Bizarre, Politics, Society

Democratic Strategist: Republicans Like Cain as a “Black Man Who Knows His Place”

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?

163 thoughts on “Democratic Strategist: Republicans Like Cain as a “Black Man Who Knows His Place””

  1. Rand Paul On Cain Scandal: It’s Getting To Where You Can’t Joke With Women Anymore
    TPM2012
    http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/11/rand-paul-on-cain-scandal-its-getting-to-where-you-cant-joke-with-women-anymore.php?ref=fpb

    Excerpt:
    Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has an interesting take on Herman Cain’s growing scandal: honestly, he says, these days it seems like women can’t take a joke.

    “There are people now who hesitate to tell a joke to a woman in the workplace, any kind of joke, because it could be interpreted incorrectly,” he told the National Review. “I don’t. I’m very cautious.”

    Paul, whose own campaign was marked by allegations he mistreated a woman years ago, says the media shouldn’t be reporting stories like the one that’s put Cain in all the hot water he’s in this week.

  2. Bron, I just realized that your problem is that you have been far too sheltered. You think of people in simplistic stereotypes. Your solutions to all the economic and unemployment problems, as well as the health care crisis suggest an upbringing in a gated community.

    To just touch on your Southern stereotype of moonshine and NASCAR. This is the country of rodeos and Tennessee Williams. Of Eudora Welty and Oprah Winfrey. Of the KKK and the Southern Poverty Law Center. Of ballet and line dancing. You cannot stuff people into a single pigeonhole. Nor can the economic problems of the country be solved with bumper sticker slogan simplicity.

  3. rafflaw,

    Here’s a story for you:

    Mafia Takes Over Publicly Traded Company
    By Loren Berlin
    Daily Finance
    11/1/11
    http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/11/01/mafia-takes-over-publicly-traded-company/

    Excerpt:

    As Occupy Wall Street protestors chant about the criminals in the boardroom, actual thieves — including men associated with the mafia — have spent years quietly running FirstPlus Financial Group (FPFX), a Texas-based company and a one-time subprime lender that boasted former Vice President Dan Quayle as a board member, and used NFL Hall of Famer Dan Marino in its ads.

    On Tuesday, Nicodermo S. Scarfo, a made man within the Lucchese organized crime family, was arrested at his home. He’s one of 13 men charged with the illegal takeover of the publicly traded company, among other racketeering charges. “The defendants gave new meaning to ‘corporate takeover,’ ” said U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman.

    “Criminal activities have evolved from the back alleys to the board rooms,” said Michael B. Ward, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Newark Field Office. Still, the tactics remain the same, he says: “physical threats and intimidation to gain leverage and loot lucrative businesses.”

    Scarfo is not the only one of the 13 with ties to organized crime. Salvatore Pelullo, an associate of the Lucchese and Philadephia La Cosa Nostra families is also charged, as are Nicodermo D. Scarfo (Scarfo Sr.), the imprisoned former boss of the Philadelphia family of La Cosa Nostra, and Vittorio Amuso, the imprisoned boss of the Lucchese family. Others charged include an accountant and five lawyers.

    According to an indictment unsealed on Tuesday, the men used both physical and finance threats to take control of FirstPlus in order to plunder the company for their own financial gain. Scarfo, Pelullo and their partners replaced the company’s board of directors with their own cronies, and then named their accomplice, lawyer William Maxwell, as special counsel to FirstPlus so that Maxwell could use that position’s authority to funnel millions back to the mobsters.

    As a public company, FirstPlus was required to submit annual filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which the mobsters did, though they routinely presented fraudulent information or simply omitted certain details. As a result, the public in general, and investors particularly, were left in the dark as to the true nature of the company and its management.

  4. Elaine:

    what is wrong with stereotyping? Pit Bulls attack children, but not all pit bulls attack children.

    Southern Whites like moonshine and NASCAR. Etc and so forth.

