Tonight's debate will take place in Nashville at Vanderbilt University’s Ingram Hall. It will be town-hall style in front of a live audience at 7 p.m. (central).
You can see it across the state via CBS affiliates. C-Span will also carry it.
At least three different groups of protesters will be there.
Protesting Homophobia
Vote No on One will be present, out front, with signs, about 6 p.m. I heard about this via email, there's nothing on their website at this time.
Protesting Exclusion of Third Party Candidates at Senate Debates
Green Party candidate Chris Lugo will be on hand for a protest over his exclusion from the debates, "which he has petitioned to be included in for the past two months. 'I believe that Tennesseans have a right to hear from their candidates. Tennesseans want to know what their candidates think, where they stand on issues, but here they are excluding the candidates from being heard. So I am going to have to stand outside of the debates with my friends from the Peace Coalition and hope that they hear us from out here.'"
Protesting U.S. Occupation of Iraq
Nashville Peace Coalition Rally:
GIVE PEACE A VOICE Calls for End to Occupation of Iraq
"'We will be gathering on the evening of the most important statewide debate in Tennessee to call attention to the ongoing occupation of Iraq,' said Nini Thomas of the Nashville Peace Coalition, 'This has been the deadliest month for US casualties in over a year and we want to know why Americans are continuing to die in Iraq. Tennesseans want to know what our candidates are going to do to get us out of this quagmire.'"
I haven't heard of anything planned for inside Ingram Hall, but there is a whole lot of anger going round. Since Ford made his infamous homophobic statement on the New Jersey court ruling, I've heard no less than a dozen liberals say they've changed their minds; they cannot vote for him.
Ford's homophobia is getting to all of us. Pundits across the nation keep telling us that Tennessee is just like this, homophobia is what it takes to win in Tennessee. Only conservatives can win in Tennessee. Yeah, cause the last time the Democratic Party backed a liberal in this state, a liberal who argued for equal rights for all, s/he lost. Maybe Tennessee is just like this because all our choices are this Republican rightwinger or that Democratic rightwinger!
I keep saying it, I'll say it again - no lefty in their right mind is going to vote for Harold Ford the individual candidate. We are going to vote for Feingold and Kennedy; we are going to vote for the Democratic Party. Ford is merely a vehicle, a pawn. If he wins and the Dems control the Senate, there will not be any more Hate Amendments at the federal level, and the Dems will have the power to stop Bush from appointing another crazy righwinger to a lifetime position on the Supreme Court, maybe they will even stop him from bombing Iran. This is not the time for a protest vote. Gawd I hate to vote for Ford. But I will. End of rant.
Harold Ford Politics Bob Corker Tennessee Nashville Chris Lugo Green Party Ford vs. Corker Debate News Nashville Protest
