Five Lessons for Republican Candidates Courtesy of Herman Cain
Last Sunday, Washington Post columnist George Will appeared on ABC News’ This Week with Christiane Amanpour to discuss the GOP primary. During the discussion, Will opined on Herman Cain’s “entrepreneurial-charlatan” status:
WILL: …now and 2016, both parties have to do some serious thought as to whether they can develop some filter to prevent this process, particularly with made proliferation of debates from being hijacked by charlatans, entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial charlatans.
AMANPOUR: Who would you label as one of those?
WILL: Well, the one who dropped out, Mr. Cain, who used this as a book tour in a fundamentally disrespectful approach to the selection of presidents. Now, we have a December 27th debate proposed that would be moderated by Donald Trump. Surely it is time for these candidates to do something presidential, stand up and say we’re not going to be hijacked and participate in this.
I could not help but wonder where in the world Will kept all this unique insight and professional candor in 2008, when a “community organizing” charlatan and Chicago-machine-made thugocrat received permission from establishment commentators to pose unchallenged as the consummate Anointed One for whom the U.S. presidency had waited so long.
Is it possible that Will has forgotten the presidential election of 2008, when he and every other enabling media elitist, along with the Democratic Party, allowed the presidency of the United States of America to become a garish, iconographic, messianic, banana-republic ego trip for a single individual with no qualifications but a teleprompter and a real-world resume fit for the back of a postage stamp?
Our media elites seem to harbor an adolescent streak of magical thinking as they attempt to put this charlatan-genie back in its bottle, hoping to return to an equally magically-imagined state of American politics where no one save the most able, most noble, most amply experienced citizens would dare to run. There has indeed never been such a state. And as long as America remains a constitutional republic of the people, there won’t.
Herman Cain had every right to run for president, just as every other American citizen who meets the very basic qualifications outlined by Article 2, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution. Cain made a good run of it, as was his right. Millions of Americans appreciated his plain speaking, ardent patriotism, and willingness to face off with smooth talking heads, most of whom have never had a real job in their lives.
Nevertheless, there are some valuable lessons from the Cain implosion, which could serve current and would-be Republican candidates very well indeed. Here are my top five lessons, courtesy of Herman Cain.
Yep, as long as there is a media, they will be out to trash republicans & sponsor any democrat. It is almost as if Pravda is alive & well in the mainstream media here. It is so rigged that you can easily even see liberal bias in Sports Illustrated!
“It is almost as if Pravda is alive & well in the mainstream media here.”
В “Правде” нет известий, а в “Известиях” нет правды.
Well stated.
The conservatives in this country would do well to despise and shun the likes of Will, Noonan, Krauthammer, et al and put them out of business – permanently.
With a new media, there ought to be new commentators.
They are all truly foul – wolves in sheep’s clothing. Under no circumstances do any of them deserve the name “conservative.”
New commentators – well, that’s why we blog!
“Courtesy”, guys … not “courtesty”. Cour-testy” is how Bama reacts … curt + testy.
Dont’ forget that Obama benefited from a terrific campaign waged by Axelrod and Co – that only allowed the masses to see him in the best possible light. The pressers were brilliantly staged, the questions planted, no one had access to the candidate (with rare exception) for off-the-cuff questions. And if you recall, those few chances to see Obama think on his feet were a disaster.
No one quite realized then that the president would earn the nickname “Reader of the Free World” due to his reliance on TOTUS. We certainly have an empty suit in the White House – and that would be bad enough without the usual hacks and new nutjobs that fill so many cabinet and czar positions.
George Bush would have appointed the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice had he not been blocked by the Senate. So Obama gets credit for that one in the history books. And the Dems can claim to be looking out for minorities.
Another major problem with the country is that an alarmingly large number of people get their “news” from The Daily Show and the Colbert Report. Entertaining? Yes. Brilliant satire? Some of the time. Objective? Ha!
