Louisville Metro Councilwoman Tina Ward-Pugh (from my district) is expressing doubt about the candidacy of Barack Obama. That’s right– Tina, a progressive among progressives, is spreading this tired crap through the media.
All this after it became clear that Clinton would be officially backing Obama by the end of this week. Click here to watch the video.
From WHAS11’s Joe Arnold: Metro Council member Tina Ward-Pugh says she’s not convinced that Obama has what it takes to be president… Ward-Pugh says she wonders what the nine weeks between now and the convention will reveal about Obama.
Referring to Obama as an empty suit (and she did) is absolutely disgusting. Tina says she hopes to be a delegate to the DNC and we’ve just gotta say: that shouldn’t happen. Any Democrat who can’t fall in line like an adult when their candidate of choice loses doesn’t deserve delegate status. We understand being upset or disappointed, but this is ridiculous.
Tina, Tina, Tina. It’s time to take a chill pill lest your neighborhood of 99% Obama supporters prevents you from holding on to that Metro Council seat. And don’t think for a second that we can’t do it. It’s time to stand up and be a Democrat.
The presidential primary is over. It is time to move on. Obama has a lot of work to do to win over Kentucky voters and that won’t be accomplished if people like Tina continue to spread ignorant and unnecessary doubt. Sure, some of you say you’ll be voting for John McCain. Sure, some of you may do that. But get over yourselves.
P.S. It pisses me off that a woman who has experienced so much discrimination and hardship as an out lesbian and elected official would have such negative things to say about the first African-American to win the Democratic Party’s nod for the presidency. Tina Ward-Pugh has some serious apologizing to do and some major fences to mend.
Here’s the number to Tina’s office: 502.574.1109. Why don’t you start calling her to express your concern that she’s not a real Democrat? Or you may click here to contact her via email. Tina’s assistant is Mary Rose Beyerle and you may contact her at 502.574.3908 or via email here.
UPDATE @ 2: Hey, Tina, this thing has gone national. Take a look.
Ready to apologize to your constituency or are you still standing on ignorant arguments?
We’ve been your biggest fan in the past and will continue down the road of being a fan. But you need to suffocate this thing before it gets bigger.
UPDATE @ 3:44: Tina just responded on our post at The ‘Ville Voice:
Tina Ward-Pugh // Jun 5, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Thank you for the opportunity to respond to your misrepresentation of what I said when asked by a reporter “what now.” Yesterday was the day after my candidate’s opponent reached the 2118 to become the presumtive nominee. As was the case with Senator Clinton in her remarks Tuesday night, I congratulated Sen. Obama for his efforts and made no disparaging remarks about him. I also said in the interview that I would not be working against him in any way and that like millions of us, we were going to use the next 9 weeks until the convention to peel back the layers that we’ve seen so far to learn more about what was underneath. To say the day after the end of the primary contests that I believe Sen. Clinton is the stronger candidate in the fall in no way suggests that I won’t vote for the Democrat in the fall. On the contrary. I will be voting for the Democrat in the fall but I also recognize the reality that Sen. Obama needs to spend the next 9 weeks earning millions of votes. When Senator Clinton was asked by Wolff Blitzer what she would say to the 40% of her supporters who would not vote for anyone other than her in the fall, she didn’t hesitat to say, “I would tell them they are making a grave mistake.” Is it too much to ask of Senator Clinton’s supporters to remain loyal to her until she DOES declare definitively what she plans to do in the coming weeks? I don’t think so and so I’m awaiting her announcement as are many others. If that is too much to ask or in some way diminishes the presumptive nominee–and I don’t see how it does– then we’ll simply have to disagree on that. Thanks again for the chance to respond.
28 responses so far ↓
1 Terri // Jun 5, 2008 at 10:47 am
She’s my councilwoman, too. Very, very disappointing. I mean, hell. How many times does that man have to prove himself? STOP IT!
2 3CardNana // Jun 5, 2008 at 11:02 am
Why does opposing Obama automatically = discrimination? Perhaps she’s concerned about his experience and abilities. Wouldn’t judging someone by the content of their character be the ultimate in breaking racial boundaries?
3 jake // Jun 5, 2008 at 11:04 am
Oh, please.
This is the equivalent of Ron Paul’s people freaking out because their dude didn’t win the nod.
4 wilbur // Jun 5, 2008 at 11:34 am
Mary Rose has had a Obama sticker on her car for awhile now………..
5 jake // Jun 5, 2008 at 11:36 am
wilbur: It’s nothing personal against Mary Rose. She just happens to be Tina’s assistant and one of the only people who can get to her immediately.
