The Second Of Three
In the heated race for the ninth congressional district. A televised debate took place tonight. It more resembled a sparring match between Steve Cohen (Democrat) and Jake Ford (Independent Democrat). Than a debate concerning the issues. Mark White (Republican)seems to have gotten lost , somewhere in the muddle. I saw several opportunities missed, for Mr. White especially. To capitalize on twisted facts. The candidates didn't do it though. I can see why Mr. Cohen would steer clear of these subjects. The truth would bury him. He has positioned himself in a defensive mode. Allowing Jake to initiate the attacks. I can't understand why Mr. White would hold back though. That's the only chance he has. Even with Jake Ford siphoning votes. It's a long shot at best. You have to stick with what got you, to the dance. The Republican platform is his lifeline. He doesn't have the charisma. To stand on his own appeal. He's not a Bill Clinton. Jake Ford is just going with the flow. Anything he gets will be more than he had at first. He doesn't have a platform. If you don't stand for something. You'll fall for anything.
I don't think these debates, have made much of a difference. I don't think there were many undecided voters anyway. Each candidate has enough, for or against him. To help you make up your mind. Steve Cohen has a good line, but a rusty hook. Mark White has a shiny hook, but a tattered line. Jake Ford just has a pole, stirring up the water. The sad thing is, it doesn't make a difference. What either of these men say. Most voters have their minds already made.
posted by Common at
10:58 PM
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12 Comments:
I responded to a post on another blog. That was obviously mostly occupied by Democrats. What this blog proved to me. Is that people aren't concerned about voting, for the right candidate. They shouldn't vote for Steve Cohen, because he has a socialist agenda. They shouldn't vote for Jake Ford either, because he's not ready. He may have a future in Memphis politics, but not as congressman right now. This race has been reduced to whether you support a rumored homosexual, that suppors same sex marriage. Regardless what he says he does. That only brags about the lottery. Which the people of Tennessee don't need. There has been a sharper rise in bankruptcies, crime and foreclosures. Than a rise in household incomes. Then we have Jake Ford. A rebel without a cause. Who has straightened up long enough, to realize his family's power. He is not so clueless. He doesn't recognize his brother's tater. That's why he's running for the seat. I wouldn't vote for him, but I don't blame him. Keep it in the family, if you can.
Notice how I didn't mention Mark White. Just like most of the posters haven't. When you consider all the people running. He had the most solid positions. And a verifiable history to boot. In spite of this. Many of you won't even consider voting for him. I wish he was more in-your-face. He could have a field day. Both of his opponents are ripe for the picking. I think he should just have some fun. He has nothing to loose. Be like Harold Ford Jr., it's all or nothing.
In March of 2005, Cohen was one of three Tennessee Senators to vote against the Tennessee Marriage Protection Amendment, which Tennessee voters will accept or reject via a referendum in November 2006.[5] During the course of the debate on the amendment, Cohen offered several amendments to the amendment, all of which failed, including the proposed addition of an "adultery clause," which said "Adultery is deemed to be a threat to the institution of marriage and contrary to public policy in Tennessee."[6]
Cohen is widely regarded as one of the Senate's toughest and most articulate debaters. He has an unusually straightforward and direct style when compared to many Southern politicians. One Tennessee writer described him as "very outspoken, very persistent, and a lot more cerebral than most of his colleagues."[3]
As of 2006, he is the only Jewish member of the Tennessee General Assembly and has been described as "probably the most liberal white member in the legislature."[3]
As someone out of town,looks like you guys are having a racial problem there.
Nobody has asked Mr. Cohen how he will vote on this.
Amendment 1
Marriage
Passage of the amendment would define marriage as being between one man and one woman.
Vote "Yes" it's just common sense.
He has already said he doesn't support same sex marriage.
