The State of Tennessee is really going to miss one of its premier Democrat Party leaders, Senator John Ford of Memphis. According to The Tennessean, the ex-senator teared up when asking for mercy in his public corruption case sentencing.

At 66 and facing decades in prison, the former state senator from Memphis asked for leniency: not for himself, but for his four children who are living with family, both their parents in jail and both the family’s homes in foreclosure.

As far as I’m concerned, John Ford can seek redemption while in the can. Before you get too concerned about his well-being, remember this:

While he was pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars, Ford owed more than $30,000 in back child support…

What a guy! Maybe he was taking all those bribes so he could pay off his baby-mamas? And just think, he’s been without his $70,000 Rolex since April. What’s a bribe-slickened ex-senator to do?