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Cain Says His Deadly Fence Plan Was 'a Joke'
The New York Times ^ | Sunday, October 16, 2011 | Susan Saulny

Posted on 10/16/2011 9:18:08 AM PDT by kristinn

At two campaign rallies in Tennessee on Saturday night, the Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said that part of his immigration policy would be to build an electrified fence on the country’s border with Mexico that could kill people trying to enter the country illegally.

But by Sunday morning, in a dramatic change of tone, Mr. Cain, a former restaurant executive, said he was only kidding.

“That’s a joke,” Mr. Cain told the journalist David Gregory during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” where he was asked about the electrified fence. “That’s not a serious plan. I’ve also said America needs to get a sense of humor.”

Mr. Cain’s attempt to pass off incendiary comments as nothing but a joke may take more effort, however. In making the initial remarks about an electrified fence killing illegal immigrants, Mr. Cain was detailed and repetitive. He did not introduce his thoughts as anything but serious commentary, beginning with the words, “We have a crisis of illegal immigration.”

And the crowds responded with cheers, not laughs.

(Excerpt) Read more at thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: aliens; borderfence; bordersecurity; cain; electricfence; fence; fleabaggers; hermancain; illegalimmigration; sliming4illegals
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To: BobL

Yep! I’ve worked for 30 years trying to convince people that conservatives weren’t bloodthirsty xenophobes. My mistake.


121 posted on 10/16/2011 10:15:11 AM PDT by magritte
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To: magritte
"Lol !! How are things over at HuffPo?"

Does that mean I am "heartless"?

I'm sure a lot of HuffoPo posters support securing the borders so obviously I am one./s

Get a clue.

122 posted on 10/16/2011 10:15:11 AM PDT by Souled_Out (Our hope is in the power of God working through the hearts of people.)
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To: normy
Instead of racing back to Perry HQ for the next smear attack to post abut Cain, Normy, answer the questions for once

Who got in the race last after it was clear Romney was not going to get any appreciable support from social conservatives?

Who did the GOP Establishment push into the race after it seem Tea Party heroine Bachmann was going to upset Romney’s ride to the nomination?

Who does the GOP Establishment see as their back up card if Romney fails?

Who has long standing intimate ties with the Liberal wing of the GOP Establishment?

The answer is Rick Perry.

Bill Kristol to a NY Time Reporter telling him how the GOP Establishment plans to deal with “the Tea party mutiny”

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2792217/posts?page=3

Kristol told me just after Perry entered the race, a development that essentially ended [the more radical Michele] Bachmann’s brief ascent. Establishment Republicans may prefer Romney to Perry, but their assumption is that either man can be counted on to steer the party back toward the broad center next fall, effectively disarming the Tea Party mutiny.

Wonder who Perry will be VP with?

Odd how that question never gets asked of Perry.

Could it be because everyone knows Perry is the GOP Establishment mole in the race to split the Tea Party/Conservative vote and hand the nomination to Romney?

Could it be because they know the ticket the GOP Machine is setting up is “Romney/Perry 2012? Think about it. Romney has the money, Perry has the idolatrous worship from the social Conservatives.

Could that be why the Perry camp is knowingly lying about Cain’s solidly Conservative record on both social and fiscal issues? Because they know full well Perry’s record can not stand close scrutiny?

What does anyone really know about Perry other then the nice words and platitudes he puts in his speeches? Looks like Perry is just Bush 3.0 another tough talking social conservative who will go to DC and be yet another good little GOP crony capitalist water boy.

123 posted on 10/16/2011 10:15:11 AM PDT by MNJohnnie (Giving more money to DC to fix the Debt is like giving free drugs to addicts think it will cure them)
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To: C. Edmund Wright

No, its not just you. I wrote Perry off long ago. It hard to unhear an insult.


124 posted on 10/16/2011 10:15:11 AM PDT by Netizen (Path to citizenship = Scamnesty. If you give it away, more will come. Who's pilfering your wallet?)
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To: justsaynomore

So why doesn’t he talk about his policy at every opportunity? He is acting like this is a joke, which doesn’t sit well with me. If you had cancer, would you respect your doctor making jokes about you? Right now our country has a cancer.


125 posted on 10/16/2011 10:16:34 AM PDT by Kirkwood (Zombie Hunter Hobbit)
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To: Nervous Tick

That was four years ago and with the sorry list of candidates we were fed, who would you have praised? Besides, he was a radio jockey then just commentating. Do you remember who Rush was for? Did anyone give Obama a snowball’s chance in hell against Hitlery at the time?


126 posted on 10/16/2011 10:16:52 AM PDT by mazda77 (and I am a Native Texan)
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To: normy

“Perry hasn’t said one word about Cain’s electric fence.”

