You know I'm pleased to report that one ....lando....just did. I think a lot of people don't recognise that religious right culture warriors hold (and conservative Catholics are indisputably religious right) that set of social priorities above anything else. In that world view, concern for the poor and for any progressive values takes the back seat in a 16 passenger van to the priorities of the heirarchy and particularly those they're in agreement with the Protestant religious right on.
I think a lot of politically inclined people who consider themselves strategists believe that it's possible to triangulate the culture wars and this is, I believe, a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of the nature of the political movement we call the religious right. Very dangerous blind spot, imho.

I would be more than pleased to do so sometime today. I'll need to spend about half an hour finding links to material I've read at The Black Commentator over the past two years. Right now I need to have a shower and do a few things for a couple of hours.
And thank you so much for asking, Booman.  

Sure. The editors at The Black Commentator have been talking about Harold Ford for a good long while. They point out that his three coalitions are the CBC where he is the most conservative member, the Blue Dogs and the DLC.
And he votes and politics like it too.
Here's Harold Ford in a social security privitization lovefest with Lindsey Graham and here is the CBC report card on the Congressional Black Caucus's votes on the votes they determined "directly have egregious effects on the African-American communities and the districts the Congressional members represent"
These bills were:
Bankruptcy Bill    
Estate Tax Bill    
Gang Deterrence Bill    
REAL ID Act    
Iraq Authorization (2004)
(only four CBC members voted for war: Harold Ford Jr. of Tennessee, William Jefferson of Louisiana, Albert Wynn of Maryland, and Sanford Bishop of Georgia.)
Watt Amendment (Federal Budget)  
Class Action Bill  
Energy Bill & Capps Amendment  
CAFTA

Note Harold Ford's standing there. So any folks wanting to vote for Harold Ford because he will improve the lot of African Americans and/or the poor (Not to mention women or gays) had best put that hope to rest early.
I also found this article quite informative and found this article
and the poll it links to to be a careful and intelligent analysis of black voters and voting patterns. I include this last because I'm tired of white folks (not here and certainly not you) telling me I am a.) racist and b.) waxing lyrical about how black folk are in discussions about Harold Ford.