Yesterday, Republican Presidential candidate Herman Cain finally ended his minstrel show. Opps. I mean his campaign. Hopefully, this is the last time I will have to mention his name.
“See, the black race can’t afford you no more. Oh, there used to be a time we’d see somebody like you singing, clowning, yes sir bossing and we wouldn’t do anything. Folks liked that. You were good, homie kinda nigga. When they needed someone to mistreat, call a name or two, they paraded you. Reminded them of the good old days. Not no more. The day of the geechie is gone boy and you goin’ with it. We can’t let nobody go on believing that we're all fools like you.” Sergeant Waters, A Soldier's Story
It looks like Herman Cain's 15 minutes of fame are over. A couple of weeks ago, it was all good for Herman Cain. He was the front-runner for the Republican Party nomination. He actually started to believe that he could garner significant support from the African American community. The Washington Post reported that:
"Herman Cain’s turn atop the polls in the contest for the Republican presidential nomination captured the attention of journalists and pundits and sparked excitement among grass-roots conservative activists. But is it really possible that he — a black man who overcame poverty in the segregated South to become a wealthy entrepreneur and front-runner in the GOP race — would be the one to bring African American voters back to their original political home?
Cain seems to think so. In a mailer sent to Iowa voters recently, the candidate says “as a descendant of slaves I can lead the Republican party to victory by garnering a large share of the black vote, something that has not been done since Dwight Eisenhower garnered 41 percent of the black vote in 1956.”
It is a proposition that was quickly dismissed by political scholars and analysts, including some members of Cain’s party. Although he has done better than any other black Republican presidential candidate in terms of attracting support, few believe Cain could snare a sizable number of black voters in a general election, especially against President Obama."
Yes, some of us identify with the fact that Mr. Cain attended a historically black college, Morehouse College. Yes, some of us may identify with the fact that Cain was poor and raised in the segregated South.
However, most African Americans do not vote for candidates based solely on the pigment of the candidate's skin. The overwhelming majority of African Americans would never vote for Herman Cain, not because we are brainwashed, but because him and his political party are diametrically opposed to our interests.
Cain and his party oppose affirmative action, health care reform, workers rights, federal student financial aid and other issues that matter to African Americans. In addition, our people's support for President Barack Obama is unwavering. So, Cain never had a chance to win over a substantial segment of the black community.
His temporary popularity among Republicans was probably due to a couple of factors. First of all, the Republican field is garbage. All of their candidates stink. In such an environment, any charismatic and personable candidate would shine and steal the limelight. Also, he reminded the white Right of the good old days before we had an intelligent, relatively progressive African American president.
He gave the racist, xenophobic elements of the Tea Party cover. As a black man, his extremist and buffoonish anti-black, anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim statements made it ok to be bigoted again. Such statements are nothing but modern day "yes sir bossing". Knowing that he never had a chance to be president, the Right was amused and entertained by his nonsense. They laughed when he sang hymns and "clowned" about "po".
Although the Right initially supported Herman Cain when the sexual harassment allegations emerged, I knew that his demise was inevitable. Let's face it. The Republican Party is a racist, white male dominated institution. Did Herman Cain really think that he still had a chance of winning the nomination after at least four WHITE women accused him of sexual harassment? There is no way that such a party would nominate a black man, especially one who is accused of defiling their precious white women.
Now, another WHITE woman claims that she had a 13 year long affair with Herman Cain. Consequently, according to CNN, Cain is now reassessing his campaign. The Republican Party is also socially conservative and self-righteous. I doubt that they would nominate a known adulterer to be President of the United States. Cain's 15 minutes of fame are over. In the words of Sergeant Waters from A Soldier's Story, the day of the geechie is gone and Cain is going with it!
Today, Herman Cain held a press conference to finally address the sexual harassment allegations. I plan to follow up this article with in depth commentary.
Here are seven reasons why no one, especially African Americans, in their right mind should vote for Herman Cain.
1. He has NO political or foreign policy experience. He was a pizza man for crying out loud. His claim to fame is being the President of Godfather's Pizza. He has never held public office.
2. His 999 plan steals from the poor and working class masses and gives an unprecedented amount to the super rich.
3. He opposes the Occupy Wall Street Movement and supports the plutocrats.
4. He holds extreme anti-immigration views which border on racism. Listen to him talk about creating an electrified fence to keep illegal immigrants out of America.
5. He holds bigoted views against Muslims. He is on record stating that he would not appoint any Muslims in his administration. If he said the same thing about any other religious group such as Catholics, Jews or Mormons, there would be much public outrage and discussion. View this video.
