I endorse Ron Paul

I endorse Ron Paul
Ron Paul 2012

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Janeane Garafalo, Herman Cain and Racialism

Janeane Garafalo made some curious comments when she appeared on Keith Olberman's show. She regurgitated the Democratic narrative that minorities and women who support the GOP suffer from countless maladies. Of note is her comment that:



“I believe Herman Cain is in this presidential race because he deflects the racism that is inherent in the Republican Party, the conservative movement, the tea party certainly, and the last 30 years, the Republican Party has been moving more and more the right, also race-baiting more, gay-baiting more, religion-baiting more.”

As someone who has been called an Uncle Tom myself, I am well aware of the vacuous nature of the charge. Even so, Garafalo has not validated her contention at all. Her recital of Democratic urban legends is preaching to the choir.


The fact remains that the media focused on two GOP contenders to the near exclusion of others for many weeks. Rick Perry had a fall from grace around the same time that Herman Cain had a good debate performance, and this led individuals to pay greater attention to Cain. The media did as well.


Herman Cain has a very compelling life story that cannot be diminished by tacky pizza jokes. Moreover, his views are for the most part staple GOP vote seekers.


I would contend that Herman Cain was underrated from the start. He is now only getting the attention that he deserves. From all indications he is reaping the rewards of greater attention. All the talk about GOP voters trying to mask racism is a classic case of moving the goalposts. On one hand it is assumed that the GOP are brazen racists who don't give a damn. Yet on the other hand, one is told that the GOP supports a black man, so as not to appear racist. Who in the world is the GOP trying to impress by doing the latter is beyond me.The accusation of racism is begging the question; it's assumed that the GOP are racist and every thing that seems to validate that assumption is trumped up. 


Many African Americans have beliefs that are clearly in line with the GOP. For instance, Christian faith, immigration, abortion, gay marriage and national defense. There is no categorical imperative for an African American to be a Democrat. To suggest that there is foolish. Garafalo would be hard pressed to say that Frederic Douglas and other black Republicans were anyone's puppets. To even suggest that someone the likes of Booker T. Washington suffered from Stockholm Syndrome is demeaning. In fact, such examples along with Herman Cain rubbishes the argument that blacks can't be affirmative Republicans.

Herman Cain: Black Voters 'Have Been Brainwashed Into Not Being Open-Minded'

Herman Cain was interviewed by Wolf Blitzer recently and he had the occasion to say that members of the African American community "have been brainwashed into not being open-minded, not even considering a conservative point of view." Of course, when Blitzer mentioned that he used strong language to express his sentiment Herman Cain slyly moderated his position. Cain went on to say that not all black people were drinking Democratic cool-aid and the like.

Now, I think that Cain is guilty of condescension to African-Americans. Surely, he does not give African Americans credit when it's clearly due. One wonders if Cain has had any debate with other blacks of Democratic leanings. If he has, then he would know that most blacks who have any interest in politics know full well why they don't support the Republican party. The supposition that blacks blindly support the Democratic party is false and demeaning. Perhaps, Cain thought he would score points with GOP voters if he said that.

Surely, both sides of the political spectrum accuse each other of being brainwashed. Underlying the sentiment of elitism and implied intellectual collectivism is the view that blacks should have common interests, and that said interests are best served by supporting one political party. However, blacks are not a monolithic demographic at all. Therefore, expecting a synching of political ideology is wishful thinking.

In the end, the majority of blacks support the Democratic party because they are courted by the Democrats as opposed to the Republicans. Moreover, blacks tend to support the welfare state and other Democratic pet ideas. Further, strides in civil rights have been attributed to the Democratic party; thus, it is supposed that the continuation of civil rights rest with the Democratic party. As well, most black politicians are Democrats, so it's easier to identify with a Democrat.