Posted on 08/16/2011 9:48:20 PM PDT by lbryce
Editor's note: LZ Granderson, who writes a weekly column for CNN.com, has been named Journalist of the Year by the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association. He is a senior writer and columnist for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com, and a 2010 nominee and the 2009 winner of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation award for online journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @locs_n_laughs. Watch him on CNN Newsroom Tuesdays at 9 a.m. ET.
Grand Rapids, Michigan (CNN) -- We have seen Michele Bachmann being asked questions about her relationship with her husband, Marcus.
We have seen Mitt Romney deal with questions about his religion.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry recently denied rumors he dislikes George W. Bush.
And yet, despite our penchant for asking candidates personal questions that have little or nothing to do with their ability to do their jobs, everyone is avoiding the most basic question with regard to Herman Cain, which is, "Do you honestly believe a black man could win the GOP nomination?"
You know you were thinking it, and if you weren't you probably were not a very good student of history. Or current events.
To be sure, there are plenty of reasons besides race that are hindering Cain. While his experience as CEO of Godfather's Pizza shores up his assertion that he knows how to create jobs, he has never held political office, which makes one wonder if he can create those jobs in a government arena. He also has said some rather offensive things about Muslims and gays that may play well in the GOP primary but should make moderate Republicans question his electability in the general election. But given the racial tension seen during the 2008 campaign, it has to make you wonder if some of the people
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Herman Cain became a member of the board of directors to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in 1992 and served as its chairman from January 1995 to August 1996 before leaving to become the a senior economic advisor to the Dole/Kemp presidential campaign.
That said, I don't support Cain, not because he is black, but because of his lack of experience and because he has no political record of doing the things he says he supports. Its not rare for a politician to say he won't raise taxes, and then turn around, and raise them, or say he supports family values, and then turn around, and dump them over the side. I have no way to verify that Cain would actually do what he says, because he has no record of doing the things he says he would do, and to me, the Presidency is not the job, for me to find out if you are going to be a man of your word.
Reagan once said "Trust but verify", since I can't verify, I can't trust Herman Cain. I do have nothing against the man, its simple as that.
I'm not suggesting that LZ Granderson molests chickens. Furthermore, let me say that even men who are healthy heterosexuals routinely do far, far worse things to chickens than what LZ Granderson might or might not do, usually on Thursday nights. Besides, who are we to judge?
If Carole Moseley-Braun and Sheila Jackson Lee ever have a daughter....
The GOP is WAAAAAYYY behind the curve since the Dems nominated and elected the first black gay president.
No a black man can’t get the nomination. Just go back and read some of the post made against Herman Cain especially when he first announced and you will read some of the most vial and vicious stuff I can remember reading here on FR. Though I will give it to the moderators they delete most of the very worst and they did it quickly. But it has to make one wonder how many thought the same way, but just wouldn’t post that they did.
Dems nominated and elected the first gay muslim/communist illegal-alien enemy-agent president. No matter what "color" he is.
It's even too DUMB to be racist.
LZ Granderson, who writes a weekly column for CNN.com, has been named Journalist of the Year by the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association.
________________________________________________________
His mother and father must be so proud of him.
About forty or fifty years the Dem Party abandoned all sense of sanity and reason and resolved to make Black people perpetual wards of the state. In line with that, there have been a myriad of Black scribblers like Granderson who equate handouts from the state with civil rights. Granderson and virtually all black columnists like him (Cynthia Tucker, Leonard Pitts, Dewayne Wickham, etal) work hand-in-hand to keep black people down. They’re the biggest of drag on the progress of black Americans.
Absolutely not.
So the only candidate putting out a real serious agenda for reform and renewal "cannot win" because he isn't part of the Establishment machine?
Have you noticed what a mess we are in now days because both parties have been following this "electability" dogma for the last 60 years?
Maybe if in 2012 GOP voters finally start to think for themselves, instead of letting the Party machine tell them what to think, we can fix this mess we are in.
You could verify if you bother to try instead of putting your hands over your ears going "not listening...not listening....nannanana". IT IS your job to verify not waiting for someone else to verify for you.
So in your world, the only candidate putting out a real serious agenda for reform and renewal "cannot win" because he isn't part of the Establishment machine?
Have you noticed what a mess we are in now days because both parties have been following this "electability" dogma for the last 60 years?
Maybe if in 2012 GOP voters finally start to think for themselves, instead of letting the Party machine tell them what to think, we can fix this mess we ar
I've heard him, he gives great speeches, wow, he sounds exactly the way I would want him to sound, why, if I didn't know any better, I would think he was saying all the things a conservative would want to hear if that guy was running for office.......which he is.
So in your world, the only candidate putting out a real serious agenda for reform and renewal "cannot win" because he isn't part of the Establishment machine?
My world is called earth, whats yours ? Last time I checked, Sarah Palin wasn't a part of the establishment machine, neither is Michelle Bachman, Rick Perry is debatable.