  5. Elaine,
    Great response and great update. I was shocked to read that Gov. Romney might be involved in a Pozi scheme and we are no talking about Social Security.

  6. Off Topic:

    Exclusive: Romney Family Investment Group Partnered With Alleged Perpetrators Of $8 Billion Ponzi Scheme
    By Lee Fang on Nov 1, 2011
    ThinkProgress
    http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/11/01/316040/romney-solamere-ponzi/

    Excerpt:
    Mitt Romney, his son Tagg, and Romney’s chief fundraiser, Spencer Zwick, have extensive financial and political ties to three men who allegedly participated in an $8.5 billion Ponzi scheme. A few months after the Ponzi scheme collapsed, a firm financed by Mitt Romney and run by his son and chief fundraiser partnered with the three men and created a new “wealth management business” as a subsidiary.

    In an exclusive interview with ThinkProgress, Tagg Romney confirmed their business relationship, but falsely claimed that the men were cleared of any wrongdoing associated with the Ponzi scheme. Tagg Romney told ThinkProgress that his three partners collected about $15,000 from their involvement in the Ponzi scheme. Court documents obtained by ThinkProgress show that the legal proceedings are ongoing and the men made over $1.6 million selling fraudulent CDs to investors.

  7. Bron,

    “I have met a few of these ivy league educated women who work for associations in DC and there is a definite type. Rather uptight young women who think they are the center of the universe. Think Valley girl but educated.”

    You’re stereotyping women who were educated at Ivy League schools. I’d say that is no different from the stereotyping of Blacks..or any other group of people.

  11. ““It is just frustrating that Herman Cain is going around bad-mouthing the two complainants, and my client is blocked by a confidentiality agreement,” Bennett said. “The National Restaurant Association ought to release them and allow them to respond. “

  13. eniobob:

    I would like to hear her side of the story as well.

    I have met a few of these ivy league educated women who work for associations in DC and there is a definite type. Rather uptight young women who think they are the center of the universe. Think Valley girl but educated.

    If she has credibility then Herman Cain is done and I will hold my nose and vote for Romney.

  15. Personally, I think Cain is quite a bit better than anyone on that stage with him and so do a good number of my Lily white middle class friends. The only one who comes close in stature is Romney but he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Given the same beginning as Herman Cain I seriously doubt Mitt would have been able to accomplish as much.

    Mr. Cain’s story, black or white is what this country was intended to be for people.

    When I think about what Herman Cain has accomplished in his years on earth, it is truly remarkable. Very few men or women accomplish half as much. Instead of denigrating him he should be held up as an example of what is possible in the this country with a little hard work, some native intelligence and personal initiative.

  16. It makes me crazy when inteligent people enter into ridiculous arguments; like how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.

    It is not necessary to THEORIZE about whether or not voter suppression works: it does. We tried it, we checked, it’s simply a fact.

    Likewise the question of whether racism aligns with party boundaries: it does.

    It used to be the Democratic party that embraced the racists. Republicans grew tired of clinging to the short end of the stick, and gradually they too embraced the racists. When LBJ decided to reject the racists and embrace the lower classes, he drove the racists into the arms of the Republicans. The record of how many D’s and R’s voted yea/nay for the CRA is muddied because the realignment was not yet complete at that time.

    And so it is a fair question to ask why any black man would choose to be a Republican. If the answer isn’t obvious then you should be suspicious.

  17. Dolores:

    I thought that I would share an e-mail that was sent to me :

    Lawdy, I don’t know who Aunt Dorothy is, but as the old folks used to say, she takes no tea for the fever!

    MESSAGE TO HERMAN CAIN

    The greeting on your website says, “we are looking forward to hearing from you”, but I’m not sure you will be lookingforward to hearing from me, Mr. Cain.

