“The water tastes the same. What's the big deal? We had not been taught segregation at the age of six and seven. We wondered what the big deal was about.”
“Growing up in the segregated South, I’m not mad at America.”
Herman Cain has become audacious and forceful…but against the very people who he’s going to need to win over if he wants to win the Presidency.
Since the Rick Perry criticism, he’s gone on this unconscionable “black apology tour”, going around and reassuring the extremist white electorate within the tea party.
The whole thing is reflective of Herman Cain’s newfound stance to win the Republican nomination-to feed the tea party the kind of racially pacifist near-apologies for the progress that’s been “forced” upon them by the belligerent and disobedient blacks who should know their place and stay there.
In Herman Cain’s mind, he seems to wonder who do these ‘brainwashed’ colored people think they are...
It was only a few days ago that Herman Cain found himself in the good graces of people of unlikely origins.
After his scathing comment about Rick Perry’s racially insensitive “n----rhead-gate”, he found himself veering from his image of a pandering Republican, and winning people over to the idea that he’s more than meets the eye.
All of that lasted less than 24 hours.
Herman Cain, perhaps naively must have thought he would gain support from his party for that comment-former potential candidate Chris Christie recently having lambasted his own party for a Muslim nomination he had made.
Cain was dead wrong.
For a weak and reserved rebuke Cain had offered against Perry, calling the Texan “insensitive” for leaving the name up for so long, he was rewarded by being berated by the likes of Rush Limbaugh, who called it Cain’s “macaca” moment.
Herman Cain bowed to the pressure from the type of crowd who seems to think that if you just act like something didn’t happen *cough*paint over it*cough*, then you’re neither racist, insensitive, or responsible for having done it in the first place.
Low and behold, 24 hours later;
“I am not attacking Governor Perry. Some people in the media want to attack him. I’m done with that issue.”
The problem is that ever since then, Herman Cain has been audacious and forceful…but against the very people who he’s going to need to win over if he wants to win the Presidency.
Since the Rick Perry criticism, he’s gone on this unconscionable “black apology tour”, going around and reassuring the extremist white electorate within the tea party.
Herman Cain’s tour so far consists of him-
1. Telling unemployed and middle class people to blame themselves for not having a job or being rich.
2. Saying “Growing up in the segregated South, I’m not mad at America (over Segregation)”
3. Admits he doesn’t get “what the big deal is” about segregation:
“the water tastes the same. What's the big deal? We had not been taught segregation at the age of six and seven. We wondered what the big deal was about.”
4. In that same breath implies that racial progress in America came from other means other than the Civil Rights Movement and the struggle of colored people throughout American history.
5. Accused black voters of being “brainwashed”, something that may play with his tea party crowd, but not those black voters he seeks to ‘un-wash’.
6. Making up an imaginary sick relative whom he never spoke of in life or in his book to excuse his inactivity in college during Civil Rights era after being pressed on his claim of being too young to have participated.
I won’t get into the appropriateness of Lawrence’s pushing of the issue.
Still, the whole thing is reflective of Herman Cain’s newfound stance to win the Republican nomination-to feed the tea party the kind of racially pacifist near-apologies for the progress that’s been “forced” upon them by the belligerent and disobedient blacks who should know their place and stay there.
In Herman Cain’s mind, he seems to wonder who do these ‘brainwashed’ colored people think they are, seems to place blame for our recent stagnation and lack of success to our desire for equality and universal access to everything our Caucasian counter-parts have access to, as is enumerated in the Constitution.
If this sounds problematic for Herman Cain in the general election, it’s because it is.
The kind of people who overwhelmingly voted for Barack Obama in 2008 don’t subscribe to the kind of dumbfounding apologetic views Herman Cain is pandering to Republicans with.
No matter how many times he denies it, he’s not going to be able to avoid the media on these issues if he somehow wins the nomination, because these are the kinds of things you don’t have the luxury of being looked over when it’s just you and one other person running.
Herman Cain would be wise to note that this strategy has already been tried before to very little success by a similarly minded Alan Keyes in his race against this very same Barack Obama who is now President. Keyes is known for decrying reparations and other similar 'apologist' stances.
If Herman Cain would look back at that campaign, and I doubt that he hasn’t, he’s likely afraid of what’s likely to happen; he’s losing much more ground by winning the nomination than he can make up in the general election.
You can’t win elections by apologizing on behalf of the people who’s votes you need.
Just ask Alan Keyes. He hasn’t won a single general election he’s participated in.