6 3CardNana // Jun 5, 2008 at 11:39 am
Are we going to start seeing homemade “Who is Hillary Clinton?” signs sprouting up around town?
7 UK Alumni // Jun 5, 2008 at 11:40 am
This is another example of weak leadership at the KDP. Jennifer Moore should be following the state party’s own by-laws in supporitng Barack Obama.
She should be out there in the state TODAY preparing the ground for the Obama presidential campaign.
That’s her Danged job for heaven’s sake.
8 Peg duncan // Jun 5, 2008 at 12:52 pm
She’s a democrat and whether or not she agrees with the nominee is irrelevant. SHE IS A DEMOCRAT FIRST and should act like one. If she cannot behave like a loyal party member she should be put out to pasture.
9 Hemlock // Jun 5, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Very, very sad and coming from another lesbian, she should swallow her pride, and get over herself. Obama has shown plenty of experience and ability, in fact look how wonderful our country has been run by the (ahem) experienced!
2 other people ran for the presidency with the same amount of experience as Obama — Abraham Lincoln and JFK. I don’t think they were all that bad, in fact they probably are two of the most remembered in political history.
10 jake // Jun 5, 2008 at 1:03 pm
This whole lesbian/homo/gay thing shouldn’t overshadow the rest of my argument. I happen to be a huge homo (or swishy bastard, in the words of Joe Sonka) and think a person who has struggled should be able to recognize another person’s struggle.
It has nothing to do with race.
And everything to do with the fact that this man made his way to the very top. Calling him an empty suit with non-specific language is the epitome of ignorance in my book. Even John McCain isn’t an empty suit and he’s older than dirt and is probably an inch away from forgetting everything.
Tina’s language reeks of the talking points I’ve heard the past few days from the ‘Hillary Rapid Responders’ email list. She can’t even come up with her own, which is even more sad.
11 Michael // Jun 5, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Maybe Kentucky deserves to be left out of the loop over the next four years. I’m from West Virginia, and thankfully we have Byrd, Rockefeller, Mollohan, and Rahall to make up for the idiocy and backwardness of our populace. Kentucky has no one.
12 jake // Jun 5, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Michael: What’s worse is Tina is arguably the most liberal council woman in the most liberal district of the most liberal city in the Commonwealth.
Awkward.
13 It's a Lost Cause // Jun 5, 2008 at 1:32 pm
I second Michael’s sentiment. Kentucky’s a lost cause for a while, and it’s precisely because people like Tina and the powers-that-be at the KDP don’t offer any leadership. It’s all about power, no leadership.
14 Judy // Jun 5, 2008 at 1:35 pm
I just called and emailed Tina to express my disappointment with her mean-spirited comments about Obama. Maybe she does not know that many prominent Clinton supporters from across the country were invited to Obama’s speech on Tuesday and and given the royal treatment — which they appreciated. Obama met with them personally after his apeech. You can read the reports about this first step toward party unity, which apparently was lost on Ward-Pugh.
I also requested a meeting with Tina to discuss her WHAS interview and recommend that others do the same.
15 UK Alumni // Jun 5, 2008 at 1:51 pm
I also called and sent an Email.
And there’s a thread up at DailyKos about it as well.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/6/5/123330/3061/640/530228
16 Yellow Dog // Jun 5, 2008 at 2:00 pm
No one?
Lost Cause?
Have you people ever heard of Proud Louisville Liberal John Yarmuth?
U.S. Representative to Congress from the Third District of Kentucky?
Ring a bell?
Bless Robert Byrd forever for his lonely, courageous stand against the Iraq clusterfuck starting in 2002, but John Yarmuth is the future of the Democratic Party, the future of Liberalism, and the Future of Kentucky.
Sheeesh!
17 Roger // Jun 5, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Remember what the Iranians did during Jimmin Carters’s term. Electing Obama would be giving Carter a second term.
18 jake // Jun 5, 2008 at 2:57 pm
CRACK SMOKER ALERT!
How on earth could Barack Obama be compared to Jimmy Carter?
Peanut farmer in one hand and longtime community organizer in the other (just ignoring the political experience of both)…. who would you pick to run the world? Yeah, not Mr. Peanut.
Get real.
19 Joe Arnold/WHAS11 // Jun 5, 2008 at 3:31 pm
In the interest of clarity, I should mention that “empty suit” was not a quote from Tina Ward-Pugh, but my attempt to summarize a series of statements in which she questioned the substance behind Obama’s rhetoric and that she was “not convinced that there’s enough there to lead this country.”
