Steve Gill, I’m calling you out.

But, first, let me say that I like you. You have a tremendous amount of charm, and you are extremely friendly. You’d make a fantastic politician, as you engage the folks you are talking to and ooze intensity. You’ve been nothing but nice to me since joining our newsroom, and you are interesting to be around. You tend to dominate a conversation, and not allow much dissent, but that could be because I find it hard to express myself in speech. I do much better in writing it down.

But I’m calling you out on your recent comments regarding Harold Ford, Jr.’s newest political ad. I discovered your comments at the Blogging for Corker blog. They are as follows:

It seems to me that a church should not be used as a prop in a political ad. Did Harold Ford, Jr. actually attend the church he uses as a backdrop for his commercial? He grew up in Washington, DC, went to college and law school out of state and only moved to Memphis to run for Congress. So when did he ever regularly attend church in Memphis? Will the mainstream media give him a pass on using religion in his campaign? They certainly don’t let Republicans do this sort of thing without criticism.

I rarely do this, but I’d like to address your opinion in parts. First off, you said:

It seems to me that a church should not be used as a prop in a political ad.

You might have a point, there. I think far, far too many politicians focus on faith and church and God in their campaigning. Since I am not a religious individual, this should not be surprising. I bristled at Ford’s ad about education when he said that one of the first things he tells children is to trust in God. I’m a large-type proponent of the separation of church and state, but never so much as when it comes to public education. So I also tend to bristle when the entire political ad is set in a church. I’d prefer that church-going politicians (and really, are there any other kind?) worship where they please, but pretty much keep quiet about it when it comes to convicing me they are best to run the our government.

But my "are there any other kind" question deserves revisiting here. When doesn’t a politician evoke the name of God or his church? Sure, Ford taping his spot inside a church takes it one step further, but this is par for the course. In this country, especially in the South, religion and polticking go hand in hand. Democrats aren’t outraged, yes, because they can be blindly loyal, but also because it isn’t that outrageous.

And l don’t remember anyone criticizing Corker’s "I’ve found the light, now I’m pro-life" mission trip commercial, except to say he was a flip-flopper and liar (accusations made by his own party, by the way). Liberals may have called it hokey, but I don’t remember anyone giving him a hard time over that ad mixing religion and politics. (If you know of any, please link below in the comments.)

But, then you say:

Did Harold Ford, Jr. actually attend the church he uses as a backdrop for his commercial? He grew up in Washington, DC, went to college and law school out of state and only moved to Memphis to run for Congress. So when did he ever regularly attend church in Memphis?

Why question the man’s church location? What difference does it make where he went to church? This looks like a sorry attempt to remind people that Harold Ford, Jr. is an out-of-touch-with-Tennesseans beltway politician, which he very well may be. But it is disingenuous to wrap that criticism in the questioning of where and how often the man attended church.

But the next part is the one I have the most problem with, and frankly, is the reason for this post in the first place. You said:

Will the mainstream media give him a pass on using religion in his campaign? They certainly don’t let Republicans do this sort of thing without criticism.

I’m not going to address what may or may not be hypocrisy on the part of the Democrats, and instead focus on your criticism of "the mainstream media." On your website you go one step further with this little tidbit:

Democrat U.S. Senate candidate Harold Ford, Jr. has raised some eyebrows by filming his latest attack ad on Republican Bob Corker in a church. If a Republican had used a church as a prop in a political ad the Left, and their lackeys in the mainstream media, would be pitching a hissy fit. Note their silence on this one.

Steve Gill, my man. I hate to break this to you, but you are the mainstream media. At least in middle Tennessee you are. You had a top-rated conservative talk show that was partisan to its core. You are now a contributing political analyst for one of the local news stations in town, appearing three or more times a week to–let’s face it–cheerlead for the Republican party. So, pardon me if I find your blaming the mainstream media for overlooking what you think is a tacky and overt move on the part of Harold Ford, Jr. to be slightly out of touch.

Name the first liberal local radio talk show you can think of. Still thinking? Yeah, it’s this one. A tiny once a week operation run out of a unversity station. But 99.7 has Phil "Shoot ‘Em!" Valentine, G. Gordon Liddy and Michael Savage. I can’t turn it on Fox 17 without Mark Hyman preaching about the evils of liberals. This town is not dominated by a liberal media, no matter how you try to spin it.

You, sir, are the MSM. You get more airtime than any other political analyst in the area, and you lean pretty far to the right. But, you know that. It’s as though blaming the mainstream media is just what conservatives do, as if on autopilot.

But you have your own cable news network. Nashville’s political commentary is overwhelmingly Republican, and you are front and center in that. There is no liberal political analyst gracing the screens at 4, 5, or on 17. And you have to be up pretty early in the morning to catch any progressive radio shows. And then, it’s only one time a week.

So forgive me if I don’t see the least bit of unfairness on the part of our local mainstream media in regards to this Harold Ford, Jr. ad. Not when most, if not all, of local news skews heavily, heavily to the right. Even in Blue Nashville.