What is to be made of the fact that even the conservative candidates themselves indulge this slanted process? Can you imagine Democrats allowing for a series of “debates” in which their candidates were subjected to moderators comprised of such individuals as Rush Limbaugh, Walter Williams, Thomas Sowell, Mark Levin, and Victor Davis Hanson? Yet the Repubs gleefully present themselves before every MSM airhead and liberal advocate imaginable and accept the treatment that they receive as normal. Would Obama agree to be interviewed for an hour by Rush on an open question basis (an opportunity that Rush would relish with glee)? No, because Obama would be afraid for his lying a** to do so. But would Newt or most any conservative ever be asked for a no-holds-barred interview (not a rigged arrangement) by a Rachel Maddow or Brian Williams? No because the liberal interviewer would be afraid that his/her head might be handed back to them on a plate. Why is this situation tolerated and what is the flaw in the conservative mindset that allows for it? No wonder that the playing field is slanted. We conservatives not only tolerate it but we encourage it.
Good point, but sadly, the Republicans don’t have a choice if they’re going to get onto mainstream media outlets. I will point out there are exceptions – Fox News debates and the one sponsored by the Heritage Foundation and AEI.
Yooper is right! Face time like that, who needs it?
If every, and I mean EVERY! GOP candidate simply refused interviews fo even 20 days with the libtardian press (and stated why on alternative media outlets), the big three networks would fold Im sure. It just has to be an all or nothing deal. Why McConnel and Boehnert are allowed on the Sunday shows is beyond me. If the GOP is going to put someone up have it be Rubio for the senate and West for the house. Get those two “old white dudes” off the air. Lindsey Graham? puuulleeeaase!!
Because Boehner and McConnell are already bought and paid for. Their pretentious charades fool no one. They bluster, but end by rolling over for the obamanites. Four hundred billion ended with 35 million; 1.5 trillion moved down to 120 billion; now is set aside altogether. The GOPhers are worse than the Demonrats in that they are arch hypocrites and pathological liars. They tolerate the theft of tens of billions by the Fed, unconstitutional executive orders, illegal wars, etc. Some even promote abortion and homosexuality. The stink from the elephant pen is exactly the same as that from the jackass pen.
George Will reminds me of the country club women who keep out dirty Catholics and won’t swim in a swimming pool that blacks have swum in.
Amen. The pundits and smoke filled room boys of the GOP establishment are the problem.
“Is it possible that Will has forgotten the presidential election of 2008, when he and every other enabling media elitist, along with the Democratic Party, allowed the presidency of the United States of America to become a garish, iconographic, messianic, banana-republic ego trip for a single individual with no qualifications but a teleprompter and a real-world resume fit for the back of a postage stamp?”
I couldn’t agree more. I always say this, and I will keep on saying it. Obama never ran a town, a city, or a state, let alone a major (or even minor) corporation. He never got any major piece of legislation passed and was mostly an unknown political hack from Illinois with a lot of questionable friends (from Bill Ayers and the “Reverand” Wright to Tony Rezko). Yet people like Will and others in the mainstream media had no problems with this idiot running for president. You get what you vote for and with Obama this country got very, very, little, but a lot of debts. Now we all have to choke on it. Thanks Mr. Will (and jerks like him) for not doing your job back in 2008.
How about this lesson from the collapse of the Cain campaign:
DON’T CHEAT ON YOUR WIFE.
Especially if you’re going to present yourself to the voters as an honest, straight talking man of integrity.
Because an honest, straight talking man of integrity doesn’t cheat on his wife.
“DON’T CHEAT ON YOUR WIFE.”
Was that fact ever established?
Well, don’t cheat on your wife unless you are a libwit, in which case it’s more a badge of honor than a handicap.
Please present credible evidence.
There is no credible evidence. That’s the whole point!
It’s completely impossible to prepare oneself and one’s family for every piece of libel that someone might come up with.
