Hey Herman….Still think the GOP are you
friends...HUH?
Will Herman Cain’s Reaction To ‘N*ggerhead’ Controversy Hurt Him
With Conservative Base?
As the fallout from the Rick Perry “Camp N*ggerhead”
controversy continues to build, an interesting peripheral question has emerged:
How will this controversy affect the rising candidacy of Herman Cain, whose
denunciation of Perry elevated this from a mere “hit piece” from the “liberal
media” to an intramural fight among Republicans? The perfect storm of the
“race card” and Cain’s use of a word that’s
arguably as inflammatory to the conservative base as the n-word – “sensitivity”
– could spell trouble for Cain’s meteoric campaign.
This particular Cain vs. Perry bout poses an
interesting dilemma for the conservative base. The energy around Cain is
nuclear, and is truly a grassroots phenomenon. While he has exploded onto the
national radar with his resounding victory in the Florida straw poll and rocket
ride to the top of the polls, the conservative faithful have been heaping
adulation on Cain for a long time now. At this year’s CPAC in February, “I love
Herman Cain” was the mantra on everyone’s lips. In a straight-up battle of true
enthusiasm, Cain beats Rick Perry every time.
On the other hand, Cain’s denunciation of Rick Perry
cuts deeply at the conservative base’s defensiveness about racial issues. The
standard operating procedure for conservatives, even black conservatives, is to
deride any issue involving Republicans and race as “playing the race
card.”
Cain, himself, has recently been under fire from the
media for remarks that he made about black voters being “brainwashed,” and likening the Democratic Party to a
“plantation.”
Now, Cain is on the other side of that equation,
attacking a conservative over an issue of race. For the conservative base,
Cain’s response could be a double-whammy, as he invoked the dreaded “S-word” in
his response to This Week‘s Christiane Amanpour, saying that Perry’s attendance
at the camp “shows a lack of
sensitivity.”
This is exactly the kind of talk that got Rick Perry
drummed out of the GOP primary lead, when he said conservatives were “heartless”
if they opposed in-state tuition for the children of undocumented immigrants. As
my friend and former colleague Matt Lewis pointed out to me, good conservatives
have traditionally only used the dreaded “S-word”
with the prefix “hyper.”
It’s early yet, but this controversy is shaping up to
be the stake through the heart of Perry’s already-troubled campaign. Even
conservatives who side with Perry will likely have to concede that cutting
through the thick cloud of coverage around this promises diminishing returns.
What are the chances that anyone is going to come out of the woodwork to defend
their trips to camp “N*ggerhead” with Rick Perry?
If Perry is, indeed, finished, then the blame for his
demise falls squarely on Herman Cain’s shoulders. While the Post‘s reporting was
solid, there were solid grounds for criticism, especially from a conservative
base that’s already suspicious of mainstream journalism. Cain’s denunciation
effectively destroyed that line of defense, and placed the story into a
Republican-on-Republican frame that’s a no-win for conservatives. Allowing Perry
to go down in flames will reinforce mainstream notions about conservatives and
race, but so will attacking Herman Cain.
So far, I haven’t seen much criticism of Cain, which
is a good sign for him. If the conservative base’s love burns as brightly for
Cain as it seems, The Daily Caller’s Matt Lewis lays out the manner in which
they can “forgive” Cain:
Cain’s comments were — at best – premature — and at
worst, highly irresponsible. It was a cheap shot, and, perhaps a signal that
Cain is willing to play the race card against a fellow Republican when it
benefits him.
The fact that Cain spoke out so soon — basing his
comments on a newly-posted and thinly-sourced article, published by an outlet
many conservativs believe to have a liberal bias — speaks to Cain’s lack of
political judgment.
While it’s probably too late for Perry, conservatives
can “rescue” Cain by reasoning that he was
“taken in” by the lamestream reporting of the Washington Post. Or, they could go
with Redstate/CNN pundit Erick Erickson‘s comparison of Cain to Al
Sharpton:
Herman Cain jumped into the fray on the Perry attack
expressing moral outrage or something. I think he might have been doing his
impression of Al Sharpton in the level of outrage he was willing to drum up to
be outraged over what Hugh Hewitt called a “drive by slander.” Maybe he should
have been outraged at the reporter for the hit job instead of at Rick Perry for
Perry’s daddy painting over a racial slur.
Erickson’s comparatively mild shot at Cain, it should
be noted, looks more like a pro forma matter than anything else, as it was
buried in a pile of musings, rather than it’s own post. Cain’s standing in the
polls will ultimately tell the tale, but if conservative opinion-makers continue
to hold their fire, he stands a chance.
On the other hand, as coverage of this issue
intensifies, the effect could very well be to forge an ever-stronger association
between the GOP and issues of race. If and when that happens, the conservative
base’s love of Herman Cain will truly be put to the test. Democratic Fox News
contributor and Daily Beast columnist Kirsten Powers says Cain’s denunciation
was a misstep that will hurt him with the base.
It was a mistake and shows he doesn’t really
understand the psychology of the GOP base. First, there are a lot of
contradictions in the reporting — some say that Perry was offended by it and the
rock was turned over. Others say they saw it in the last few years. Because
conservatives don’t trust the MSM, they will err on the side of assuming the MSM
is out to destroy Perry and playing racial politics. Some will also see this as
Cain “playing the race card” to gain support. I don’t agree with this
assessment, but this is how the base likely will view it. What I would say is
Cain should have waited until all the facts were in before assuming that what
was reported was true. I think the base will resent Cain being used by liberals
and the MSM to accuse a Republican of being a racist.
So in closing Herman you’re STILL a
NI**ER like the rest of us…HUH? The crows coming home to ROOST!
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