Mark White's Platform
Defense
Great strides have been made in the war on terrorism. In the 5 years since 9/11 the U. S. has caught or killed a large majority of the top members of Al Qaida. We have liberated over 50 million people in Afghanistan and Iraq. Both countries are now on their way to becoming stable, representative democracies and allies of the United States in the war on terrorism and radical Islamic fundamentalism. On Iraq, the United States should continue to maintain a presence necessary to ensure the political stability and security of the new government until the Iraqis themselves can do so. We should only "stand down as the Iraqis are able to stand up."
Economy
The pro-growth tax cuts enacted by the Congress should be made permanent. It has been proven time and again that when the American worker gets to keep more of what he earns, the economy grows and Government revenues grow along with it. We need a Congress and Congressmen that will hold the line on Federal Government spending. We need to stop throwing the American people's money away on pork-barrel projects. When elected to Congress, Mark White will push for greater transparency and accountability and an end to the practice of "earmarking."
Education
The American public education system requires significant reform. The real goal of the public schools should be educating children, not pushing the agendas of teachers unions or other interest groups. When elected to Congress, Mark will support fundamental reform to our public schools to shift the focus from administrators and teachers to students. Mark believes that this shift will bring about real change in and is the only hope for the public schools.
Energy
The United States must change its approach to energy so as to implement common sense reforms aimed at energy independence. We should look to increase domestic oil exploration while providing incentives for conservation. We should look to increase our capacity and variety of energy production, placing a greater emphasis on energy not derived from oil. This means encouraging the refinement of "clean coal" as well as nuclear technology. If we worked towards a goal of generating all of our electricity without oil it would move the US a long way towards the energy independence that is necessary for the future security of our families and economy. When elected to Congress, Mark White will support policies such as these, which will help protect America's future.
Health Care
The United States has long had the finest health care system in the world. The problem facing out nation today is the large numbers of people who do not have access to the benefits of our healthcare system. When elected to Congress, Mark White will support policies that encourage free market solutions to this critical problem. One of the most important tools for providing affordable insurance for more Americans is the repeal of federal laws that currently unfairly prevent small and medium sized businesses from pooling their resources to buy healthcare plans for their workers.
Immigration
The United States has always been a country of immigrants. The process of legal immigration and assimilation has provided America with the social vitality and cultural richness that we enjoy today. But those who enter the country illegally short circuit this societal machinery and threaten the stability of our immigration system. Furthermore, a porous border lets in both those seeking work illegally and those seeking to engage in terrorist acts. When elected to Congress, Mark White will vote to secure our borders and reward those who seek to enter the United States in a manner that respects our laws.
Limited Government
The foundational principal of the American democratic experiment is that our government is one "of the people, for the people, and by the people." This means that we cannot look to the government to solve all of our problems for us, nor should we let the government wield the power to do so. A government that exercises unchecked power will inevitably exercise it to the detriment of the people. When elected to Congress, Mark White will remember that the Constitution places limits upon the authority of the federal government, and that the answer to some problems is personal responsibility, not an expanded Washington bureaucracy.
Small Business
The American economy depends on small businesses. 80% of all those employed in the United States work for a company of 10 employees or less. Small businesses create the majority of new jobs, which spur economic growth. When elected to Congress, Mark White will support policies that reward entrepreneurship and oppose those, such as the death tax, that harm small businesses.
Abortion
The danger is that our culture devalues human life and over time we become insensitive in other areas.
Abortion has become a means of birth control and not just a method to protect the life of the mother. The legacy of Roe v. Wade has been a significantly damaged legal system and culture, and a society-wide callousing of our attitude towards human life. When elected to Congress, Mark White will support efforts to restore sanity to our legal system so as to protect all human life from the moment of conception.
Marriage
Marriage is a sacred and ancient social institution: not a government creation. As such, the state possesses no authority to alter Western society’s definition of marriage as existing only between one man and one woman. Mark White supports the efforts of the respective states to defend the institution of marriage, and when elected to Congress, will support measures to prevent activist federal judges from using the fair faith and credit clause – or any other law – to force homosexual "marriage" on the states.