Here is a fact, Mr. Cain has never ever cut taxes once, he has never ever taken one single action against abortion, he has never ever reduced spending, not even once. Now, I'm supposed to trust him to do those things, all for the first time, because he says so ????? Um, no.
P.S. I don't know what you define as the establishment machine, but the guy was on the board of directors for the K.C. Federal Reserve, and he was the senior economic advisor for the Bob Dole/Jack Kemp campaign. You don't get there by being an anti-establishment guy bucking the machine.
Have you noticed what a mess we are in now days because both parties have been following this "electability" dogma for the last 60 years?
Yes, but how electability is defined is debatable, I sure as hell didn't think John McCain, or Bob Dole were electable, I don't think Mitt Romney is electable. If you can't win any elections, at any level, you sure as hell are not going to win the biggest election at the biggest level.
Maybe if in 2012 GOP voters finally start to think for themselves, instead of letting the Party machine tell them what to think, we can fix this mess we ar
Agreed, but if they think for themselves, and say we want someone who does more then talk about what he is going to do , we want proof that he has done it, you are not going to like it.
That is exactly the mindset that has led us into the current mess we are in as a nation. Like most voters, your mindset is "don't make me think, don't make me read and do research, just spoon feed me the empty political platitudes and soundbites I want to hear".
Yes, God forbid we actually have to choose someone who has a record of doing what he claims he will do. If someone chose a doctor to perform surgery on them using the criteria that Herman Cain is asking voters to use, well, it might the last thing they do. I've done my research on Mr. Cain.
Here is what I have come up with.
Record on tax cuts- None Record on deregulation-None Record on abortion-none Apologies to Muslims-1 bailouts-errr, fuzzy. Oversaw death penalty executions-None Record on spending-None
That is exactly the mindset that has led us into the current mess we are in as a nation. Like most voters, your mindset is "don't make me think, don't make me read and do research, just spoon feed me the empty political platitudes and soundbites I want to hear".
He's spoonfed me alot of political platitudes, but he has no meat, he's got a whole lot of talk (except about when he was chairman of the K.C. Board of directors for the federal reserve, maybe you can help me, he doesn't discuss that, or say much about it, do you know what he did or said while he was there ??????).
I need more then a few speeches, we disagree on Cain, I have a higher standard, I want to see actually action, he has never, ever in his entire life, ever, cut even one single solitary tax, or deregulated so much as a traffic ordinance.
I need some kind of actual accomplishment, you do not, I've researched everything about Cain (including his anti-establishment support of................Bob Dole, yea, thats really fighting the machine, next step, working for Karl Rove and showing the system who is the boss).
So you are sitting home then in Nov 2012.
Because there is not any other candidate out their who has actually done what they said they would do other then Herman Cain. Which, if you bothered to learn his record, you would know.
Let me guess. You are a Palin supporter.
So how can you "trust" Mrs Palin since we can verify that she campaigned for John "the Ultimate DC Insider" McCain's reelection to the Senate in 2010 against a real Conservative? Seems her verfied support for RINOS is at odds with us trusting her rhetoric about being an "Anti DC Establishment Outsider" Seems Gov Palins record show her not to "Be a woman of her word". So now who are you going to vote for?
So you are sitting home then in Nov 2012.
I actually plan on voting that day instead of staying home, but okay.
Because there is not any other candidate out their who has actually done what they said they would do other then Herman Cain. Which, if you bothered to learn his record, you would know.
Um, kept his word ? On what ? Your the Cain supporter, and you still haven't listed a single political achievement of his, not one yet, I also get the feeling I know more about him then you do.
Let me guess. You are a Palin supporter.
Half right, I would support her, but she isn't running. If she gets in the race, I probably would. As of right now, I'm looking at my choices, and deciding.
So how can you "trust" Mrs Palin since we can verify that she campaigned for John "the Ultimate DC Insider" McCain's reelection to the Senate in 2010 against a real Conservative? Seems her verfied support for RINOS is at odds with us trusting her rhetoric about being an "Anti DC Establishment Outsider" Seems Gov Palins record show her not to "Be a woman of her word". So now who are you going to vote for?
I'm not happy she backed McCain for senate, but he did put her on his ticket, so there is an element of gratitude. I should also note, Palin, did not work for Senator Bob Dole, the senate majority leader, and the ultimate insider, Herman Cain did (and to his credit, he seems to like not mentioning that).
Who will I vote for in 11/12 ? Pretty much whomever is the most conservative candidate on the ticket, no matter what, if its Cain, I'll vote for him, if its Freddy the fast food worker, I'll vote him (he would actually have the same political record of achievement as Herman Cain). I like Michelle Bachman, I like Rick Perry (though I have concerns about him). I do NOT like Mitt Romney.
I also, don't know, how someone who worked for former Senate Majority Leader and Presidential Candidate Bob Dole, and worked on his election campaign (with Jack Kemp), after being chairman of the K.C. Federal Reserve Board, can be considered an outsider, but hey, I guess outsider is now a relative term.
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