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| Some people seem to relish tearing a good man down. |
For Herman Cain, no steering clear of race - The Washington Post:
"Unfortunately, in the wider discussion on Cain, race cannot be ignored. Liberals like to forget the Democratic primary race in 2007 to 2008. In the beginning, the field was cluttered with contenders, as it is for the Republicans today. Then Senator Obama was a far-cry from the Presidential candidacy. Like Cain, he was the "joke candidate" perhaps included for "diversity's" sake. Senator Hillary Clinton was the "chosen one," and her supporters felt they would be on the winning side of history. She was the front-runner Romney is today - took herself too seriously and wanted it really, really bad.
Then Senator Obama won Iowa and the self-assured Clinton campaign was spooked. The Clinton campaign started slinging the mud pretty hard then and did everything in their power to discredit Obama and make him look bad. Democrats like to create this mythical narrative that Obama was destined to win from the beginning. But actually he faced a hard up-hill struggle as a black man running for the Presidential candidacy in a party that ironical controlled a monopoly of the black vote but didn't seem to want a black candidate. This is why picking between Hillary and Obama was such a divisive decion back then. It divided the Democratic party internally, splitting families much like the Mason-Dixie line in the Civil War. I always like to think that you can see a Democrat for who he or she is by figuring out who he or she initially supported in the 07-08 primary race.
After the tragicomedy that was the Democratic primary, Obama persevered. He coasted on into the White House over John McCain because after Hillary was finished slinging all the mud and racially-charged hate there was no ammo left in the arsenal for McCain to use. Ironically, Obama's greatest strength as a President today is his handling of foreign policy, the very area Hillary used to say he was the most "inexperienced" in.
I think Cain is set to claim a similar triumphant rise, albeit with important differences that are becoming manifest now. For one the liberals are slinging the mud again - just this time for a slightly different reason. Once Democrats reconciled themselves to the idea of having Obama as their primary candidate, they basked in the glow of supposedly being racially accepting and the self righteousness of helping elect the first black President. The black vote was considered secure.
However, here comes Cain on the Republican side. He's running for President and happens to be black. Democrats are insecure; Cain will steal their thunder! There goes the black vote! So liberals are beside themselves, basically falling over themselves to attack Cain and draw blood right now - before he happens to win any primary states - like Iowa, God forbid! So, sarcasm aside, I can't take the liberal attacks seriously right now. Their motives to discredit Cain are nursed by consoling themselves over shaken self confidence on whether the blacks will always come running back to them.
I'm more concerned to see what conservatives will eventually say about Cain. And right now they like him just fine - what he says on the social issues does not bother them so much. And he is livelier and more "laid back" than Romney. But of course it's a little too early to see, so time will tell. For now, I don't have a problem with Cain. He's neither here nor there for me. But he's on top of the polls and I'm interested in seeing what ultimately happens to him.
Ironically, if the Democrats were smart, they would quiet down and "wait and see" as well. If they weren't so insecure and bent-out-of-shape about appearing as the sole party of the black vote, they'd realize Cain ultimately going up against Obama could only end favorably for them. Although I like Cain, and I wouldn't mind seeing him win the primary, I know, regardless of them both being black, that Obama is the better candidate (of course barring the possibility of Cain's exponential growth into a better candidate).
Liberals are trying to sabotage Cain now but if they were thinking about the end-game they would know that Obama would have an easier time beating Cain in 2012 than beating Romney in 2012. But they aren't thinking about that. They're beside themselves on the social issues - while conservatives are more interested in what Cain will do with the tax code. Plus Cain definitely came out as the winner after the Las Vegas debate, so unless he really messes up - which I don't believe he has yet - I will refrain from bashing him."
"Cain is awesome. He is totally right on black people and Obama."
"I think many white liberals portray themselves as more open to black people than they really are so blacks moving away from the Democratic party is a good thing. As for Cain, I don't think he is an idiot or an Uncle Tom at all."
