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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 2011)
opinion Herman Cain is Brainwashed, Brain dead R epublican presidential can- didate Herman Cain pro- fesses to know why most African-Americans don’t vote for Republicans – they are brain- washed. Cain’s decision to insult people he hopes will vote for him proves that he is both brainwashed and brain dead. “African-Americans have been brainwashed into not being open minded, not even considering a conservative point of view,” Cain said on CNN’s The Situation Room. He added, “I have received some of that same vitriol simply because I am running for the Republican nomination as a con- servative. So it’s just brainwash- ing and people not being open minded, pure and simple.” Merriam-Webster defines brain- washing as: 1) a forcible indoctri- nation to induce someone to give up basic political, social, or reli- gious beliefs and attitudes and to accept contrasting regimented ideas 2) persuasion by propaganda or salesmanship. Herman Cain fits that descrip- tion better than Black America. Anyone with a scintilla of a brain knows that African- Americans have not always favored Democrats. Blacks voted overwhelmingly for Republicans, the party of Abraham Lincoln, t HE C urry r EPOrt George E. Curry until Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, a package of pro- grams that helped lift America out of the Great Depression. By 1936, 75 percent of African-Americans had switched their support from Republicans to Democrats. Still, the GOP continued to receive a respectable share of the Black vote for the next two decades. Even with a Democratic presidential candidate as attractive as John F. Kennedy, Republican Richard M. Nixon managed in 1960 to capture 32 percent of the Black vote. However, the GOP took a sharp right turn in 1964 with the nomination of ultra-con- servative Barry Goldwater of Arizona. Black GOP support plummeted to 6 percent that year and has never risen above 15 per- cent since that debacle. African-Americans knew what they were doing in the 1930s when they switched allegiance. And instead of being brainwashed today, they have wisely decided to extend solid political support to the party that supports them. When you examine how different- ly Democrats and Republicans vote in the House and Senate, it should not be surprising that African-Americans shun the party that shuns them. With only a couple of excep- tions, the record of GOP lawmak- ers shows that they don’t want to At the end of this session of Congress, the Republican record will certainly be worse. Any African-American support- ing a party with such an anti-Black record must be, in Cain’s words, brainwashed. The only reason Cain gets away with making such outlandish charges is because he is Black. Instead of acknowledging that he can’t speak for all Blacks, Cain likes to frame criticism of him in racial terms. In a speech in Pella, Iowa, Cain said he would not sign a bill longer than three pages. (He later claimed that he was exaggerating.) Jon Stewart had fun with Cain’s ridiculous proposal, joking that if Cain were elected president, “Treaties will have to fit on the back of a cereal box … The State of the Union Address will be delivered in the form of a fortune cookie.” Speaking at the Iowa Falls Fire Department, Cain asserted that Stewart was criticizing him “because I’m Black.” No, Cain was targeted because he makes ridiculously laughable comments. for the complete session of Congress (the 109th), you might learn why Republicans have such a difficult time attracting African Americans. In the 109th Congress, 25 Democrats in the Senate received an A from the nation’s oldest civil rights organization, 15 earned a B, and two got C’s. None was graded D or F. By contrast, no Republican sen- ator earned an A or B. One, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, Anyone with a scintilla of a brain knows that African-Americans have not always favored Democrats merely turn back the clock on Black progress, they want to turn back the calendar. This is from a column I wrote in 2008: The NAACP has been issuing a civil rights report card since 1914. When it comes out, there are often efforts to discredit it, as though the NAACP doesn’t know what’s good for Black people. If you read the last report card earned a C, and another, Mike DeWine of Ohio, was given a D. The other 54 Republicans who served the full session earned F’s. There was a similar pattern in the House, where 133 Democrats earned A’s, 41 got B’s, 15 received C’s, and 19 brought up the rear with D’s. Among Republicans, none earned as high as a C. Three received the highest grade of D and 211 got F’s. george e. Curry, former editor- in-chief of emerge magazine and the nnPa news Service Fiscal Health: Have You Had a Financial Check-Up? O ur conversations often turn to silence when it comes to personal finances. The subject of money has traditionally been a very private matter within our culture, most likely because of our strong sense of self-reliance and pride. Whatever the reason, it’s time to get comfortable and candid when talking about money matters. So here we go… One reason she succeeded is that she was diligent about reviewing her list, regularly assessing exact- ly where we were with our family W ELLS f arGO b aNk Michelle Thornhill budget. There were specific objec- tives for stretching the family’s funds, including, setting aside money for college, Christmas, tithing, vacations and savings. I’m always impressed when I think about her generation, and those before her, and how they some- how seemed to have acquired so much with so much less than we have today. They attained what they did largely because they had a strategy that they were commit- building wealth, or simply going on a vacation, you have to start with a plan. Next, be deliberate about thor- oughly combing through your expenses and transactions, and regularly reconciling your budget. If you find that you have more dis- posable income than projected, resist the temptation to reward yourself. Instead, consider apply- ing more funds toward paying down debt, or to your savings or 401(k) plan. than it controlling them. Mastering your finances starts with organization and goals. Mastering your finances starts with organization and goals ted to –and this was long before on-line banking. They believed in controlling their money rather Whether you are thinking about purchasing a home or an invest- ment property, saving for college, Week on the Web Hullabaloo Over Attack Ad A Democratic senator isn’t happy about a retouched Republican ad show- ing five fingers on his left hand - even though he lost three fingers in a childhood accident ….in US News Youth Violence: Stryve Grant and CDC Funds Axed? The House of www. tough…in Northwest News Representatives Thursday released its version of the budget bill with restored funding for youth violence preven- tion….in Northwest News Constructing Hope: A Jobs Training Program That Works The program is free for partici- pants – but the coursework is Re: Saltzman Has Stern Words for New Equity Office: ‘I’ll Be Watching Very Closely,’ by Sharon Gary-Smith My concern when I heard Commissioner Saltzman suddenly remind us that he’s watching was, what had he been doing the other times?.... in Opinion Your best source for local news is also online at www.theskanner.com September 5, 2011 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Page 5
