Herman Cain is the gavel commander the Republican Party has been looking for to displace and dispel lingering suggestions linking Obama-opposition to racism while offering an alternative to black voters who may still be considering color as an appropriate value worth voting for. Out of the mouth of this staunch conservative, private citizen-turned-politician, rumbles the same nearsighted dialogue that seeks to minimize everything about the United States from its ideological preamble of the Declaration of Independence to the disdain for entitlements and Non-Christians working in the Cabinet of the administration. Cain and the GOP’s vision of a smaller government (despite a vastly expanded population) which drastically cuts spending, harkens back to the days of Ronald Reagan who actually dared to put such a philosophy into action during the 8 tormentuous years of his administration.
Cutting spending is code language for abandoning the idea of urban social programs aimed at addressing the inequality and blighted potential of persons living in the inner cities of America. That these people happen to be Black in a larger proportion than the demographic mix of the nation at-large may or may not have to do with persisting attitudes contrary to their worth as humans. Attitudes which, of course, stem from the slave system which was fully in effect when those glorious words of the Declaration of Independence were penned:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of happiness”
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of happiness”
The reason Mr Cain, in his speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Georgia a few months back, quoted this time-worn phrase, was to frame his subsequent moralist re-hash of the God-driven values he presumes will catapult him to the crest of political leadership as President of the United States. Seizing upon the contemporary trend seeking to restrict the role of religion in government and in schools, Mr Cain intended the words regarding “their Creator” to introduce his support of Christian Values. The irony of a Black man praising those words written while his not-so-distant ancestors were still in chains in this country may have been missed by Mr. Cain, but not by myself and possibly others reasonably astute.
Whatever Herman Cain is looking for, he is certainly on track to forcing the GOP to find a place for him since he has sprung forth on his own (presumably) to fill the gap left by the strangely convenient dismissal of Michael Steele. The question remains as to just what Mr. Cain will submit to and if his integrity is for sale. If, despite the rumor that one doesn’t have to be white to oppose Barack Obama, Cain’s elevation to the level of candidate in 2012 is rejected by the Republican Party in advance, through the offer of a plum in the form of the RNC Chair, will Mr Cain jump at the chance or follow his convictions to where his confidence and self-respect is leading him?
In any case, it is clear that marginalizing the black community in the inner cities and following a minimalist approach to the process of governing that continues to leave large numbers of people out of the system, enlarging the underclass and ignoring the plight of the poor and suffering continues to label the not-so-hidden agenda of the GOP no matter who is holding the microphone. Cain and the GOP rail mightily against the Health Care Bill, but continue to offer no reasonable alternative while so many Americans go on living night and day without health care insurance.
Cain and his politics of entitlement-loathing and refusal to spend money to redress urban decay which is not tagged for more jails, more police officers and more criminal courts, threatens our society in far worse ways than the hysterical nostalgia-driven call to return to simpler times in this country. Ronald Reagan spoke of such times when he referred to a time when “America didn’t know it had a Race Problem” during his 1976 debate with Jimmy Carter. The further back one goes in US History, the worse it gets for blacks, minorities, and women, so I have to listen with both ears when I hear glorification of the past trumpeted by politicians seeking to gain power in the future.
Minimizing the country and marginalizing those who are disadvantaged may save budget money, but won’t address the reality of life in post-millennium America. Forcing Christian values into the arena of government and bringing back the “Under God” section of the Pledge of Allegiance speaks to Americans bent on fascism, yearning for a re-birth of fundamentalist Christianity and ignoring the large numbers of people standing outside of that narrow spectrum of National Identity. It may reverberate in the recall of the Declaration’s preamble, itself written in a minimalist mindset, omitting blacks, Native Americans, and Women, but it doesn’t rise to the image of diversified America today.
We are a plethora of religions, including non-religions; we are a diversity of cultures and races, including a growing contingent of mixed races. We are a casserole of mixed sexual orientations, trans-genders and who knows what else to come, all emboldened by a constitution that restricts the potential to compartmentalize on the basis of identification. It is not at all surprising or even significant that an African-American citizen should embody conservative values having come up in this culture and succeeded as a business person. I proudly salute Herman Cain’s successes and stature of decency. I firmly support the right of any person regardless of color to join any party he or she wants to. No one should be expected to vote for president Obama just because he happens to be black and few Republicans have expressed the Party’s ideals as eloquently and clearly as Herman Cain.
In the end of the day, I find his “vision” predictable, retrogressive, minimalist and marginal. I seriously doubt if more standard GOP politicians like Newt Gingrich are going to stand aside and let Mr Cain exhort his way into the candidacy for president on 2012, endorsed and chosen by the GOP, but wonders never cease. If Herman Cain is as committed and integrally sound as he comes across in his speech to the CPAC, I expect him to turn down the carrot of RNC Chair and go for the brass ring. Should he do so, we are in for a real treat in the campaign of 2012 which the best player will win. I believe the diverse nature of this country will prevail against the minimalist, marginalized message of the GOP and firmly re-assert my support of President Barack Obama for re-election in 2012.
RWH
