A Misguided Pizza Man

I have always believed that “I have never met a person that I have never met before” but now I can say that is a fallacy. This week the conservative GOP presidential candidate proved me wrong. I am talking about the Godfather of Pizza who said that African Americans are brainwashed by the Democratic Party because most vote for them. I have to suggest that maybe he has been brainwashed by the likes of the Tea Party and those like minded people; meaning the modern citizen council members. Personally, I thought Cain’s remarks were curious for a number of reasons, mainly because they insulted the intelligence of millions of black Democrats.

Of course, Cain is correct in that many voters are brainwashed in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. But what he left out is that brainwashed voters lie on both sides of the aisle, not just in the Democratic Party. When you consider that this man recites party lines are in almost complete lockstep with the Republican handbook of political discourse, should rightly be the first target of brainwashing allegations. Also, being the only Republican who discusses President Obama’s race on a regular basis, Cain is nothing more, in my opinion, than a dark-faced puppet of those who are afraid of a sensible reality. Are there any other Republican candidates who discuss race as much as Cain? I rest my case.

Obviously, he believes that his strong performance in a recent Florida straw poll has suddenly made him into a serious political player. He will see that his overconfidence will be short-lived, because anyone watching him in any serious way will easily see that a man as goofy, arrogant and simple-minded who could never be taken seriously enough to be president. In fact, Cain isn’t even good enough to be artificially propped up as a black Republican who could challenge President Obama.

Moreover, if you simply look at the people who promote and endorse him one will see he’s a nut and I am being kind. I won’t dignify my remarks with any praise given to him by Glen Beck and we know how ludicrous he is. So I will go to someone who is equally as far right Conservative political commentator Pat Buchanan who supports the Cain’s theory that African Americans have been 'brainwashed' into voting for Democrats. Buchanan said, “I admire Herman Cain for standing up and going against, if you will, the conventional wisdom, and being a tough African American businessman who succeeded in a tough world”. Hmmmm.

Wait, it gets worse, Buchanan added this racially charged sentiment to the mix. “I think what he's saying is they bought a lot of liberal propaganda on the liberal plantation and I think he's right… I think the African American community has embraced Great Society liberalism which has proved devastating for the African American family”. For Cain and others who believe that African Americans have been brainwashed into not being open minded sounds like the thinking of the days of old, i.e., slave masters.

I don’t make these remarks about Cain because he is a conservative. Rather because as a black man who has lived long enough to know segregation and racism should know better and what these kinds of house Negro remarks make him look like a fool or maybe as a political joke. Colin Powell, a far more serious and measured Republican, would be the kind of candidate that Americans of all backgrounds could support. Herman Cain has made a living by saying the kinds of racist things that right wing folks like to hear and also by throwing angry rhetorical fireballs at President Obama in the name of Tea Party hatred. Racism is typically most effective when it has a black face, and I will say again Cain is merely a modern-day artifact of House Negro attacks during slavery.

Cain is a weak leader because he has not defined himself as a man of meaningful principle, nor as a human being who possesses political skills necessary to make him anything more being a Republican jester. His thoughts are rarely original, and I find his mannerisms while communicating to hardly garner the kind of respect that one would give to the President of the United States. George Bush might have been able to get elected while not being presidential material, but Cain will never get that chance. The Republican Party or those conservatives he praises will gladly throw him under the bus to advance their motives. They will surely spit him out if he ever decides to truly lead the party in a direction that has not been previously programmed into his skull.

It’s like his recent remarks where he said, if elected, he would “change the mood” of “Hail to the Chief” by adding a gospel vibe. “It’s traditional and that’s all well and good, but I happen to believe there comes a time when you need to change the mood of it just a little bit, not drastically,” Cain told Fox News’ Chris Wallace. “It’s kind of like in marketing. Periodically, companies that have been successful at branding might modify their logos just a little bit to give it a fresher look. I think ‘Hail to the Chief’ needs a little bit fresher sound.”

Let me just say in closing what I have been trying to say. Herman Cain should be careful about using the term “brainwashed” toward anyone, for that’s exactly the term that comes to mind when I think about his short-lived run for president. His decision to run as a walking gimmick demeans himself, his party and all of those who support him. The recent Florida straw poll results have made this cocky man even cockier, but he’ll soon be yanked back down to earth; just you wait and see. He also needs to realize that a man can achieve his goals without insulting his own people. What comes to mind when I think of him is that he reminds me of my Uncle Thomas who we call Tom. And that is my Thought Provoking Perspectives.