    I saw on the internet that you called the President a liar. I deplore what you are doing and the things you are saying about the President in order to gain favor with these greedy, thieving, selfish, Republicans. How dare you call President Obama a liar. You are a pathetic, obviously brainwashed black man who has lost his way and his mind. You have had opportunity and a smattering of privilege in America that has made you forget your roots. I despise people like you and Clarence Thomas, and you both have Georgia roots.

    What is it with you black men from the south who grow up in an oppressed environment and end up siding with the
    oppressor? The recent case of Troy Davis in Georgia is an excellent example of the present day oppression and legal lynching that still takes place in that state and in this country. The political party that you praise so highly is presently enacting laws to suppress the black vote, the student vote, and many elderly voters across this entire country. Yet, you choose to stand with people who display such obscene and un-American behavior. You would throw black people (including the President of the U.S.) and others under the bus to curry favor with these non-caring and hedonistic people.

    You were there when your Republican cohorts cheered about the death penalty which disproportionately affects black men and women in this country – some of whom have been proven to be innocent. You should be ashamed to stand with these people and yet, you appear to be proud of such an association.

    Yes, President Obama does believe in fairness and sharing the responsibility of the tax burden, it is not socialism nor is it class warfare, and he is not a liar for saying it. That kind of rhetoric from you and those with whom you identify is nothing more than a weak defense for the greedy and despicable philosophy that you choose to embrace.

    You had the unmitigated gall to tell Wolf Blitzer on CNN that two thirds of African-American people are brainwashed and incapable of thinking for themselves. You are surely touched in the head. The millions of us who are capable of thinking for ourselves – we know who is really brainwashed – you – brainwashed whiter than snow.

    Do you really think those people with whom you stand on the debating platform really respect you and see you as their equal? They as well as others see you as a joke and a person who is engaging in buffoonery. A Republican majority House and Senate would never pass your “so called” 999 plan. They would never deem it in their best interest. Besides, there are many who believe your plan is a coded message from Satan. If you flip the numbers they become the 666 plan.

    You will never be President of this country, and I thank God for that. I must say, you certainly live up to your last name. Just as Cain in the Bible so blatantly slew his brother, you are equally willing to do the same politically and economically to millions of black and middle class citizens of this country. Such behavior is extremely ugly, and need I remind you, Mr. Cain, that God does not like ugly.

    P.S. If it wasn’t for the fact that I’m having a nice day, I would tell you what I really think about you.

    IF YOU ARE TIRED OF WHITE AND BLACK REPUBLICANS CALLING PRESIDENT OBAMA A LIAR-
    PLEASE FORWARD THIS SO OTHERS MAY KNOW THE TRUTH.”

  18. Herman Cain does know his place. He knows he is a free man to do what he wants with his life and to work hard to be successful in whatever he chooses to do. That is the opposite of the blacks who think they are still slaves and allow the Democrats to be their Masters.

  19. I like visuals to make a point:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVWIZU6Zc9k&feature=related

    Report: Wis.-Based Org’s Cash to Cain Might Breach Campaign Laws
    By National Journal Staff
    Updated: October 31, 2011 | 11:49 a.m.
    October 31, 2011 | 11:40 a.m.

    Two senior aides to Herman Cain ran a private organization based in Wisconsin that helped the Republican presidential candidate launch his candidacy by paying for “iPads, chartered flights and travel to Iowa and Las Vegas,” a possible breach of federal tax and campaign laws, accordig to a report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
    Speaking Monday on Fox News, Cain said he could not address the Journal Sentinel report.
    “I’m not aware of this report. … We are gonna look at it to see if there is any validity,” Cain said.
    The Journal Sentinel obtained internal records that show the Cain campaign owes Prosperity USA around $40,000 for a number of items. Prosperity USA, which now appears to be defunct, according to the report, was run by campaign chief of staff Mark Block and deputy chief of staff Linda Hansen.
    It is unclear whether the campaign repaid the funds, but Cain’s federal election filings do not mention the debt, and the figures do not match payments from the cadidate’s campaign, the Journal Sentinel reported.

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