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Harold Ford Jr. Changes Deadline to Announce Senate Run- AGAIN!

02/28/10-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
Today is the deadline for Harold Ford Jr., the former Congressman from Tennessee, to announce his candidacy for the Senate seat currently held by Kirsten Gilibrand. Or perhaps not. So far, his self appointed deadlines have come and gone repeatedly as Ford tries desperately to repair the damage his initial foray into New York politics has caused his political ambitions. While Ford claims that many Manhattanites support his bid for the Senate, it is unclear just how strong his support is outside New York City, and certainly his support among the LGBT Community within the City is not very strong. Unlike Gilibrand, Ford has been rather reticent about his record on LGBT rights, often skirting around the problem of his vote for the Federal Marriage Amendment.

Ford appears to be rather unhappy with the current climate when it comes to running for the Senate given that Governor David Paterson’s rather spectacular, if not unexpected, implosion has kind of driven almost everything else off the front pages in New York. Unfortunately for Ford, his run for the Senate may only be complicated by his associations with Bank of American, which is very unpopular outside of New York City and its environs. His attempts to smear Senator Gilibrand over her work for a tobacco company have largely backfired due to her own record in the House and Senate against tobacco interests. Unfortunately for Ford, his record seems to indicate a strong support for the Banking industry that many Americans blame for getting them into this current financial mess.

Ford is now on his fifth different self imposed deadline. Unfortunately for Ford, it is no longer beginning to look like caution but rather that he is dithering over his announcement.