Harold Ford: I'll Be Damned If I'm Going To Watch Stevens Criticized For Standing On Principle

The leftist media trashing of Congresswoman Haley Stevens (D-MI) in the immediate aftermath of her Sunday endorsement of GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers continued into Monday. But Monday afternoon on the Fox News Channel's The Five, Democrat panelist Harold Ford Jr. bucked the trend, blaming El-Sayed for his feud with Stevens, and calling the attacks on her "out of bounds."

After reviewing the weekend's events, Emily Compagno turned to the vile way in which Democrats in the media and beyond have been attacking Stevens, airing several clips to prove her point.

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COMPAGNO: The knives are out for Stevens. Party leaders slamming the move as a betrayal with some even questioning her mental fitness.

DAVID AXELROD CLIP: Haley Stevens is obviously struggling.

DEBBIE DINGELL CLIP: I have been worried about her all last week.

JAMES CARVILLE CLIP: You think that these Republicans are going to treat you as anything other than what they view you as, and that is, let me just break news to you, a used condom.
 

Compagno then asked Dana Perino to weigh in, and she unsurprisingly ripped what she had just heard.

PERINO: If you look at all that, to me, one of the things that Haley Stevens will realize is that the Democratic party is the most sexist party ever to exist. I go back to 1997, when the Monica Lewinsky thing happened and none of the women's groups wanted to support that young woman....The first thing they have to say about her (Stevens) is she might be crazy, she's so emotional....

In the primary, she almost beat him, right?... So what happens in politics?...You try to say, okay, let's hold hands now, tell me what you want me to learn, let's be friends, let's figure this out. And she tried and Abdul El-Sayed never did. He continued to attack her, he called her an idiot. They wouldn't stop on all the anti-Semitic attacks....And they go straight back to the AIPAC thing. And what I can see in her is that she lost a lot of friends, but she's gained and kept her self respect.

Perino got in a closing shot before Compagno brought Ford in, and he first attempted to separate the Democrat party from the attacks on Stevens.

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PERINO: But on this one it just proves that the Democrats have to go straight to sexism immediately and shun her.

COMPAGNO: Harold, does this reveal that that is the true nature and the true colors of the Democrat party when the leaders call this a I betrayal and call her a used condom?

FORD JR.: No. They're wrong to do that but this is not the Democratic party. Democratic party is talking about issues that are resonating with voters and one of the reasons they're ahead in a lot of the races according to the last week of polling....I would have handled this differently if I were her and him (El-Sayed).

He then went on to blame El-Sayed for the bad blood between him and Stevens, and pushed back hard at those who have attacked the Congresswoman.

FORD JR.: I blame him more, though, because he won the primary. And when you're the winner, you don't practice political malpractice by not reaching out to the person you beat....

I don't like David Axelrod and others piling on her in a mental health -- I think that is so out of bounds. You don't know this young lady, at least I don't. I don't think you do. I don't mean to single out David. But anybody talking about her, Anderson Cooper and all of y'all, this young lady made a principled decision about a grievance she had with Mr. El-Sayed.... I'm not saying I agree with her but I'll be damned if I'm going to watch someone criticize this young woman for standing on her principle....

If you criticize her you ought to criticize El-Sayed as well because he was the winner by less than a percent and did not reach out to reconcile like he should of....If he loses this race it won't be because of her. It will be because those in that camp didn't reach out....

So shame on both of them and shame on those who are  criticizing and attacking this young lady's health openly and in a real kind of subdued way as you try to support El-Sayed. Support El-Sayed, but don't attack this young lady.

Harold Ford Jr. isn't hesitant to speak up when he disagrees with his conservative panel members on The Five, and as evidenced by Monday's performance, the same is true when he is at odds with those in his party.