 at 6:13 pm
Nathan, no one is smearing the girl. She is perfectly free to post that picture of herself. But she’s also running Ford’s campaign at UT - which means that it is fair to ask voters if they want a Senator who picks campaign chairpersons who post half-naked pictures of themselves on the interweb.
March 24th, 2006 at 6:14 pm
I guess we could talk instead about how Ford’s recent TV ad about the Dubai ports deal was loaded with lies.
March 24th, 2006 at 6:16 pm
Jim, no one is “worried” about the picture.
I’m rather happy about it as it’s existence - created not by the vast right wing conspiracy but by Harold Ford Jr.’s UT campus campaign chairman - may cause a few people to not vote for Ford.
I won’t vote against Ford because of the picture. I’ll vote against him because he’s a liberal and a whiner and thinks it is “positive” that the government be allowed to take your property for any reason it deems fit.
March 24th, 2006 at 6:33 pm
I think this lady should be mocked for her excessive use of exclamation points…
Nancy
March 24th, 2006 at 6:34 pm
I don’t like Ford. I don’t agree with his stances. But. The way people are handling this “scandal” is so ridiculous. People, seriously… she is a gorgeous girl, and I have done a little bit of research on her, and from what I’ve gathered Congressman Ford did not “pick her” she was the best qualified for her position. She has accomplished amazing things not just for the campaign, but also in the community and school as well. She is extremely able it appears and yes, it might not have been the best decision on her part, but she is absolutely breathtaking and I don’t see why it’s an issue if she wants to be beautiful and smart and a wonderful commodity to our future.
March 24th, 2006 at 6:42 pm
As I said above, she’s a volunteer, not an employee. She wasn’t picked or hired by Ford or his campaign.
I know the girl, very well as a matter of fact, and I know for a fact that you have no basis to refer to her as you did, Bill. She put up a picture to compete in what amounts to a freaking online beauty contest. You see more skin during a Miss America contest. Would you be jumping on the same thing if a Ford campaign volunteer was Miss America?
I mean, I’m not exactly what you’d think of as a big fan of Ford (there are better and there are worse people for the job, but that’s not the subject at hand here), but smearing her is not helping the anti-Ford campaigning.
March 24th, 2006 at 6:56 pm
I think that Harold Ford should fire her–immediately.
. . . Then she can come work with me on my campaign. Yes, it might offend some people’s sensibilities, but I guarandamntee you that I’d have some serious turnout at campaign events.
March 24th, 2006 at 7:14 pm
How come everytime a beautiful, intelligent woman, or girl, becomes powerful, people like you always try to put them down? If we deny a woman’s (or girl’s in this case) position of power everytime they are given it, we continue to oprress them, and we remain as uncivilized as a cave man.
I do not know this Kavitha, but I am sure that if any of you were to meet her you would see someone other than the person in the picture. How many of us have done something crazy that someone has caught in a picture?
This is just a pathetic attempt to divert the voter’s attention away from the issues at hand, because you know if the issues were brought up you wouldn’t have a leg to stand on. And worst of all it is at the expense of this poor girl. How low will you go ?
March 24th, 2006 at 8:21 pm
I do know Kavitha very well….I am her aunt…and I do know how hard she works and how determined she is to make a positive change in this world. How many of you sit on your asses and do nothing but judge others? So what if she entered a college contest and showed a little bit more than her face? Most of you are just jealous that you cannot or should not be photographed below the neck line. (Have another donut as you read this)
It is so easy for all of you to judge others without even knowing them. How many of you who are so critical have skeletons in your closet that you would not want opened? I say the famous words ” Let he who is without sin cast the first stone”. This will not hurt her image at all…..in fact you are giving her attention she deserves. P.S. If anyone is interested…..I have photos of her all the way back to DIAPERS to current bathing suit photos…will sell to the highest bidder ….so pass this on the the ENQUIRER. (Seems that is where most of you get your reading entertainment). tanjavenis@hotmail.com
March 24th, 2006 at 8:25 pm
People… this is funny. There is no hate. There is no sexism. Ha to there being a lick of fear. And this certainly has zero to do with any falsely perceived role of women in politics - a man doing this would have been eminently more entertaining. The overreaction is amusing. The picture (for politics) is horribly unprofessional. If this is going to represent Ford in East Tennessee, he’s sunk. It wouldn’t be so bad if he was actually qualified for even his current public office. Perhaps then the situation would be different.
March 24th, 2006 at 8:55 pm
Hey people go to this link it is very interesting!!!
http://www.sarahmoorenude.com
Does this represent what republicans stand for?? If so they are sunk!!
March 24th, 2006 at 9:27 pm
Excuse me?
March 24th, 2006 at 9:30 pm
Jim, don’t bring Sarah into this.
March 24th, 2006 at 9:33 pm
Thanks Sean.
March 24th, 2006 at 10:06 pm
I guess one way or another Jim is gonna punch somebody.
