TN-Sen: Corker deserves award for dirtiest campaign

We all remember the type of strategy that the GOP invoked against Max Cleland in 2002 and John Kerry in 2004.  We also remember the smears by the Bush Campaign in South Carolina against John McCain in 2000.  What is happening in this year's Tennessee Senate race is far worse.  What we have is a combination sleazy push polling, the smearing of a family and false sex allegations -- the grand trifecta!  It's as if the Corker Campaign is afraid to address the most important issue: our strategy in Iraq.

First, let's start with the push polling.  As early as late last month, it became known that the Republicans were conducting push polling down in Tennessee in an effort to smear Ford.  If you don't know what push polling means, it's when a campaign worker disguises as a pollster and calls undecided voters and asks questions in order to make a point -- like, "If you knew that 'Candidate A' was a liar and hurt children, would you vote for that candidate?"  That sort of thing.  The Corker Campaign is using this tactic, according to a primary source:

The Corker camp has sunk even lower as they are now using unethical push polling to lie about Congressman Ford and his family.

How do I know?  Simple.  They called my dad.

During this call, my dad informs me that the person that worked for Corker asked him several questions like the ones below:

• "Asyou may know, Harold Ford Jr.'s family has a long record of being introuble with the law. Would this make you more or less likely or nodifference in voting for Harold Ford Jr.?"

• "As you mayknow, Harold Ford Jr.'s family has a record of committing voter fraud.Would this make you more or less likely or no difference in voting forHarold Ford Jr.?"

But push polling is just one example of the sleazy campaign that Corker is running.  A few weeks ago, Corker launched a personal attack against Ford's family.  He accused Ford's family of engaging in machine-type politics.  Clearly, Corker is trying to make this race about Ford's father, not the actual Democratic candidate himself.

Lastly, and the most outrageous, the Republicans released an ad that called Ford a "churchgoer by day and playboy by night."  There is even a Republican front group called Fancy Ford, which portrays the Democrat as someone that "parties with playboy playmates."

Again, we have a war going on in Iraq.  People are dying.  A half a trillion dollars has been spent.  And the Tennessee race has turned into this?

We have got to help Harold Ford raise money for television ads so he can speak out against this Republican attacks, and speak in favor of a REAL exit strategy in Iraq.  I strongly urge all of you to consider donating $5, $10 or even $15 to the Ford campaign.  We can't sit around and do nothing when the political debate drops to an all-time low.