"He's a new candidate and the first black conservative to really articulate himself and show himself to be a strong contender so of course liberals, both black and white, are going to be afraid of him and try to discredit him. His uncouth nature is apart of his charm and appeal. He's controversial because unlike the Democrats he's not afraid to be brutally honest about controversial issues. He's authentic and most importantly he's tied neck in neck with Romney who can't get more than 25% support, can't connect with constituents and seems to want it too badly. Although I really like Romney and Romney has cross-over liberal appeal, Romney is a flip-flopper which makes both liberals and conservatives distrust him. So I think Herman is our guy and I support him. I also think it would be great to see a black Republican and a Black Democrat duke it out for the White - because then it's not about race it's about conservatism vs. liberalism, the economy and the role of government."
"He's not perfect but he's better than many of the other contenders in the primary race. All 8 of them say stuff that I don't agree with, particularly on marriage equality. For a while, Bachmann looked like she could be the standard bearer for conservative women after Palin imploded, but liberal feminists have tried to shoot her down and she performed so poorly in the Las Vegas debate, that even her supporters in the Tea Party are pulling the plug on her.
I'd pick Cain over Bachmann and Santorum any day. And don't get me wrong, I still support President Obama (he's a moderate). I'd just rather see Cain go up against Obama than Romney. People make fun of Cain because he is so blunt and to the point where it hurts. But we need honest, authentic politicians in America. His frankness - on electric fences, the tax code and what not - is one of the reason people like him. So once again I'd rather see a showdown between Cain and the more calm, more cerebral Obama any day. Finally, I don't mind people trying to discredit him based on some of his more outlandish statements but I don't appreciate liberals black and white trying to discredit his conservative stance as a black person. He is not an Uncle Tom; he's probably the most free-thinking politician out there right now."
"When there are so few black conservative voices, I find it hard to bash him. Perhaps if they were more black conservatives out there and running that were more palatable I would pick them above Cain. But they aren't. And I feel as though liberals white and black (as the article I posted can attest) unduly rag on black conservatives as if they are some sort of counter-intuitive entity, as if it's only common sense for all black people to be Democrats - or else they are Uncle Toms. I feel liberals want to cultivate this automatic association of minorities with Democrats. They get insecure whenever a minority conservative appears. Minorities seem to all be supposed to toe the party line or else they're sell-outs. Cain very existence rages against that (hence his brainwashed quote). So despite his outlandish lines I stand for the political statement he makes by simply being a black conservative. He's not perfect but he is a leader, a trail-blazer, not an Uncle Tom."
Would I vote for Cain? At the moment I am still voting for Obama - and not because he is black. I just said I feel bad bashing Cain because of his views as one of the few black conservatives. You shouldn't support someone just because of race - but I don't support him just because he's black. I support Cain but I agree, as just a person, not a black person, with his views on black people. I know what he and others have said concerning rights and other things. And I also support Ron Paul for some of things he says. I support Cain in the same way I support Ron Paul - I don't agree with everything they say but I don't bash them because I do agree with some of the things they say, even if I will not necessarily vote for them."
"Some conservatives (actually many, according to some polls that show him neck in neck with Romney) support him. As a NH Democrats representative told the College Dems on Monday, liberals like tend to vote with their heads and conservatives, their hearts. Of course this is gross over-simplification but just because Cain is "incorrect" on some issues liberals care about doesn't mean his views are invalid or he is illegitimate. Obviously he appeals to some people and their social or economic views. Obviously he is appealing to these views by connecting at a deeper level for many Americans a level beyond whether he is "incorrect" or "nonsensical." Of course we shouldn't elect people who are totally off-base on their facts. But Cain isn't totally off-base. And although his 9-9-9 plan definitely needs tweaking he has galvanized conservative support by promising to at least attempt to strike down our old problematic tax code. He is promising the change that conservatives want to hear. Of course liberals see this and are hastening to discredit him with racially charged insults such as "minstrel."