Talk about uncalled for!
March 24th, 2006 at 10:11 pm
Bringing this volunteer into the middle of this was uncalled for too. Don’t get me wrong what Jim said was uncalled for too!!
March 24th, 2006 at 10:38 pm
I have no problem with Kavitha posing half-naked or boasting about taking porn shots to anger her boyfriend’s ex, though if my daughter grew up to be like her I’d be extremely saddened. I do look forward to asking Harold Ford Jr. if he approves of her online exhibitionism.
March 24th, 2006 at 10:51 pm
My guess 90% of voters won’t even know about this!!
March 24th, 2006 at 10:53 pm
Bruce P, defending Kavitha, writes How many of us have done something crazy that someone has caught in a picture?
Bruce, this wasn’t something “crazy” that was “caught,” this was Kavitha deliberately posing for a half-naked picture, to be shared online with the world, accompanied by some rather x-rated text about doing a porn shoot to anger her boyfriend’s ex.
Stacy writes, Bringing this volunteer into the middle of this was uncalled for.
Uh. We didn’t drag her from obscurity and make this stuff up. She deliberately PUT HERSELF INTO THE SPOTLIGHT by doing two very public things - she chose to pose for the photo and have it used in the way it was, and she chose to become Ford’s UT campaign manager.
I agree with Nathan above - this isn’t about Kavitha’s right to pose for a half-naked photo, or about her being a woman with “power.” This is about her professionalism, or lack thereof. The photo was simply a bad choice by an immature college student. Most college students are immature.
But she’s not running for the Senate, Harold Ford Jr. is. The question is, can Ford, he of the Playboy Bunny parties and “player” reputation, convince voters he’s a middle-of-the-road guy who shares their values? And will having as his UT campaign chairman an immature girl who doesn’t know better than to peel off her clothes for a website help or hurt Ford as he makes his campaign?
It’s all about context. If a similar volunteer for, say, Van Hilleary, was found to have posed for a similar picture online, it would be seen by all not reflecting on Hilleary - because he has a solid reputation as a family man. But Ford’s reputation - Bunny parties, Hollywood values, player - and his connection to the most corrupt political family in Tennessee history - creates a context in which the antics of Kavitha raise more serious questions about whether Ford’s marketing image is based in reality or not.
March 24th, 2006 at 11:06 pm
Still 90% or more of voter won’t even have a clue about this!!!!
March 24th, 2006 at 11:16 pm
I disagree Bill. If one of Van Hilleary’s staffers had this in her past, the same people now saying that this is no one’s business, would be all over this story because it proves “hypocrisy.”
That’s part of the reason why I’ve made no comment about this (except for my snide remark about her working on my campaign–btw, there’s still an opening, Kavitha). I don’t have a dog in this fight. But I chastise both sides, because both would have opposite arguments were it the other “team” with the “scandalous” photos in their past.
March 25th, 2006 at 12:26 am
I’d hit it like it stole my lunch money.
March 25th, 2006 at 2:10 am
It’s website like this that degrade our country.
March 25th, 2006 at 7:58 am
First of all, until you show us a picture of Ford and Kavitha TOGETHER in a compromising situation….STOP LINKING THE TWO TOGETHER! If you don’t like Ford…Don’t vote for him…but stop blaming ONE pic of a beautiful girl on HIS issues. She is a young girl with a very bright future….I say ” Kavitha For President “!
March 25th, 2006 at 8:05 am
You’re right, it doesn’t say pornographic. That is a word Bill assigned to Kavitha that she never used.
Real nice.
March 25th, 2006 at 10:12 am
Three things.
First, one cannot argue she is not connected to Ford. She works for his campaign. No more silly statements.
Second, I’ve never seen porn labeled “porn” - you don’t get an FDA label on the stuff.
Finally, no more foul language. We don’t use it on this blog, and no one else will, either. If you’re going to post, at least act like civilized adults. The few offending comments have been deleted.
N
UPDATED So that I can count rite (sic).
March 25th, 2006 at 10:37 am
This is still going on?
Why are we going after a volunteer?
I’m sure if you call the campaign offices, they all have lists of thousands of volunteers that we can go on about after this one.
I agree, “Kavitha for President” I’d love to see her in public office just to shut all of you up! If Congressman Ford wins, it’d be great to see them work together and prove that petty things like this and the Playboy party are not reflections of one’s ability to serve the public as an elected official or staff member.
I still don’t completely agree with Ford’s stances, but I can assure you, the man has just gotten my vote simply because I haven’t seen his supporters acting this juvenile.
My message to Ford: Hire whoever you think is best fit for the job. I hope you win East TN by a landslide and I hope you take this girl with you to the federal life.
This is out of hand.
I’m ashamed to be sided with Republicans that are resorting to attacking a very young girl!
March 25th, 2006 at 10:42 am
I’m ashamed to be sided with Republicans that are resorting to attacking a very young girl!
