What War On Women? cont...

April 10th, 2012

As a result of the ongoing war on women, which exists no matter how much senior Republicans are now scrambling to deny it, the gap between support among American women voters for President Obama and Mitt Romney has grown wildly. Yesterday, Herman Cain was asked about this on Fox and explained the numbers as follows:

"I think many men are much more familiar with the failed policies than a lot of other people, as well as the general public."

You read that right.

Quote Of The Day - Here and Now Edition

Dec 5th, 2011

"Cain’s exit yesterday was a wholly absurd spectacle. His suspended campaign is presumably still sitting on millions of dollars of contributions. Cain owes it to his supporters to endeavor to return that money to all those people who gave it to him in good faith."

-- The National Review's Rich Lowry, lashing out yesterday at the Cain Train derailment.

The Cain Train Officially Derails

Dec 3rd, 2011

A few weeks ago, I publicly declared we weren't going to seriously follow the Cain campaign anymore. I am breaking that vow for obvious reasons. Today, in a performance as obtuse as it was narcissistic, Herman Cain announced that he was "suspending" his bid for the American Presidency.

Over the course of what Rachel Maddow called his "performance art" campaign, Cain did provide the nation with two valuable contributions; We discussed widely, and for the first time in the broader critical community, the possibility of implementing a "flat tax." His "999" plan helped educate the American people to the fact that flat tax proposals are little more than schemes to benefit paternalistic, crony Capitalism and to further the creation of an American aristocracy. They always have been. What's more, Cain's run allowed the voters of this country to see just how vicious the "family-values" party is willing to be (as shown HERE, HERE,HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE) when they aren't exploiting the peccadilloes of liberal womanizers when their  predations are made public.

That the final straw for the GOP base seems to have been an alleged consensual extramarital relationship and not the allegations of harassment and possibly even sexual assault against numerous women should give us all pause. Barbara J. Risman addresses this HERE.

Cain still refuses to take any responsibility whatsoever. He just can't seem to "blame himself."

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

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Some VERY NSFW Advice For Herman Cain

Dec 1st, 2011

No, we mean it. If you put this on at work, with the volume on, you're probably going home with your stuff in a box.

Cain Watch - "Manly Man" Pizza? Seriously?

Nov 14th, 2011

Okay. That's it. Barring some wildly more insane display than we have already had to endure (I know, maybe it could happen), we are ending our running series on the artist formerly known as Herman Cain with this one:

"The more toppings a man has on his pizza, I believe the more manly he is. Because the more manly man is not afraid of abundance. A manly man don’t want it piled high with vegetables! He would call that a sissy pizza."

Enough. No more Cain Watch. Unless and until he starts singing the Star Spangled Banner naked, in public while rubbing anchovies all over himself? We... Are... DONE.

Cain Watch - Why? Why Is He Doing This? cont...

Nov 14th, 2011

Wow. Jeff Spross adds this withering look at Cain's bumbling in light of today's "Libya moment."

Cain Watch - Why? Why Is He Doing This?

Nov 14th, 2011

I think it's a legitimate question; Why, for goodness sake's, is Herman Cain still running? This train-wreck goes beyond a "performance art" candidacy. Today's display of raw ignorance on the subject of Libya should make every foreign policy attuned conservative run from him, but quick.

By Alex Seitz-Wald and Jeff Spross observe:

"Unlike Rick Perry’s infamous "oops" moment, Cain doesn’t appear to have a momentary brain lapse, but seems to be genuinely befuddled by the substance of the question. Last month, Cain said he had studied up on foreign policy and "challenge[d] anybody who says I wouldn’t know how to address foreign policy."

While becoming the next commander in chief is looking increasingly unlikely for Cain, he has a backup plan. This weekend, he said he would like to be secretary of defense so he could "kick the you-know-what out of everyone in the world."

Cain Watch - God Told Him To?

Nov 12th, 2011

Taking a page from Paddy Chayefsky, Herman Cain has actually finally channeled Howard Beale. Literally. Speaking to a gathering of "young Republicans" in Atlanta,Ga. today, Mr. Cain told the audience he decide to run President of the United States after God told him to. This is not parody.

Via National Journal:

"I prayed and prayed and prayed. I’m a man of faith, I had to do a lot of praying for this one, more praying than I’d ever done before in my life. And when I finally realized that it was God saying that this is what I needed to do, I was like Moses. 'You’ve got the wrong man, Lord. Are you sure?'"

Sleep tight.

The Ill Doctrine Of Herman Cain

Nov 11th, 2011

J Smooth takes on the myth of Cain...

Worth 1,000 Words

Nov 9th, 2011

Frum On The Fox/Cain Spin Job

Nov 9th, 2011

David Frum may have been substantially more polite than we were in analyzing Fox News' astounding campaign against the Cain accuser(s), but, he is no less indignant:

"It’s telling that the central communications network of the conservative world remains–for all its professed concerns about the war against Christmas–much more “Mad Men” than 700 Club in its attitude to women. On Fox, women exist as talking pinups, their opinions valued to the extent that their legs are shapely and their hair is blonde. Increasingly it looks like Herman Cain may well share those attitudes much more than the faith-and-family culture of the Christian conservative who plumped his poll numbers over the past weeks."

