I have previously raised concern over the treatment of Herman Cain by the media and Democratic activists because of his race. While I have strong disagreements with Cain, I find it discomforting to see how his race is such a preoccupation with Democrats. This weekend, I was taken aback by the statement of Democratic strategist and MSNBC analyst Karen Finney that Cain is “a black man who knows his place.”
Here is the full statement in context:
“One of the things about Herman Cain is, I think that he makes that white Republican base of the party feel okay, feel like they are not racist because they can like this guy,” Finney said. “I think he giving that base a free pass. And I think they like him because they think he’s a black man who knows his place. I know that’s harsh, but that’s how it sure seems to me.”
What is equally remarkable is Martin Bashir’s response: “Thank you for spelling that out.”
There is of course another possibility: Republicans supporting Cain might not be racist . . . anymore than Democrats who supported Obama. Republicans have previously had African Americans run for President. Alan Keys comes to mind. Like Russ Perot, Cain is billing himself as an outsider from the business world. I have criticized him in columns, but I do not see why he should be faced with constant questions over whether he is genuine or merely some put-up black guy for racist Republicans. Yet, there have been a steady chorus of such attacks directed at Cain.
Finney is described as “having more than 20 years in national politics includes four presidential campaigns, the Clinton White House, a New York Senate race, and first African American spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee.” No one would tolerate Republican attacks that she is a woman or African American valued by MSNBC for “knowing her place.” Yet, these attacks have gone on without little objection from Democrats. Indeed, MSNBC host Al Sharpton has questioned whether Cain is an “authentic black man”.
Cain for his part has called some of these attacks “racist.” Of course, not to be undone in the racist rhetoric, Russ Limbaugh has insisted that Herman Cain more “authentically black” than Obama.
What do you think?
Off Topic: I didn’t read the following story until a few minutes ago.
Regulators Investigating MF Global
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Regulators-Investigating-MF-nytimes-752197815.html?x=0
Federal regulators have discovered that hundreds of millions of dollars in customer money has gone missing from MF Global in recent days, prompting an investigation into the company’s operations as it filed for bankruptcy on Monday, according to several people briefed on the matter.
The revelation of the missing money scuttled an 11th hour deal for MF Global to sell a major part of itself to a rival brokerage firm. MF Global, the powerhouse commodities brokerage run by Jon S. Corzine, had staked its survival on completing the deal.
Now, the investigation threatens to tarnish the reputation of Jon S. Corzine, the former New Jersey Governor and Goldman Sachs chief who oversaw MF Global’s demise, making it the first American victim of Europe’s debt crisis.
What began as nearly $1 billion missing had dropped to less than $700 million by late Monday. It is unclear where the money went, and some funds are expected to trickle in over the coming days as the firm sorts through the bankruptcy process, the people said.
But regulators are examining whether MF Global diverted some customer funds to support its own trades as the firm teetered on the brink of collapse. If that was the case, it could violate a fundamental tenet of Wall Street regulation: Customers’ funds must be kept separate from company money.
Such a finding would move the discussion from sloppy internal controls at MF Global to something more troubling. While the investigation is in its early days, it raises the specter that regulators ultimately could sanction the firm or the employees responsible.
MF Global and Mr. Corzine have not been accused of any wrongdoing.
eniobob,
I don’t always agree with Eugene Robinson, but I think he summed up the Cain candidacy quite accurately with the line, “So many reasons to oppose this loopy candidacy, so little time.”
AY, because the last thing Rove wants is for his own secret memos and dirty laundry hung out for the world to see.
Recall that he had all those frantic meetings with US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. Word was that he kept having to go back and “clear up” potential “misunderstandings.” Translation, Fitzgerald kept catching him in lies and cane close to indicting him for perjury and obstruction. I am still waiting to see Rove perp-walked by unsmiling men in black suits.
OS,
Why is that?
Rove may have good reason for fearing WikiLeaks and Julian Assange.
Karl Rove announced that Ohio would be the centerpiece of his new quarter-billion dollar effort to defeat progressives in 2012.
Rove & Koch & Teabaggers … we’re gearing up for a real political battle here.
An example of the market working, I certainly dont want a corporation I am invested in giving contributions to people I disagree with politically.
More choice is what we need not less.
It appears the infection is going viral……
Rove Suspected In Swedish-U.S. Political Prosecution of WikiLeaks
Karl Rove’s help for Sweden as it assists the Obama administration’s prosecution against WikiLeaks could be the latest example of the adage, “Politics makes strange bedfellows.”