Whoa. As much as I don’t side with those who have issues with this picture, I still think that her being a “girl” ought to be beside the point.
She was old enough to pose for the picture, and old enough to volunteer, and old enough to be in college and old enough to vote.
March 25th, 2006 at 10:57 am
I don’t have issues with the picture, Katherine. I’ve said repeatedly that Kavitha is perfectly free to pose for the picture, etc., etc.
My sole point has been that such a thing may reflect badly on Ford, for whom she works, and may cause some social-conservative voters to not buy into the image of Ford that Ford’s campaign is trying to sell - that of a nice conservative young man who shares Tennessee values.
We all know Ford wants people to forget his Playboy Bunny parties and such. This picture, if it’s existence becomes widely known, will make it more difficult for Ford.
March 25th, 2006 at 11:01 am
Is this girl a playboy bunny? Did I miss that in the mass of messages?
by the way, i’ve seen bathing suits that show more skin… would this be an issue if it were a bathing suit picture?
March 25th, 2006 at 2:08 pm
You guys are pathetic.
This is just unethical in my books. You guys should be ashamed.
A campaign for the Senate is not a babysitting service for college students.
Our Republican opponents cannot answer for nine trillion dollars in debt, unaffordable healthcare and prescription drugs, and an addiction to oil that threatens our security, and so they want to smear a college student.
But if it’s supporters they want to talk about, let’s have that debate. Van Hilleary should explain how his longtime financial backing from convicted felon Jack Abramoff and indicted felon Tom DeLay affected his voting record in Congress. And Bob Corker should explain his K Street support network of Washington lobbyists who are raising money for him to protect their power in
Washington.
That’s a debate worthy of the voters’ time and attention.
March 25th, 2006 at 3:06 pm
Oh look, Democratic talking points!
March 25th, 2006 at 4:25 pm
Oh look, actual issues!
March 25th, 2006 at 5:21 pm
I do hope you don’t actually believe that.
March 25th, 2006 at 8:30 pm
Oh look, actual issues!
Sorry, those aren’t “issues” any more than how Ford spends his money. The first paragraph may be, but the backing/funding issues are echo chamber stuff, as far as I’m concerned. Sure, it’s of passable interest how campaigns are funded. But frankly, I’m tired of hearing that garbage brought up.
I don’t care.
Note to politicians and their campaign staffers. I am a voter. What I want to hear is WHERE YOU STAND (not where your opponant is perceived to be standing) on major issues.
March 25th, 2006 at 9:25 pm
nine trillion dollars in debt, unaffordable healthcare and prescription drugs, and an addiction to oil that threatens our security
^actual issues
March 26th, 2006 at 12:41 am
The first paragraph may be, but the backing/funding issues are echo chamber stuff, as far as I’m concerned.
That’s what I meant by “the first paragraph”, although, technically speaking layout-wise, I suppose it was the third paragraph. Although since it was the first actual paragraph, as opposed to a sentence then that’s why I called it that.
Then again, as I look at it, it is not only a paragraph but a frighteningly long run-on sentence. So whatever.
But that’s the one that I meant when I said it had “issues”.
March 27th, 2006 at 2:59 pm
I know the furor is over, but a couple of points:
The “Fancy Ford / Very Fancy Frist” kerfuffle most definitely made the television news in Memphis. And I guaran-damn-tee you if there were similar photos of a male in the Bryant or Corker camp Brittney would most certainly link to them in a post with “Burn!!” in the title.
Ford’s problem is prematureness. He was premature in taking his father’s seat. He was premature in challenging Pelosi for the House Minority Leader post. He’s premature in running for the Senate. There are good reasons he did what he did, but his timing always seems premature.
March 27th, 2006 at 5:21 pm
It is not the actual sluttiness of the girl that matters, but the impact such a photo would have on elderly Tennessee voters - who vote in very large numbers - and what the photo would cause them to think about Harold Ford Jr. if they knew that Ford had selected that girl to run his campaign on the UT campus.
Further evidence that when Bill Hobbs talks moral principles, he actually means campaign strategy. I have no doubt that if he believed that the elderly actually voted positively based on such college photos, he would no doubt be singing the virtues of College Republicans posing for such pictures to get votes. Morality is become partisan.
March 27th, 2006 at 7:56 pm
S-Town Mike…educated in everything but the real world. Thanks for the comment.
March 27th, 2006 at 11:45 pm
The real world. Is that like those cocktail parties you said I wouldn’t be the life of?
March 27th, 2006 at 11:57 pm
I thought Ford had a thing for blondes… that chick’s not even close.
March 28th, 2006 at 7:15 pm
Blonde or brunette…according to Hollihan he would be a disappointment either way.
June 15th, 2006 at 4:53 pm
[...] Some have obviously proved right my prediction of hypocrisy. But others like Sean Braisted, have been consistent in their denunciation of personal smear politics. Good for him. Neither lady’s pictures are relevant to Tennessee’s future. [...]
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