Of course the absurd thing with Cain is not that the pattern of behavior seems to have at last (almost) wrung him from the race, it is that his total lack of knowledge on almost every subject has not. He has run with pride dropping alternating pearls of mind numbing ignorance and seasoned unwillingness to even think about issues, much less propose serious solutions. Thoughtful serious solutions as we know are my man Newt’s area of expertise, but I will long remember Cain stumbling through his first debate after the harassment allegations broke answering 9-9-9 preposterously to almost every question, like a friggin’ machine. 9-9-9! 9-9-9! 9-9-9! 9-9…. Ah f***, shut up already.
Cain is Jon Galt for the no attention span MTV Generation. I
read Atlas Shrugged. Hated it, but at least Ayn Rand was a thinker, an
intellectual even. She certainly was someone that gave great thought to the
issues before her. The current Republican electorate can’t be bothered with
deep thought. Like Galt, Cain and the Republicans speak metaphorically for the
masses, but at their core they really just represent money. Unlike Galt’s
creator the Republicans can’t be bothered with giving any real thought to the
issues though. And poor, poor them, they are so unfairly affected by the power
of government. They just can’t do whatever they want, whenever they want. Look,
look, Obama nationalized the auto companies, AIG, Freddy and Fannie, and
several large banks who he forced to take TARP money. The educated right will
tell you all this was foretold in Atlas Shrugged. I guess the collapse
of 2008, and the rescue of 2008 & 2009 is all just part of a big plot by
statist elements on the left to take over everything. If only the market had
been left to its own devices...
Listen carefully to the Republicans, even the “moderate”
Romney, calling for market solutions to the housing crisis. Roughly defined I
guess this would mean letting around 20 million more households —roughly all
those with underwater mortgages-- lose their homes. None of the lamestream newsies
at the debates actually gets to the reality of the damage that would be done by
these draconian proposals. It’s so much more satisfying to hear “free market
solutions”. Do we really need to delve into specific consequences?
Jon Stewart expressed disappointment about the potential for
Cain leaving the race, especially after “we lost Trump”. Give Cain credit he
was, and for now still is, the gift that keeps giving. Cain expressed his opposition
to appointing Muslim as judges or members of his cabinet. Apparently a staffer
advised him that there was something in the Bill of Rights that guaranteed
religious freedom or something and it looked bad to suggest that as the highest
political figure in the US he would sort of ignore it—at least before the
election. So he backtracked like a moron to limit his opposition to Muslims that
want to destroy America. I’m all in there. No candidate should be nominated
that proposes hiring terrorists for the department of Transportation. Whew, close
on that one, but Herman was there.
In an informal debate with my man Newt on healthcare, Cain
preformed a near ritual suicide, a precursor to the Libya brain freeze. There
they were seated at the couch when Americans
for Prosperity Texas chairman Ben Streusand asked Cain whether he favored a
“defined benefit plan” or “premium support” when it comes to Medicare. Cain
repeated the question, looked to the sky for relief, wiped his face (perhaps
the answer in the palm of his hand?) and finally said "You go first,
Newt". Libya was the live performance. Few in the media picked up
the dress rehearsal. If forced to
answer honestly his only reply could have been “I really have no idea”. Fair
disclosure: I am not sure I know the exact answer to the question either and I
have no clear posture on the answer. But 1) I am not running for President
presenting simplistic solutions to almost everything, and 2) I actually think I
could formulate at least a limited response based on what I know of the concept
presented.
Stymied when scrambling to repair damage to his right wing
anti-abortion rep, Cain evidenced a total lack of knowledge on the basic
function of the constitution. He said he would “sign it” referring to a
constitutional amendment banning abortion. Presidents of course do not assign
amendments. Once passed by congress, amendments are ratified by the states.
The so-called lame-stream media promoted his candidacy
endlessly. Before his epic crash and burn, the major networks mostly talked
about the newness of his voice, and the simple seductiveness of 9-9-9. Early on
there was little actual reporting on the wisdom of the plan, and ultimately it
fell to Cain’s Republican rivals to eviscerate a plan that had no chance of
passage anyway. The gaffes were reported on, but often with a patina of “Well,
at least he says what he means”, as if a scolding, narrow minded ass that
sputters ill-informed crapola – but with a lot of verve and feeling--is what
the country needs at this juncture in our history.
On the right the coverage was fawning. After the fiasco in
the Heath debate, John Hayward of Human Events when summarizing that healthcare
debate with Newt wrote, “Cain embodies the warmth of a Christmas Eve spent by
the fireplace with a mug of hot cocoa, and connects with people so easily it’s
almost hypnotic.” Holy crap! Really? Heyward sounds like he’ pining for one of
those 4:30 AM booty call IM’s.
Cain’s is clearly unwilling to give serious thought to the
issues. He combined this with a carnival barker’s decorum, sprinkled liberally
with bitter remarks about lazy Americans, bigoted comments about Muslim
Americans, and an outwardly hostile attitude about women. But none of that
drove him out. His general disdain for the rabble amazingly didn’t do him in.
Ironically it will be the religious right’s abandonment of his campaign due to
his problems with women that probably will be the death knell. Somehow that
seems wrong. An unethical bigot with no knowledge of how government works
should have been done in long ago for the obvious foolishness of his candidacy.
Instead he raised $30 million and we had to wait for the religious right to
finally get their fill. Pathetic.
Bye, bye Herman. I think I know what your wife will “say”.
See you on Fair and Balanced.
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