[Marxism] Democrat seeks victory by being much less than an alternative

[Louis Proyect]

>It is anything but clear what kind of senator Ford will make if he can
>break that old curse. Some Democrats hope he'll edge back toward his
>original centrism; many expect him to join the small band of
>Congressional DINOs (Democrats in Name Only) led by Senator Joe
>Lieberman, whom Ford recently endorsed over Democrat Ned Lamont. But
>there is no question that Tennessee voters' verdict on November 7 will
>send a loud and lasting message about the viability of black Democrats
>in statewide (not to mention national) races. If Ford's ideological
>acrobatics and boundless charm can't make white voters look past the
>color of his skin, what will?

Look, the whole point is that Ford is a Republican, not a Democrat, 
that is a Republican vintage 1962 or so when people like Nelson 
Rockefeller ran the party. Bill Clinton put it this way: "We're 
Eisenhower Republicans here. We stand for lower deficits, free trade, 
and the bond market. Isn't that great?"

But of course, the hapless liberals will greet the election of Ford 
as a victory since he is not a Republican. Here's a useful article 
titled "Not Your Father's Democrats" from the latest Newsweek that 
features Ford on the cover:

In Washington, Ford was eager to prove his conservative bona fides. 
In his new job, he sought out the conservative Southern Blue Dog 
Democratic caucus and became one of only three African-American 
members. In his 10 years in Congress, he voted for the federal 
marriage amendment banning gay marriage, for the Patriot Act and for 
the war in Iraq. He named Ronald Reagan as one of his historical 
heroes. Ann Coulter called him "one of my favorite Democrats." Andrew 
Parmentier, a Republican consultant with the brokerage firm Friedman, 
Billings, Ramsey, and a former aide to Rep. Dick Armey, befriended 
Ford after repeatedly running into him in the Green Room at CNBC. "I 
wasn't quite prepared for how conservative he was on some of the 
social issues," Parmentier says. "I knew he was a business 
conservative, but it all [comes down to] the cultural issues. His 
faith is the No. 1 most important thing for him."

full: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15366095/site/newsweek/