Video Of Harold Ford: “I’m Pro Life”
With the chatter growing louder about “conservaDem” and DLC chair Harold Ford’s possible Senate primary challenge to Kirsten Gillibrand, Dems are pointing out that his candidacy might be somewhat hindered by the fact that he’s long been against abortion — not a popular position among New York Democrats.
Now the pro-choice group NARAL has unearthed some video of Ford in 2006 repeatedly and unequivocally describing himself as “pro-life,” and even appearing to speak approvingly of the idea of “outlawing” abortions on a Federal level:
Ford repeatedly denies having ever been pro-choice. And in an interview with Tucker Carlson during his failed Tennessee Senate run in 2006, he tells Tucker Carlson: “I’m pro-life, Tucker.”
When Tucker asks him how he’d use his vote in the Senate to restrict abortion, Ford adds: “We’re gonna teach people the difference between right and wrong. How come your party hasn’t offered legislation to in the Congress or the Senate to outlaw abortions?”
Now Ford is mulling a run in a state where even Republicans are pro-choice, as a smart colleague points out, and the above vid is perfect fodder for a Dem primary campaign ad. Ford would rally liberals and women against him, and with this kind of stuff (and presumably much more) floating around, it’s hard to see why you’d take his potential candidacy seriously.
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As a Republican activist and commentator, I’ve followed Harold Ford Jr. in the big race for Senator here in Tennessee.
While he is characterizing himself as pro-life in that he has worked to promote legislation encouraging life and discouraging abortion, no one in Tennessee would say that he’s ever said he was for outlawing abortion.
If the entirety of that clip were played, you’d probably see Jr. calling out Tucker as a Republican. I’ve heard him say this here, that is, that Republicans had the majority, we didn’t we put up the bill to outlaw it? The implication is that it’s a convenient political issue to keep the pro-lifers stirred up.
I wish Jr. were truly pro-life, but he’s not. But his view of not criminalizing abortion but yet setting limitations is a view shared by a majority in this nation. New York? I don’t know.
Meant to say “why didn’t we [Republicans] put up the bill to outlaw it [abortion]?