6. Mr. Cain will appointed judges like Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. As we all know, Justice Thomas has an abysmal civil rights record. Listen to Mr. Cain praise Justice Thomas.
7. Mr. Cain basically rejects his African heritage and refuses to use the term African American. Equally as important, Mr. Cain has made disparaging generalizations about African Americans and fails to acknowledge the continuing impact of the institutionalized racism.
By the way, what did you think about his political ad?
Yesterday, Republican Presidential candidate Herman Cain appeared on Meet the Press. How do you think he did? Do you think that he will actually win the nomination?
"If the master's house caught on fire, the house negro would fight harder to put the blaze out than the master would. If the master got sick, the house negro would say "What's the matter, boss, we sick?" We sick! He identified himself with his master, more than the master identified with himself."Malcolm X
In sum, Republican Presidential candidate Herman Cain's 999 plan would require the working poor to pay higher taxes. Oddly, the rich would pay much lower taxes under his plan. Even worst, the 999 plan would abolish Social Security and Medicare.
Clearly, Herman Cain's plan will have a devastating impact on black people. A disproportionate percentage of the working poor are African American. Most African Americans, like the vast majority of other Americans, depend on Social Security and Medicare during their retirement years.
In addition, Mr. Cain has made many disparaging racial comments about President Obama and the black community. Dr. Boyce Watkins was right when he said this:
In his book, The Destruction of Black Civilization, Chancellor Williams states that:
"[M]any Africans became enmeshed in the horrors of the [slave] trade, knew what they were doing and, in the pursuit of guns and riches, became as brutal as the whites in dealing with their own kind."
Similarly, Herman Cain, in pursuit of wealth and political power, has adopted policy positions and made racist remarks that are brutal to the interests of his own people.
This is not surprising given Mr. Cain's history. He remained silent and passive during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. While brave brothers and sisters were arrested, jailed, beaten and killed fighting for freedom and equality, Mr. Cain was a good Negro. He stayed in his place at the back of the bus.
Recently, Republican Presidential candidate Herman Cain described African American voters as being brainwashed to oppose conservative candidates. Please watch this video.
Supporting Herman Cain's assertions, conservative commentator Pat Buchanan described the Democratic Party as a plantation. Please watch Pat Buchanan's MSNBC video.
African Americans are not brainwashed. The majority of black people support the Democratic Party because it is their interest to do so, at this point in time. Democratic administrations enacted major civil rights legislation ending Jim Crow. Democrats supported and continue to support affirmative action. Democratic presidents have appointed judges and Attorney Generals who have defended civil rights. The opposite is true for Republican administrations.
The Democrats were the first major political party to nominate an African American for President. The Democrats were the first party to appoint an African American as a Supreme Court justice. Most black elected officials are Democrats. Many African Americans hold key positions and wield substantial influence in the Democratic Party. That is not true with respect to the Republican Party.
In response to the enactment of civil rights legislation, Dixiecrats left the Democratic Party and fled to the Republican Party. To win over Southern segregationists, the Republican Party adopted the Southern strategy and became hostile to civil rights, workers rights and welfare. Instead of being the Party of Lincoln, the Republican Party became the party of Strom Thurman and Jesse Helms. In effect, the Republican Party became the new White Citizens' Council. It is no coincidence that Republicans are at the front line defending symbols of the racist Confederate past.
The recent Rick Perry controversy is a prime of the Republicans' callous disregard for the concerns of black people. For years, Republican Presidential candidate Rick Perry used to hunt in an area called Niggertown. Except for Herman Cain, none of the Republican candidates have condemned Perry for doing so. Their silence speaks volumes. Some of the candidates have actually defended Perry. Under pressure, even Mr. Cain was forced to tap dance to tone down his response.
Although the Democratic Party is the better choice, our unconditional loyalty to the Democratic Party has weakened our ability to
negotiate and further our interests. Despite our unparalleled support for the Democratic Party, our interests are made secondary to the interests of white moderates, time and time again. President Obama's approach to addressing unemployment and poverty in the black community is one example. The Bill Clinton/Sista Souljah controversy is another example.
Whether we realize it or not, the Democrat Party is not the solution to the problems facing our communities. Decades of Democratic rule in our inner cities has not eliminated poverty, high employment, inferior education, drugs and violence. Certainly, Republicans will not address those problems either. Although the Democratic Party is not a plantation, we need to create a viable third party alternative.
