But he has to get the message into the inner cities.
Get name recognition.
Run simple name ads on the sides of city bus, billboards etc.
Posted on 05/26/2011 6:03:08 PM PDT by ancientart
He thinks. Therefore he isn't.
Somehow, Herman Cain has become invisible. Media pundits tell us again and again that the Republican rank and file aren't happy with any of the leading contenders for the 2012 presidential nomination, that these voters really want an alternative.
The pundits speculate endlessly on possible additions to the field: Mitch Daniels, Chris Christie, perhaps even Jeb Bush. But despite the fact that Cain has a large and enthusiastic following, the former Godfather's Pizza CEO rarely seems to merit even a mention.
Recently, 15,000 supporters crowded Atlanta's Olympic Park, where they boisterously cheered Cain's eloquent and moving kick-off speech. Press and pundits ignored the event, concentrating instead on analyzing Mitch Daniel's announcement that he was not going to run. And despite the fact that a recent Zogby poll shows Cain moving into the No. 2 slot (right behind Mitt Romney), many pollsters don't even list Cain as a choice.
So why is Cain so hard to see? It might be partly because of his race. Like the unnamed narrator in Ralph Ellison's "The Invisible Man," Cain doesn't fit the stereotype. Blacks aren't supposed to be tea party conservatives: it's hard to see something you're convinced doesn't exist.
But more of a problem is the kind of campaign Cain is running, a campaign based on ideas rather than personality. A key part of Cain's campaign is his call for the elimination of the IRS and the establishment of a “Fair Tax” alternative to income taxes. To evaluate and explain the likely impact of Cain's tax reform proposal means writing about economic theory - a field that few in the press handle well.
Typical of the problems with economic reporting is an AP story from last week about the upward trend in used car prices. Why have prices jumped by nearly 30 percent in the past couple of years? The author notes in passing a combination of factors: the recession, tightening credit standards and the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. But there's no mention at all of the Cash-for-Clunkers program and the 700,000 used cars and trucks that disappeared from the market as a result.
Why not? My guess is that the writer knows instinctively that delving into economic theory loses readers. An article that veers off into a discussion of the way government policies affect supply-and-demand equations is not for them. Readers want practical information: Is this a good time to sell my used car or not?
Similarly, when it comes to coverage of presidential candidates, political writers seem to think what readers want most is an answer to a fundamental practical question: Can this candidate win or not? And so they give us story after story of the “can he/she win?” type.
Unfortunately for Cain, the prevailing media sentiment seems to be that he can't possibly win, and so there's no story to write.
It's too bad. Cain's books (e.g., “They Think You're Stupid”) raise issues well worth discussing. Disgruntled voters might see Cain as exactly the alternative they are looking for, if only he weren't invisible.
It’s not that he is invisible. It’s just that there are so many screaming RINOs, and RINO supporters, that it’s hard to tell the real from all the fake.
The media is going to make sure that Herman Cain doesn’t get any air time because they are going to do their best to make sure that Obama runs against a white RINO. They know that if Cain gets on the ballot he will split the black vote and Obama may as well as write his concession speech now.
First they ignore you...
Herman Cain is O’Barry’s (and the lsm’s) worst nightmare
Split the black vote? LOL. Don't kid yourself, the black vote is going to go 90%+ to Obama not matter who we put on the ticket. Cain wouldn't make so much as a dent in it. Did Alan Keyes ever "split the black vote" against his Democratic opponent in his endless failed run for office? Black people vote Democrat because black people believe government should be giving them stuff. Period. They also loved Clinton almost just as much.
The reporters simply will not write stories that show the truth of obama's policies.Thus no mention of the asinine Cash for Clunkers skewing the used car market.
And by simply not mentioning Mr. Cain the media effectively torpedos his campaign.
When your enemies control the flow of information it is much harder to defeat them.That is why dictatorships always go for the radio,tv, and papers.
There never was a vast right-wing conspiracy;but there most definitely is a vast left-wing conspiracy!
He's authentic. He doesn't "act white" in his speech patterns, mannerisms, etc. Unlike Alan Keyes, who basically ignored his blackness, Cain embraces it. He might get 11% of the black vote.
He's authentic. He doesn't "act white" in his speech patterns, mannerisms, etc. Unlike Alan Keyes, who basically ignored his blackness, Cain embraces it. He might get 11% of the black vote.
I was thinking of conceding that maybe Cain could get 11% of the black vote but then I changed my mind.
Obama is the black communities rock star AND black people believe the government should not only give them stuff - but give them even more than they get now. No, I think Cain would flop in the black community. He'd convert about as many blacks to the Republican cause as Alan Keyes or Michael Steele - virtually none. The black voting block is entirely hopeless. About the best we can hope for is that many are disillusioned enough to stay home.
Well everyone will see Herman in the next debate on June 5th.
Ping!!
“Unfortunately for Cain, the prevailing media sentiment seems to be that he can’t possibly win, and so there’s no story to write.”
Right, that’s why they didn’t cover Trump, who had no shot in a conservative primary. Oh, wait...
It’s because he’s a black Republican. Whatever you think about the guy, there is no way a black Republican can be allowed to get air time. Just as there was no way that Alberto Gonzalez could be given a shot at a court appointment as an Hispanic Republican. Republicans are racists, donchaknow?!?!? Anything that goes against that Rat line is verboten.
They ignore him not because he has no chance, but because with the right exposure, he will dominate.
The irony is also that Cain is 100% American BLACK.
Obumble is 1/2 white and raised in an Asian-american environment in Hawaii and Indonesia.
He’s got very little in common with the American black.
Put me on your Cain Train please!
I hate racial politics, but I think Cain can work this angle well.
Obama, while he was still in the early parts of the primary, was poked fun at by Sharpton, etc for not being “authentic.”
Cain could work that angle, but he has to toe a fine line as not to turn off conservatives.
Add me to ping list please!
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