Chauffeured Ford

Shorter Harold Ford, former Tennessee congressman, turned banker/TV pundit, turned wannabe Senator from the Great State of New York: Universal health care would cost New Yorkers money but doing something about excessive pay at banks violates the very tenets of Holy Capitalism.

Greenwald has more, and DougJ at Balloon Juice wonders about what kind of future "access" the million bucks per year Ford's been earning from BofA will buy the bank should Ford get elected to the Senate (or head the DNC).

It is funny, as Greenwald points out, that we find ourselves rallying around Kristen Gillibrand considering that when Gov. Patterson appointed her, the collected response was either "WTF?", or, "Who?" She was an upstate Blue Dog congress woman who reflected the views of her conservative district, much like Ford in Tennessee. I think the difference is that she has transformed herself in deeds more than words, becoming rather reliably progressive (Ford would say Schumer's and Reid's minion). Ford, on the other hand, will not even admit that his "former" pro-choice, flag-burning amendment-supporting, anti-gay, seal the border with Mexico, and I love the NRA stances were reflections of the people he represented. Now he wants us to believe that proclaiming himself "pro-choice" was some kind of framing instrument.

Mr. Ford twice voted for legislation in the House that would make same-sex marriage illegal. In 2006, when Tennessee voters considered a ballot initiative to outlaw the practice, he vowed to support it. “I oppose gay marriage,” he said at the time.

But in the interview, he said he had changed his mind. He said that he had endorsed civil unions since entering Congress, and that, after watching the debate about marriage unfold in state legislatures and courtrooms, his position had evolved.

“I don’t think it’s a great leap to go from civil unions to gay marriage,” he said. “I may be in the minority in believing that. But I don’t think there is.”

When pressed, he said he would seek to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriage, and said he would “revisit” the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

Mr. Ford has repeatedly described himself as “pro-life,” and has voted to ban a procedure opponents call partial-birth abortions and to require that minors receive parental consent before receiving an abortion.

In the interview, however, he said: “To describe me as pro-life is just wrong. I am personally pro-choice and legislatively pro-choice.”

Explaining the previous remarks, he said he refused to cede “the language of life” to the political right. Mr. Ford said that he had always supported abortion rights, but that when he campaigned in Tennessee, he used the phrase “pro-life” more broadly to highlight what he saw as the hypocrisy of Republican policies that denied benefits to returning war veterans, or equal pay to National Guardsmen.

He said he would not abandon his opposition to partial-birth abortion and support for parental consent, saying that if a 15-year-old girl cannot see an R-rated movie without an adult, she should not receive an abortion without a parent’s permission.

He supported Congressional legislation in 2006 to allow local police officers to investigate and arrest illegal immigrants, despite the objections of many advocates and lawmakers, like Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who said it would discourage people from cooperating with the police. He says his views on the subject have changed.

“I have come to better understand the issue,” he said. “Empowering local enforcement to do what federal law enforcement was not doing seemed to make sense in my state,” he said, referring to Tennessee. Mr. Ford, a member of the National Rifle Association, also voted for legislation to limit lawsuits against gun makers, and he cast one of the few Democratic votes for a bill to repeal the District of Columbia’s restrictions on guns.

When asked about the tough restrictions that mayors in New York and Newark have put in place, however, he said, “All of Mayor Bloomberg and Mayor Booker’s efforts in the region, I support.”

The only constituency he seems to genuinely be beholding to now is Wall Street.