Sunday, November 13, 2011

you have to credit Herman Cain

I'm not aligned with any political party, but when I look over at the GOP side, I've found Herman Cain to be, despite his total inexperience in politics, the most palatable choice among the current crop of GOP wannabes. That said, the scandal surrounding him is troublesome, and if it turns out that there's actual substance to the accusations against him, I'm perfectly willing to turn my gaze elsewhere.

But I do have to hand it to Cain: he's introduced a new concept that will be hard for liberals to shake, and that's the concept of the "Democrat plantation": the idea that, if you're black, your ass belongs to the Democrats, and to break away from that narrative-- to be a successful black Republican, for example-- is to brand yourself as "uppity." This is a clever subversion of a toxic theme in American public discourse.

Cain's concept is as dirty as the sort of race-card rhetoric that emanates from the liberal side; there's nothing noble about it. But as a blow struck in favor of rhetorical parity, the concept does much to reset the terms of the political discussion, and (one hopes) to make Democrats more cautious about what they say regarding successful minorities who don't see the world through a liberal lens. The "if you're black, you should be a Democrat" meme-- more of a tacit assumption, really, than a public avowal-- is odious and begs for deconstruction.

The "Democrat plantation" meme is spreading, too:

A cast member of the gay reality TV show “A-List Dallas” tells The Daily Caller that he was punched to the ground and bloodied Friday night by someone vandalizing his car because he’s a gay conservative associated with commentator Ann Coulter.

Taylor Garrett, a Republican consultant in Texas who stars in the reality series on the channel LOGO TV, said in an interview that he was attacked outside a birthday party in Dallas after finding a vandal scratching “F–k Coulter” on the side of his car.

Garrett said the incident reflects a troubling mindset.

“The Democrats want me to live on their plantation as their slave, because I’m a gay person,” he said. “And I refuse to do that.”


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1 comment:

John McCrarey said...

I'm pretty much in the "anyone but Obama" camp, but I find myself liking Cain as well. I think a Cain versus Obama race would make liberal heads explode trying to come up with something to replace the "racist Republicans" meme.

I am a little leery of Cain's lack of foreign policy experience, but like you, unless there is some substance and proof to the sexual misconduct allegations, I'm not bothered at all. At this point it smells like political dirty tricks to me.

It's interesting that Gingrich appears to be rising in the polls of late. I'm looking forward to seeing what the Dems throw at him in the coming days.