Stem Cell Research
The scientific and medical achievements of the last hundred years have been truly astonishing. The capacity to find treatments for once fatal diseases is one of our society’s best qualities, and should be encouraged. However, with the power promised by scientific research comes the responsibility of being faithful stewards of human life. It is simply not morally or ethically permissible to conduct research that destroys human embryos. When elected to Congress, Mark White will support measures to promote and fund the successfully continuing research using adult stem cells, but will oppose funding for research that destroys human life.
Steve Cohen's Platform
On his site he addressed several other issues.I tried to pick out those things that were similar, to his opponents. Go to
http://cohenforcongress.com
Crime and Personal Safety
Everyone has the right to feel safe at home, at the shopping mall, and on the street. I will do my best to motivate Congress to upgrade law enforcement agencies as well as prevention and treatment programs in Memphis.
I will keep constant attention on reducing importation, sale, and manufacture of meth, cocaine and crack. I will support education and treatment as an equal partner in the effort to eliminate drug addiction and associated criminal behavior.
People have a right to defend themselves and their homes and their right to do so should not be abrogated.
Education
If we fail in our duty to educate our children, they will fail in life. Improving education in Tennessee has always been one of my highest priorities.
For 20 years I was the driving force in establishing a Tennessee Lottery to provide money to support education. The lottery provided $265 million this year for scholarships, pre-K programs, after-school programs, and adult education to help Tennesseans succeed in a competitive world.
Over 60,000 Tennesseans have benefited from HOPE scholarships that would not have existed but for my steadfastness in pursuing this program.
The University of Tennessee and other schools have acknowledged the lottery as the reason for having the most talented students in their history.
The HOPE scholarships and the Wilder-Naifeh Tech grants will do more than any other legislation in Tennessee history to benefit our students and the future of all Tennesseans.
Environment
I am committed to ensuring access to clean water and clean air. Global warming is a threat to our planet and I will support measures to reduce the release of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which threatens our seacoasts, forests, reefs, and life, both human and animal. I have a solid legislative record for protecting the environment and my efforts have been recognized by the Sierra Club and other environmental groups.
How we treat the environment directly impacts our quality of life. I will place public health and environmental concerns ahead of corporate interests and greed. We have a responsibility to be stewards of God's earth and to leave it as good as we found it. Common sense tells us that we shouldn't allow our health to be endangered by politics.
I have sponsored:
The Tennessee Used Oil Collection Law,
The Tennessee Oil Spill and Environmental Preservation Act to prepare for natural disasters,
The Rare Plant Protection Act,
The Superfund bill providing for clean-up of hazardous waste,
Legislation protecting wetlands and city and state parks, and legislation offering incentives for carpooling and other energy conservation efforts.
Fiscal Responsibility
Spending by the Administration and Congress has been irresponsible and abusive for six years. They care little about the immense financial burdens they're forcing on our children. I will "just say no" to waste and special interests and vote instead to support needed social programs. Congress must act as a check on the executive, not a rubber stamp. I will work hard to stop massive pork barrel spending by both parties in Congress.
The combination of the massive national debt, immense annual budget deficits, and the huge negative trade deficit are serious threats to America. We should be alarmed that the stability of the American economy rests in the hands of foreign governments (starting with Saudi Arabia and China) from whom we have borrowed hundreds of billions of dollars. I will work with Congressman John Tanner on this important issue.
Personal debt is at an all-time high. Congress needs to take more leadership in counseling and assisting citizens to make choices that will not leave them hopelessly in debt.
Health Care
I support the principle that adequate health care is a fundamental right for every Memphian. The U.S. health care system works well for some and not at all for tens of millions. For normal working people in Memphis who have insurance coverage health care premiums, deductibles, and co-pays keep rising. Many have no healthcare benefits after retirement or divorce.
I strongly opposed TennCare cuts and proposed an alternative to keep hundreds of thousands insured.
I cast one of the essential votes as a County Commissioner to build The MED.
I secured money for the Brannon McCulloch Primary Health Care Center in Binghamton, for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and for The MED.
