Harold Ford refuses to apologize for calling his GOP opponents "The Three Stooges." It's too late anyway. Even the Republican website is broadcasting the news.
And I'm getting Google Alerts for the "Three Stooges of Tennessee."
Besides, if anyone deserves an apology, it's Larry, Curly and Moe.
The three conservatives - Ed Bryant, Van Hilleary and Bob Corker - are relentless in their efforts to beat each other up as not really conservative. On the issues, they are almost identical, but we are supposed to believe that only one of them is the one true blue conservative.
Or, as Van Hilleary tells it, there is only one "strong, sincere, solid, conservative." And, only Van is the "sincerely conservative Republican."
The insults the Three Stooges of Tennessee have hurled at each other include: "Tennessee's mini-version of a Bill Clinton-John Kerry clone"; "immature"; "deceptive"; "Wizard of Oz in this race"; "not a serious adult"; "a walking, talking hypocrite"; "The candidate of choice of K Street lobbyists" -- and more.
It sounds like a comedy act to me.
In Harold Ford's view, "They really need to grow up. They should be running a race that is worthy of the intellect, needs and aspirations of the people of this state. I watch them at times and I'm a little embarrassed to hear them raise their voices, yelling, sounding like children at times."
Fox News thinks Ford should apologize:
GIBSON: Are you going to apologize?
REP. HAROLD FORD JR., D-TENN.: Apologize for what?
GIBSON: Calling the three guys "The Three Stooges"?
FORD: Look, the horrible things they've said about me, that was probably the nice thing I said about the level of discourse among the three of them. The conversation and the debate they're having is beneath voters in our state. The awful and terrible things they're saying about one another reminds you of kindergarten.
Columnist Larry Daughtrey offers a summary of the political discourse of Larry, Curly and Moe:
Bob Corker is a lying, ethically-challenged tax-raiser who is in cahoots with an abortionist, the architect of Don Sundquist's income tax and, most shocking of all, is suspected of being a closet moderate. Plus, there are steamy pictures of his daughter on the Internet.
Ed Bryant and Van Hilleary are the Bobsey Twins of the GOP, Washington insiders who busted the budget with record high deficits, carried buckets of water for Tom DeLay and Newt Gingrich, took dirty Indian gambling money from Jack Abramoff and fattened themselves as Washington lobbyists.
If you were an unsophisticated voter, you might think Senate candidates would talk about what the rest of us talk about: record gas prices, health care, that bothersome unaccomplished mission in Iraq. But you would be wrong.
This race is going to set a record for nastiness in Tennessee politics.
Thanks to Alice for the appropriate graphic.
Three Stooges Politics Van Hilleary Ed Bryant Bob Corker 2006 Tennessee Harold Ford U.S. Senate Frist