"Cain is a lot of things but he's the farthest thing from racist. I watched that Piers Morgan interview. He's not against having Muslims in his Cabinet (and by the way, Islam is a religion not a race) but he is against having extremists i.e. terrorists in his Cabinet - whether they are Christian or Muslim extremists. So Cain is anything but racist. The last thing Cain is doing is raping anything. That is a very heated and erroneous metaphoric allegation; if I didn't know any better I'd say it was racially charged (ironic in the light of these latest racially charged allegations of sexual assault).
Cain is simply standing up for what many conservatives consider important - self reliance, personal responsibility, social mobility through merit, "pulling one's self up by one's bootstraps" so to speak, fiscal independence and reduction of the amount of government, bringing down the deficit and reigning in our welfare state. None of these things are seen by conservatives as hurting the poor but as vehicles of personal fiscal independence, the creation of viable businesses and ultimately job creation. As a moderate - more liberal when it comes to social issues and fiscally more conservative - I understand where he is coming from.
In general, liberals and moderates that lean more to the left are for more government and believe the government must take a larger role in the stabilization of the state, so Cain sounds incoherent and strange to them. But Cain is not talking to liberals now - he is speaking to conservatives economic and social values to the best of his ability - and conservatives are responding to him. This does not mean I agree with everything he says - especially when it comes to social issues. It means that I understand where he is coming from and I understand why he says such things. I also agree with or at least show interest in some of the statements he has made concerning race as a black conservative. Hence, overall I do not feel the need to bash him or see him as illegitimate. I respect him and am interested to see where his campaign goes."
In Cain Allegations, Comparisons Are Drawn to Thomas - NYTimes.com:
"“This is another high-tech lynching,’’ Ms. Coulter asserted, shifting the focus from the substance of the accusations to an attack on the news media and “liberals.’’
In an online post, Commentary pointed out that the strategy had worked for Mr. Thomas and could likewise end up rallying support to Mr. Cain: “Among conservatives, Thomas remains a hero not just because of his jurisprudence but because they seem him as an innocent victim of a media establishment out to humiliate and punish any African-American who stepped outside of the liberal consensus.’’"The most powerful rebuttal to the hate and the most powerful support for Cain comes in the form of a comment on an article that bashes Cain, saying there is no Hermain Cain presidential election:
"Can we talk about Herman Cain the person? Can we talk about an accomplished businessman who majored in Mathematics in College? Can we talk about a Christian who is driven by his faith which stands out when he's interviewed by the "feel-good" tele-evangelists? It's ridiculous to be throwing around these allegations of racism, when we have a situation where we have only ONE Republican who can turn around the direction of the Democratic/Republican Oligarchy that poses as a two-party system. Remember Secretary Paulson and Federal Reserve Banker Timothy Geithner? Do you remember Secretary Gates? Whose administrations were these men in? George Walker Bush and Barack Obama, of course! Remember the Stimulus packages and the Bail-Outs? Remember that TARP was never used as intended? Again it’s the effect of the Bush/Obama Oligarchy. Until we're ready to vote for a true conservative party - Constitution Party - we have only one hope - Herman Cain; whose ancestors were natural born Americans (thanks to the 16th Amendment (too bad Dixiecrats)). Skin color is only on the surface. But focusing on it is a cancer that could cost us our future, as Herman Cain is our only viable hope.""I think he just said something that wasn't PC and someone got "offended" There are men out there who legitimately harm women but that doesn't mean we get to tear every good (black) man down. Plus the deluge of these vague, amorphous charges of offense dilute the salience of the nature of actual claims of violence and discrimination against women. We'll see where this goes.
Unfortunately the liberals have taken aim at him and wish to shut him up before he makes it much further. Liberals see Cain as a threat because he is the strongest alternative to Romney, which many conservatives do not feel comfortable voting for (although he has great cross-over appeal with liberals). Yet Cain will persevere. His nameless attackers are yet to show themselves, content only to try to ruin a good man from the wings. Also most conservatives and moderates do not buy this allegations nonsense and are waiting for these liberal women to have the guts to unveil themselves."
- Ryu
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