Rove has advised Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt for the past two years after resigning as Bush White House political advisor in mid-2007. Rove’s resignation followed the scandalous Bush mid-term political purge of nine of the nation’s 93 powerful U.S. attorneys.
These days, Sweden and the United States are apparently undertaking a political prosecution as audacious and important as those by the notorious “loyal Bushies” earlier this decade against U.S. Democrats.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-kreig/rove-suspected-in-swedish_b_798737.html
I looked through the threads and don’t see that anyone has shared this video of Cain breaking into song during a press conference as he was answering questions about old sexual harassment charges … what a guy.
Here’s a little bit of encouraging news:
” Giant corporations are being increasingly open about their use of shareholder money for political campaigns.
More than half of America’s 100 largest companies now publicly disclose — or even prohibit — the direct use of corporate cash to fund political activity, according to a recently released study by the Center for Political Accountability, a pro-disclosure advocacy organization. This percentage may not seem especially impressive, but it marks a striking turnaround from 2003, when the Center first started tracking corporate polices. “Voluntary disclosure of political spending is becoming a mainstream corporate practice, and a growing number of companies are putting restrictions on the political use of their money,” the study concluded.
Thomas Mann, a congressional scholar and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who gave the keynote speech announcing the release, said that this shareholder-driven push for transparency might be the only thing pushing the envelope toward corporate responsibility in a campaign finance environment shaped by 2010’s controversial Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which overturned decades of laws that restricted the ability of corporations to spend large amounts of money on political campaigns.”
http://www.nationalmemo.com/article/corporate-spending-citizens-united-koch-brothers-campaign-finance-self-regulation
I hear that Rove is taking his dirty world to Canada…and advising them in how to win elections….
Elaine:
you are a little late, I already acknowledged I was wrong:
eniobob:
I think you are right. Apparently Gore just spoke of Dukakis’s program of letting murderers out on passes. I was around for that election too.
http://cache.boston.com/news/politics/campaign2000/news/The_real_meaning
Otteray,
I’d say Rove looks more like Atwater’s “heirless” apparent.
Karl Rove is the heir apparent for Lee Atwater and his dirty tricks operations. Curious that on his deathbed, Lee Atwater had a “come to Jesus” epiphany and apologized for the sociopathic things he had done to people.
I cannot see Rove apologizing or recanting anything he has done, deathbed confession or not.
Bron,
“The Willie Horton add was used by Al Gore if memory serves.”
Your memory does not serve you well. It was Lee Atwater and George H. W. Bush who used the ad against Michael Dukakis in 1988.
Yesterday I stated that in the Black Community there was something about Herman Cain and although Gene H. brought out a point which I agreed with,after further thought during the night and some radio listening I can only give my opinion and that is that Mr. Cain for all his life achievments his message is not inclusive and uplifiting,and again from the things I hear of his story it should be.
BTW:
“By Eugene Robinson, Published: October 31
Responding to his insurgent campaign’s first crisis, Herman Cain was upbeat and defiant. “To quote my chief of staff and all the people around this country, ‘Let Herman be Herman,’ ” he said Monday. “And Herman is gonna stay Herman.”
I was afraid of that.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/robinson-let-herman-cain-be-gone/2011/10/31/gIQAiXo8ZM_story.html
Otteray Scribe:
I to think we need some sort of paper receipt when voting and I was going to suggest a retinal scan as identification but thought that may be an invasion of privacy.
In fact I was thinking of a retinal scan being checked each time a person voted to make sure they hadnt already voted and the image printed on the receipt to make it near impossible to counterfeit paper receipts.
Voting is very important and so I would say have some sort of way to have shut-ins registered or even be allowed to vote on-line or have a traveling “ballot box” to make sure they were able to vote.
Bron, where you live is not everywhere. Most cities do not have public transportation any more. And not every person can get out, even if there is transportation. How about the old and frail, the sick, the crippled?
The point is, there has been no documented proof of any significant voter fraud by Democrats since the bad old days in Chicago. The only widespread voter fraud these days is the caging done by the Republicans, which is deliberately designed to suppress likely Democratic votes. That, and the strange case of disappearing votes in Diebold machines. Curious that; they make ATM machines which give both a receipt and keep an internal paper record of every transaction and take your picture at the same time. But they cannot seem to design a voting machine that will do exactly the same thing. Curious. On second thought, not really.
rafflaw:
“If you are poor, old or handicapped, it is harder than it should be.”
how so? Where I live we have a public transportation system that is pretty inexpensive. And they have something called MetroAccess which will pick up handicapped people from their homes and take them to and from wherever they want to go.
Secretary’s=Secretaries
whoooosh