Secondly, Ward-Pugh did not seek out the media for comment. To the contrary, I camped out outside the Metro Council chambers waiting for an opportunity to speak with her. She was agreeable to the interview, but it was only after I requested it on the phone and in person. Given how passionately she has supported Hillary Clinton, I thought she would be the perfect person to comment on the contest, and Ward-Pugh did not disappoint.
On a side note, I had quite a few other private conversations with Clinton supporters on Wednesday who were equally unconvinced of Obama’s abilities and used even more blunt language in the process. It backs up Ward-Pugh’s belief that she is merely “the tip of the iceberg.”
20 jake // Jun 5, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Joe–
Many thanks for chiming in!
While “emtpy suit” was your attempt at a summary, it’s no different than what Tina actually said to you. In all honesty, her language was much more damaging.
The fact that you as an honest journalist camped outside Tina’s office to score an interview doesn’t change what she said on-camera. She is wholly responsible for that.
Someone should interview Olivia Morris Fuchs on-cam so she can complain about how she’s voting for John McCain or whatever. That’d be great television!
Honestly, though, the interview with Tina was great and relevant. Mirrors exactly what’s going on among Hillary’s supporters in Kentucky.
21 UK Alumni // Jun 5, 2008 at 4:11 pm
Dictionary: petulant (pĕch’ə-lənt)
adj.
Unreasonably irritable or ill-tempered; peevish.
Contemptuous in speech or behavior.
[Latin petulāns, petulant-, insolent, from petere, to assail.]
petulance pet’u·lance or pet’u·lan·cy n.
petulantly pet’u·lant·ly adv.
22 CollegeDem // Jun 5, 2008 at 7:13 pm
John Yarmuth, Ben Chandler, Daniel Mongiardo- Kentucky isn’t entirely a lost cause on party leadership- those three saw the inspiration, leadership, and drive for substantive change to politics as usual that Obama brings, and support him publicly, despite the criticism that they have all received for their endorsements.
I am disappointed in Tina and in a lot of other Clinton supporters, there comes a time at the end of a primary when it is no longer about a person, it’s about coming together behind the ideals of the party, and uniting against the often detrimental policies of the national Republicans.
23 Not My Real Name // Jun 5, 2008 at 10:24 pm
What Tina said, or apparently said, or was paraphrased is saying, is not much different than those legions of us conservatives who frequently express our misgivings about the GOP nominee. The most influential conservative commentators aren’t on board the Straight Talk Express, by any means, and no one is making a huge fuss to get them back on the reservation.
Lots of D’s have doubts about Obama and lots of R’s, this one included for sure, have doubts about McCain.
24 What a Goober // Jun 5, 2008 at 11:24 pm
Why should we be impressed with Hillary Clinton when she blew every bit of her inevitability. We aren’t talking about a few mistakes here. It was systemic failure. How competent was she, really? Obama’s proven that he can put together a more formidable political machine and movement than her in about 20 percent the time she had to organize hers (and he couldn’t take the levers of power working for him as Clinton could). Let’s just get over this Hillary Clinton as a stronger candidate crap because that’s what it is: crap.
25 James R // Jun 6, 2008 at 8:53 am
Hemlock—-
JFK had been first been elected a congressman in 1946 and a US Senator in the 1950s.
Kennedy had quite a bit more experience than Obama, so please be forthcoming if you are going to use JFKs name.
26 joe // Jun 6, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Jake,
Why haven’t you updated the story to include Joe Arnold’s email on the home page? You state in the story, “Referring to Obama as an empty suit (and she did) is absolutely disgusting” but Joe Arnold clearly states that in fact Tina DID NOT call Obama an “Empty Suit” rather Joe summed up her comments with that term. So what gives? Trying to push an agenda here? Pisses off everybody doesn’t share the same opinions as you?
Time to grow up hoss or your blog is going to continue to lose credibility.
27 alan harbig // Jun 6, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Tina has really disappointed me on this one. Time to circle the wagons and back the nominee. Heck, I was for Edwards and didn’t even get a chance to vote for him. Clinton supporters need to get in line. The tent is bog enough for everyone — and while I was very impressed with the level of discourse during the primaries, we D’s need to get it together and keep our eye on the prize.
28 Jake // Jun 6, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Oh, come on! Eat my sweet homo ass, Joe.
I was paraphrasing just as Joe Arnold was. What Tina said was probably worse than calling him an empty suit. It was certainly negative and was just in different words. But that’s exactly what she meant. You can’t watch her interview and not come away with the same thoughts.
P.S. WHO on earth ever said I have credibility? That’ scary.
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