Hear hear. What Fox, along with Limbaugh, have set in motion is nothing short of program-directed misogyny. And for what? To promote and defend, without all the facts, an uniformed fringe candidate about whom a case can be made that he is punking the electorate.

The Cain Presser

Nov 8th, 2011

We'll have our reactions and a round up tomorrow. I will say this for the umpteenth time... never trust a man who consistently refers to himself in the third person.

Really, Really, Really Reluctant Hat Tip

Nov 8th, 2011

"I have watched long enough and held my tongue long enough to give him the benefit of the doubt, but can no longer say this is a witch hunt, "a lynching" to use his word, or any other euphemism. There are allegations out there that matter and they have stacked up. For we who led the charge against Bill Clinton on a number of related issues to continue to blame the media or other campaigns or say it simply doesn't matter makes us the hypocrites as well."

-- William Bennett, longtime Clinton adversary, eschewing the vulgar apologism and smears from fellow conservatives toward Cain accuser Sharon Bialek which we fumed over HERE and HERE

"You Want A Job, Right?"

Nov 7th, 2011

"You want a job, right?"

These are the words Herman Cain uttered when his sexual advances were rebuffed by Sharon Bialek according to allegations made public this afternoon.



This is the most damning evidence in the Cain saga so far. If true, and there is no reason to doubt Ms. Bialek, this represents a quid pro quo. It meets the standard for true abuse of power.

Since the story broke, Cain and his defenders have not only attempted to portray his accusers as liars, they have also sought to ridicule the very existence of sexual harassment allegations in our culture. Conservative pundits, Fox News and Rush Limbaugh in particular, have been truly vicious. Some have even gleefully trotted out "race" as a factor in their defense of the current GOP front-runner. Cain himself employed this tactic in an attempt to raise money off the charges. Apparently, using the race card is different when "conservatives" do it.

There are examples of all this apologism and pandering HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE. In fact, just after the press conference today, Limbaugh resorted to mockery of the accuser's name. This derision was, of course, sexual in nature. "Buy a lick," he said. Get it? He then made a slurping sound and repeated his joke, "Buy a lick."

Dahlia Lithwick wrote about this astounding phenomenon last week, before we had a face and a name for one of the accusers:

"Sexual harassment is now nothing. Welcome to the era of gender harassment denialism. The harassment skeptics claim that harassment, like racism, used to exist but is now over. Twenty years ago, when charges were leveled at Clarence Thomas, supporters of the accused refused to take the accuser seriously. Now supporters of the accused refuse to take the accusation itself seriously. We have gone from not knowing what sexual harassment is to not believing it still happens. All in less than 20 years.

Remember, we don’t know what happened, beyond the fact that several employees came forward with complaints and received cash settlements. That’s not a lot of information. Cain defenders could have stopped there. Instead, great swaths of them have opted to assert that there could never be a valid sex discrimination claim because the whole thing is just a racket. And they went even further: The same folks criticizing the National Restaurant Association employees who came forward with claims that they were uncomfortable in their workplace are willing to deploy the most archaic and gender-freighted stereotypes to get there. Sexual harassment can’t be “real” because the women who claim it are money-grubbing, hysterical, attention-seeking tramps."

Limbaugh suggested last week that "sexual harassment is a political tool of the left to get rid of people or to score money gains."

Really? Meet Sharon Bialek; She is a registered Republican. She is also a Tea Party supporter.

Andrew Sullivan made note of this while liveblogging the presser:

"Cain has countered with a statement denying any sexual harassment of anyone. So these four women are, according to him, lying. Including the latest who was, at one point, a fervent Cain fan and subsequently attended a recent Tea Party event. It will be hard to turn Bialek into a liberal tool."

At last, some social conservatives are demanding the Cain take the charges a little more seriously. That hasn't stopped guys like Hannity from responding with a resounding "so what."

Howard Kurtz noted this afternoon that many Republicans seem to share Hannity's sentiment:

"The news conference followed the first sign that the controversy is beginning to chip away at Cain’s standing in the polls. A Reuters/Ipsos survey found his favorability rating among Republicans slipping from 66 percent a week earlier to 57 percent. And a majority, 53 percent, believe the harassment allegations are true.

In an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll out Monday, negative impressions of Cain among Republicans doubled, from 18 to 35 percent. At the same time, 54 percent of those responding said they aren’t concerned about voting for Cain despite the allegations." EMPHASES MINE

This what the GOP base has become. They no longer care about fundamental questions of character or decency within their own ranks. The same party which made a spectacle of Paula Jones for years in an attempt to undermine President Clinton, now believes an almost identical allegation is no big deal.

As long as they win, they seem willing and poised to elect almost anyone.