Memphis has the highest rate of infant mortality among the 60 largest cities in the U.S. Babies here die at twice the national average. The most frequent cause is premature birth attributable to bad nutrition, addictions (drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes), lack of transportation, and lack of education about pre-natal behavior and care. I'll work to obtain money to improve pre-natal health care (including counseling) and better access to health care for children.
Medicaid and Medicare are part of the humanitarian safety net that represents the best of America. I will work hard to support them and allow states more flexibility in its Medicaid (TennCare) plans.
I favor permitting importation of high-quality, lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada. The Food and Drug Administration should serve the people not the drug manufacturers.
I will seek to increase funding for research into the cause and treatment of Alzheimer's, AIDS, cancer, and diabetes.
I will fight for a fair relationship between the way corporate executives provide health care for themselves, before and after retirement, and the way they treat employees.
Immigration
With such a complex issue, the wisest path may emerge through debate. In the meantime, I suggest agreement on certain principles.
Immigrants now in the United States illegally should be treated humanely.
Issues of illegal immigration should be clearly distinguished from issues of national security. The solutions are very different.
The U.S. has two very long and often lightly populated seacoasts and thousands of miles of land borders. While sporadic physical fences might have a limited deterrent effect on illegal immigration, they would be useless in accomplishing anti-terrorism objectives.
Proposed solutions should keep in mind the impact on Americans who compete with immigrants for low-wage jobs.
Job Security
I will give priority to preventing loss of jobs overseas. This includes providing better training and education for our prospective workforce. It means making policy choices that some jobs will be kept at home because national security and economic security are more important than maximizing profit.
Pension security is an extension of job security. I will look to ensure that corporations are not permitted to raid their pension funds, leaving them inadequate to meet commitments.
Fairness demands addressing the unconscionable differences between the amount corporate executives pay themselves and what they pay workers. CEOs now pay themselves an average of 431 times what they pay the average worker. If a worker's pay had increased at the same rate the executive's has that worker would be making $101,000. The CEO of EXXON MOBIL collected $70 million in compensation his final year and an extra $400 million in retirement benefits.
The minimum wage of $5.15 per hour has not been increased in more than nine years. At that wage, a full-time worker earns less than $11,000. I will fight to increase that wage as I've done in the General Assembly. Congress has increased its pay through a cost of living escalator, nearly $30,000 since the minimum wage was set at $5.15. Apparently Congress understands the increasing cost of living but not for the lowest paid workers. This is shameful.
I have consistently supported legislation that has helped Memphis prosper as America's distribution center. The airport is the economic engine of the 9 th District. Many Tennesseans improve worker skills through lottery-funded grants at Tennessee Technology Centers.
Social Security
People, especially those with low incomes, are understandably worried about the future stability of Social Security. The biggest threats to Social Security, in addition to Congressional spinelessness, are the massive U.S. debts that have been allowed to undermine the economy in the past six years. I will work to strengthen Social Security. I oppose the Bush "private accounts" designed to create a windfall for Wall Street.
Jake Ford doesn't have one. He posted his e-mail address. I guess so someone could write and suggest one.
Email: Jake@jakefordforcongress.com
In all good conscience I cannot and will not vote for Steve Cohen, though the laws on the books have chang
After considerable agitation, a comprehensive criminal code revision was enacted in 1989. The crime against nature law, with a 5-15-year felony penalty was replaced by a misdemeanor law made applicable only to people of the same sex. Coming as it did after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Georgia law and during the AIDS crisis, the action of the legislature was not surprising. However, a specific right to privacy was identified under the Tennessee constitution by the state’s Supreme Court and that right was used to strike down the sodomy law in 1996.
While Cohen claims he's not gay, along with Carol Chumney, both are lying. It's for that reason and that alone, that I won't vote for Cohen. If he lies and decieves on one issue, he will on that of another.
On the other hand.. Jake Ford was never in the running.. He won't get my vote, nor the votes of members of my family, we're black. Jake is an embarassment to me as a black woman, and should be to others as well. He's not groomed, not educated and has a probmem with anger.
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