I suppose the only possibility is to make a pact with one’s family to see the campaign through to the end, NO MATTER WHAT. Not many politicians’ families are prepared to go along with that, which is a shame.
There is no evidence that he cheated on his wife. There were more words written about Cain’s supposed ‘women’ problems than there has been about the loss of a ultra-tech drone to Iran and (presumably) China and Russia.
But there is not a bit of evidence that he did anything inappropriate, much less cheated on his wife.
There is more evidence that the “woman problem” was planted than there is evidence that there was a womam problem.
sinz54, you are a racist pig.
Excellently written analysis of the very annoying double standard perpetuated by our “esteemed” MSM. Unfortunately conservative pols & candidates for office enable its perpetuity because of their desire to be liked. Rush Limbaugh has admonished them on a # of occasions to get over this. Something about human nature makes that a rather tall order though. But that is what needs to happen if there is ever to be any hope of hobbling this dreadful pattern.
Congrats on your best article in a while, Kyle Anne.
Every word is the truth, including the part about Cain not realizing that he was never going to receive the get out of jail free deck of cards that Obama gets.
I must be getting crotchety in my old age.
I guess I said something offensive in my comment…and got caught in the spam filter again.
Two possible candidates for my exclusion:
1) I surmised that the tape held hostage by the LA Times possibly contained an ethnic slur against Jews and Israel…and I named the slur.
2) I opined that if I was ever within arm’s length of Bill Ayers…it would be hard for me not to have an involuntary elbow spasm near the vicinity of his jaw.
Either way…Kyle Anne…this was a thing of beauty. Bravo.
The best a conservative can expect from the mainstream media is a fair shake. The worst a liberal can expect from the mainstream media is a fair shake.
The need is to stifle the main stream media. That would fix the problem.
The tactic: a conservative think tank with deep pockets, one which has enough trouble thinking up a single original idea, would spend money on billboards. All across the country.
The boards would read something like this.
New York Times: O
Pipeline from Canada: 95,000 job.
L.A. Times: O ethics
Right to see Obama/Khalidi tape: 300,000 Americans
You get my drift?
Thousands of these type messages would let most voters know that main stream media is nothing more than a mouthpiece for Obama. Not enough people realize this. They need examples.
Holder’s Fast & Furious lies in N.Y. Times: Countless
American agents with families killed as a result: 1
“The need is to stifle the main stream media. That would fix the problem.”
I think you are on to something here, Rachel. But the think-tank and deep pocketed investors would have to also branch into the television and film production businesses.
As was noted earlier, many (make that way too many) people think that Stewart and Colbert have credentials as journalists. With the quality of crap-journalism that is in print, on the air, and lives on the internet, it is not too much of a stretch to see why so many people are duped by liberal group-think, hack news reads and writers.
Alongside attempting to force newspapers and electronic media something more than “useful idiots” for the left, it is mandatory that conservative messages be injected into scripts. To do so, you have to have more producers as Joel Surnow and the handful of actors who are not afraid to proudly identify themselves as Conservatives. Kelsey Grammer is a good example at the moment. His portrayal as the very-Daleyesgue Mayor of Chicago, Tom Kane in “Boss” is a great take on liberal back-stabbing.
I certainly think that getting enough producers with balls enough to put their street cred on the line and allow their Conservative sides to show through and influence content, is the next logical step.
I have worked on a couple of sets in my time, and I tell you that liberalism is not as rampant with the crew and production side, as opposed to the writers and actors who probably still feel the love for Obama in a Chris Matthews warm and fuzzy, tingly kind of way.
I can hardly watch scripted television or most films nowadays as the plots, dialogue and tone are seeded with the bashing of Christians and Conservatives, while at the same time propping up the falling agenda of Communists (yes I said it: COMMUNISTS Progressives, and Liberals. I call it the dreaded CPL disease and while many in the entertainment business will claim they lean left and never right, that is not always the case.