Maddow Finally Has Cain Figured Out

Nov 6th, 2011

The Herman Cain campaign is "performance art." So says Rachel Maddow. Her argument is sound. What's more, hers is the only analysis one can accept without having to regard Mr. Cain as an idiot of very unique proportions. Taking all of Cain's "missteps" as a whole, Maddow quips "a string of supposed gaffes like that is not found in nature." Indeed.

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What DOES Herman Cain Know?

Nov 1st, 2011
by F. Grey Parker

It has been a longstanding complaint of the Republican establishment that President Obama "lacked experience" at the time of his election. Apparently, their base has enamored itself to a candidate who lacks basic knowledge.

Herman Cain has very recently topped his public display of ignorance regarding the Palestinian claim of a "right of return." In an interview with Judy Woodruff, Cain appeared to be very worried that the Chinese might, someday soon, actually develop nuclear weapons.

Down The Rabbit Hole With The GOP, cont...

Oct 30th, 2011

A short time ago, one of our favorite sites, The Political Carnival, highlighted an astounding piece from Republican strategist Ed Rogers. Writing earlier this week for the WaPo's "Insiders" section, Rogers casually stated the following:

"Even though Cain won’t be the nominee, his candidacy tells us a lot about the psychology of GOP activists.

Our team wants someone authentic, creative, fresh, bold and likeable.

And we don’t have much tolerance for too many facts or too much information.

In politics, a bumper sticker always beats an essay. Cain’s 9-9-9 is a bumper sticker; Romney’s economic plan is an essay. Perry’s rationale for giving the children of undocumented workers in-state college tuition rates is an essay. No hand-outs for illegal aliens is an effective bumper sticker." EMPHASIS OURS

This is not merely anti-intellectualism. It's the idolatry of rank stupidity. And that sums it up. What the Republican elites are apparently seeking, during the most complex economic crises of the post-industrial era, is the stupidest human being they can possibly find to run for the Presidency of the United States.

Sleep tight.

Down The Rabbit Hole With The GOP, cont...

Oct 30th, 2011
by F. Grey Parker

The election might be a full year away, but the Republican field's long-shot contenders are already fighting to claim the title of "most insane" in order to suck the last gobs of cash they can from a spittle-dribbling donor-base of whack-jobs.

The flailing, sputtering and stunningly disconnected "presidential' campaign of Rick Santorum has fired a new broadside against Herman Cain. This new attack is predicated on Cain's being too Pro-Choice. You read that right. I am not making this up. Taking advantage of the confusion Cain expressed earlier this week on the issue, Santorum's media team is trying to raise money by casting a Cain Presidency as a major threat to the "unborn."



Cain is clearly terrified of this intra-psycho pushback. Today, he rearranged his messaging... again. He wants us to make no mistake; he is still a devoted member of the "stay barefoot, stay at home and use-a-wire-hanger" crowd.

via HuffPo:

"Cain clarified his stance Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation," saying he is "pro-life from conception, period." He also stood by claims he made this Spring that Planned Parenthood is "planned genocide," and that the organization's mission to "help kill black babies before they came into the world."



The GOP continues its march into territory than not only a majority, but also a provable plurality, is opposed to entering.

Totally Random Let's All Stay Sane Moment

Oct 30th, 2011

The jokers at Bad Lip Reading have outdone themselves with this Herman Cain clip.

9-9-9 And The Challenge For Cain's GOP Opponents

Oct 15th, 2011

Dave Weigel explains:

"The Republican voters who love 9-9-9 believe the same things that the old Forbes devotees believed. They believe that other Americans are paying no net income taxes, and they don’t think it’s fair. They know how much time they have to spend figuring out all of their deductions, and so a simple code—Forbes promised a tax form that could fit on a postcard—would solve their problem. Cain got a handle on that sentiment early, using it in this ad for his campaign for a U.S. Senate seat in Georgia in 2004. “The United States tax code,” he said. “It’s an 8-million-word mess!”

Cain’s rivals have to engage in a little bit of deprogramming. They must convince voters who think that the tax code is stacked against them of the truth: That complicated code is wasting some time while saving a lot of money. After the debate, NBC News’ Domenico Montanaro checked one of Cain’s claims—that a family pulling in $50,000 currently pays $10,000 in taxes. As Cain would say, the problem with that analysis is that it’s incorrect. With the grab bag of deductions left in place by Bush and Obama reforms, that family pays $766 in taxes. According to the professional rain-on-parade economist Bruce Bartlett, the first stage of 9-9-9 would do what it sounds like—it would increase the cost of living for poor people by 9 percent. Either Cain is right, and the supercharged economy would bail them out, or Cain is wrong, and they’ll be worse off than ever.

So how has Cain gotten so far on this idea?

"It’s a rejection of redistributionist tax policy," says Grover Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform, who is doing his gentle best to point out that 9-9-9’s a bad idea. "No one has done the calculations, so people are reacting viscerally to the idea. A single rate flat tax is a very attractive thing."

It’s attractive because it tells conservative voters what they already believe: Tax the free-loaders, simplify the forms, and the rest of the problems take care of themselves. To take Cain down, Republicans have to blow up the anti-tax arguments of 30 years."

Good luck with that, GOP.