for doing what the Congressman refused to do, endorsing Steve Cohen for Congress.
While I am as far from putting a Re-Elect Herenton sign in my yard as you can get, I have to hand it to him for seizing the day with his remarks on what's left of the "Ford machine". He did what needed to be done, and stood up for the Democratic nominee; given his past history, this was unexpected and appreciated.
I'm not going to go as far as Polar Donkey and say he's unbeatable, but he has absolutely claimed the local party for himself with this act, at least for the time being.
Freedonian notes that Herenton "drove a wedge between those who support Cohen and those who support Harold Ford Jr.", and that may well be true.
The fact of the matter is that, since The Don took his lobbying business to DC and Miami, he has lost what pull he has in this town, and I wonder if he has any influence at all on his sons any more, since all of them seem to be making stupid mistakes. Junior runs away from Memphis as he were ashamed to be from here, and Jake continues a campaign that, in the long run, will not get him elected to Congress, but could keep his brother from getting to the Senate.
With this vacuum, Willie Herenton has stepped up to the mantle and said to the Fords, "This is MY town now, boys, you only live here". What changes that will bring have yet to be seen, but it will make for an interesting rest of 2006 and all of 2007.
4 comments:
Larsha putting that resolution forward to endorse Jake doesn't seem too crazy now. Crafty more like it. It turned the screws on Jr and put a wedge between Ford and Cohen supporters. All the while, setting the stage for Herenton to look like the good-guy and put the smack down on Jr if continued to be a BIG DUMMY and didn't endorse Cohen. Larsha was a wiley fox in this. The thing is, tonight is the EXCOM meeting at which the big debate would have been Larsha's resolution. That issue is now settled and probably will not even come to the floor. Bravo Larsha, that was a smart trap laid for Jr.
Frank, how was it resolved?
Excellent post, Cracker. And thank you for the reference.
Here's the genius of it that will make Herenton tough to beat next year: He's made himself the new AC Wharton.
AC gets the support of white voters because he's the "safe" black candidate standing next to Willie Herenton.
Herenton has found a family of politicians that he looks "safe" standing next to. He's differentiated himself from a family that has worn out its welcome poltically (Unless some new blood like Joe Jr. comes along and redeems the name).
Also, he's taken away HFJ's ability to define himself as the low carb, fat free version of the Ford family. He might as well be John after yesterday.
I think Larsha's resolution is settled because both Herenton and Wharton have made public their positions on this situation. Who's going to vote for the resolution now? Hardly anyone was going to vote for it anyway, but it was effective in its primary goal of turning the screws on Jr. Since that's been acomplished, why even bring it to the floor for debate or a vote tonight.
Willie has always had the Fords as a foil, I don't think it helps him in the next election. Who will remember this then---- it's big, but not big-picture big.
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