Ronald Reagan fought the leftists and Reds in Hollywood during his couple of tenures as president of SAG, and we should honor his efforts by sticking several hundred Red feet to the fire of accountability.
Bottom line is that each actor, producer, writer, etc. is a free-agent attempting to make as much money as they can as fast as they can.
Gee, that kinda sounds like free-market Capitalism to me.
In the final analysis, getting content like this out to the public is easier now than ever thanks to the internet. It is a matter of finding a few bucks (OK several bucks) from fellow conservatives who understand that, like it or not, the entertainment business has a huge influence on the mindset of a vast portion of the general public.
It won’t be as easy as producing a few episodes a family-friendly TV show, and posting them on YouTube. That is too easy, and is a cop-out as the chance of something getting seen is nil. It will take a lot of sweat equity, and like Rachel mentioned, blanket the countryside…especially the “fly-over” country-side with billboards, spot buys on Cable networks, etc.
It is going to take a major dose of OZ-like Courage and a bankroll from folks who don’t mind liberal media scrutiny of their lives and finances.
That courage can only come from within, there will be no Wizard in Washington who will pass that out like a medallion. And the money won’t come easy, perhaps.
And certainly it won’t come from any type of funding via Stimulus Cash (nor should it), sweetheart deals like that are only reserved for liberals in the loop like Robert Townsend.
The time for Conservatives to push forward, grab the slate board and yell “action” on entertainment that will appeal to the center-right majority is now.
Right now is right, now.
To be fair, pre-2008 it would have been almost impossible for a white Republican (or a white anybody) to say anything negative about the first black presidential candidate to actually have a shot at winning. The charge of racism was still powerful enough to ruin careers in those days. Three years of Obama’s presidency have changed all that. Accusing people of racism, as the Democrats and other leftists have done over every possible criticism of the man, has become almost meaningless now.
That said, Democrats are still going to get kid-glove treatment, and Republicans are going to get slammed. It’s going to take a long time to change that, and it involves gradually weeding out all the Marxists in our media, academe, and entertainment.
Left out the single, most important element in this equation” We The Elite People of Washington DC.”
This last, feared Mr. Cain vehemently. With his proposals, popularity and rise in the polls merely frightened every Washingtonian’s “years of carving out their little turf” to their very core.
A “circling of the wagons” quickly got underway. Strange alianses arose (ex: FoxNews with CNN/POLITICO et al) just wierd. Then there was the WHOLE black community throwing Mr. Cain UNDER the bus!!!! Really strange. Rodney King had more rage and outcry than either Mr. Cain OR Thomas. Sorry! A black conservative would completely destroy a hegemony built, created and festering in We The Elite People of Washington DC. This hegemony wasn’t going to let Mr. Cain’s “all african-americans are ‘brainwashed’” go unanswered. No sireee! He had to be pulled right back on the “plantation.” OR ELSE!!!
Sure enough, or else happened, with a vengeance! Where are they now??? HUH! Gone! Served their purpose. Bimbettes, all!
Simple: Still We The People vs. We The Elite People of Washington DC. If the electorate understands this simple equation…there’s still hope for Our Beloved America. God Bless Us All.
One lesson: DON’T LIKE McCain vow not to say anything “incendiary” about Obama, like Romney just did. What an unmitigated nightmare!
After reading this one comes to an almost inescapable conclusion, the Republican candidates need a “Roadmap”
These pages would be an excellent start in that direction. They also need a couple of hard rock Democrat liberal Friends to help them go very meticulously through their lifetime Bio and see each and every item there as a Democrat bent on destruction would see it.
It is more than a little difficult to understand the liberal/communist mindset that believes that the Democrat walks on water while the Republican walking beside him is knee deep in mud. It is hard to see that the media is there slipping the steel plate just under the water surface on the democrats side.
