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,
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September 5, 2011 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Page 5