A marvelous case in point is the predominance of the liberal moderator(s) for Republican debates. Did anyone really think this through from the Republican side with the attitude that these moderators will do everything in their power to downgrade the debate and the participants. This is a question that resonates throughout a great many households in the US and they are not just Tea Party members.
Herman was my guy but hey, life’s a beach right?
I am curious at what point does the press cross the line into actively subverting the election process? Could a daring legal mind find a way to convict the press. It is argueably a harm to an individual if the media’s guy is elected over another that isn’t.
I am not talking jail-time but, possibly equal on air time for the candidate out in the cold. Heck, didn’t a progressive jail some reporters during WWI? If you think about it this could be very subversive if the press keeps it up. Obama “IS” going to lose this next election short of a miracle, so I will be curious as to how far the press goes into the tank.
Just askin!!
When Fox News hired Geraldo we should have known it became an entertainment network. BTW Are there T-shirts available for Runaway Slave the movie? If so how do we get them? As you know, the elitetist want everyone on the plantation.
We certainly cannot count on Fox News. They are “conservative” only by contrast to the hard-left perspective of the other “mainstream” news outlets.
Fox News fair and balanced? Bzzzzzt, wrooooong!
But then, that’s why we blog…
Kyle-Ann,
I’m sure your article is great, but I didn’t read it. No slight to you, but my eyes get tired because they don’t work like they once did.
Writing, for me, is easier. Copying others words is even easier.
Of course, it’s a big help to know what any Republican candidate is up against. But here’s a paragraph that dovetails with your article; it may help us understand why our candidates for office must ignore the slings and arrows.
I titled it: “Why we fight”
(Which are three words I first saw strung together viewing the “Band of Brothers” HBO Miniseries)
Although they may not have the poetry of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, the words possess a clarity of thinking that are needed in what I consider a battle for the survival of this great nation.
“We are not up against “progressives” and we are not up against “liberals”. The Democratic Party is run by small c communists, the mass media are their propaganda machine and we are at war with those who mean to overthrow our current system of government..via stealth, hidden agendas and coordinated distortion.” (cfbleachers,August,2011)
Easy to build the list now that hindsight is 20-20. and this identifies who are the real conservatives, so far at least.
Santorum and Bachmann.
That can’t be the MSM headquarters.
It’s tilting right.
Well, with their performances over the last couple of weeks, Krauthammer and Will and others as well—who I used to have some respect for as supposed “conservatives”—have revealed themselves by their savage attacks against Newt Gingrich to be, in actuality, part of the inside the beltway elite, and feeling very, very threatened by Newt because, I presume, in a Gingrich administration they just might not be part of the cozy crew, and on the inside anymore.
So, now Newt is just not good enough for them, he is full of flaws, practically a lunatic. I can’t help thinking that their attitudes are very much akin to members of an all Christian country club of a few decades ago, looking down on and slamming a “dirty Jew” who might have had the temerity to want to join their club.
Straight to the Must Read Lockbox. And also a good argument for Newt as the Nominee. He just doesn’t care anymore – see Michael Douglas in ‘Falling Down’ as the metaphor for what I mean.
d(^_^)b
http://libertyatstake.blogspot.com/
“Because the Only Good Progressive is a Failed Progressive”
Cain was my man and he is gone. It is totally unrealistic to expect any person, running for office or not, to be expert in all the fields that surround the POTUS. That is why a president has a cabinet and if he is diligent gets expert advise on any subject.
It is also unrealistic to expect any candidate to be sinless. Hopefully Bachman and Santorum will prove to be faithful spouses but even that does not guarentee that charges will not be brought forth by their enemies. Maybe Rick spanked one of his kids and is thus a child abuser. As Herman found out, accusers can be bought and brought foreward. I’m not sure that in Cain’s case that it wasn’t the GOP Beltway mob that financed the bimbo’s appearance. He was just soooo UPPITY, and disrespectful of the RINOS.
God bless you Herman Cain and your family. Wish it weren’t so.