His handlers know enough to keep him quiet now on coddling illegals. It would be a no-win for him.


127 posted on 10/16/2011 10:17:34 AM PDT by BobL (A vote for Perry is a vote for Romney)
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To: Reagan Man

Since you ducked out yesterday on the thread, here’s a few more for your lib comment tossing self to deal with.

Repost>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Having read through the posts since last night I am just floored. There are people here arguing that it is somehow wrong to kill invaders in defense of our border.

What in the Nine Hells are people doing on a conservative website using LIBERAL QUOTES like “Seeking a batter Economic Future”??

And the Arizona chick is a prime example of Jimmy Carter malaise with her “It’s too hard...the terrain is rough” mentality. Dear God please give me my Free Republic website back because I am unsure as to where I am.

Again people. We currently live in orbit. We build thousand foot skyscrapers and live in them by the thousands. We drill for oil in 13000 feet of water. We strung fiber-optic cable across the oceans... Don’t try to tell me we cannot build a freaking fence and that animals can’t get water. I cannot fathom the sheer stupidity that allows someone to throw their integrety out the door in PUBLIC just to fall on their candidate;s sword. Nor can I grasp how self deluding and disingenuous people here are willing to be over what it takes to seal and protect a border.

Full fence
BP/Military/whatever patrols
Ground penetrating sonar
Dogs
Cameras
Airborne Drones/surveillance

It has been done for THOUSANDS of years from China to Russia to Europe with a fraction of the tech and knowledge we possess today. Now back to the killing thing...

An enemy is an enemy. Someone attempting to violate our border is a criminal at minimum and an enemy at the other end. Neither of these things is acceptable to allow free access to our soil. Any woman stupid enough to fry her child on an electric fence is one we want here. This is no different than Palestinians strapping bombs to their kids. WE, nor ISRAEL is the bad guy when we take measures to stop them from breaching our borders.

Any Illegal stupid enough to challenge our border by any means is opening THEMSELVES to deadly force. WE are not going into Mexico and forcing them to come here. They do it of their own free will and the reason MATTERS NOT AT ALL WHY.

The pussification of America is at such a level that we are on the most conservative site on the web today arguing about it being somehow “wrong” “Stupid” “Ignorant” “UnAmerican” and a dozen other descriptors for why using deadly force to protect America and her citizens is “incorrect.”

Because that’s the bottom line. You are either wanting our country and citizens safe and sovereign, or you do not. Period. You are willing to take a life when that safety and sovereignty is threatened or you are not. You believe in the concept of a border or you do not. While you have your little moment of intellectual masturbation, more and more illegals violate our border and with each new illegal, the power of the Left/Democrats grows.

This incrementalism ultimately results in one thing. The end of America at the hands of people too meek to stand up for it. And some of you want to just keep putting off the hard choices because the language ‘offends you’. You can sugar coat it, you can make all the excuses in the world. But you cannot find a single flaw in my logic here.

Now I invite you anti-fencers and pro-Perry apologists to address the issues I have presented here and prove them wrong. Don’t call me names, don’t use flippant one-liners. ADDRESS THESE ISSUES if you have any courage of your convictions. Stop making the same rehashed excuses that LIBERALS have made for decades as to why we “Can’t” do it and factually disprove all the reasons we “CAN” without all the emotional bull$h!t. Or admit that you hold Liberal and anti-American values. There is no grey area for you to hide in.


128 posted on 10/16/2011 10:17:56 AM PDT by Norm Lenhart (Chief Druid of Trollhenge: Cult of Palin)
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To: kristinn

The article lies. cain did NOT talk about a fence “killing illegal immigrants”. he joked about a fence with a warning sign on it. There is a big difference.

Also, why can’t we joke about people illegally crossing our border? Who the hell are they?


129 posted on 10/16/2011 10:18:13 AM PDT by Williams (Honey Badger Don't Care)
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To: Netizen

To clarify, some of Perry’s supporters’ continued stupidity bothers me more than the remark he made IMO.


130 posted on 10/16/2011 10:18:13 AM PDT by C. Edmund Wright
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To: BobL

I don’t want to see some poor Mexican woman that just wants to get her kids away from a place where decapitated torsos are routinely hung from bridges and the like - see one of her kids get electricuted AND THEN HEARTLESSLY SAY SHE DESERVES IT.

I don’t care if there are warning signs - if I lived in Mexico and had children - I would do anything to get them away from that kind of life. Any mother would.

Your post actually made me want to cry. I don’t think that Jesus Christ would approve of what you so coldly said and you stand by it. These comments that you and others have made - embarrass me.

It’s not even that Cain “made another joke” - it’s the reactions of many FReepers that is so disturbing to me. I won’t be posting to you again either - you flame-throwers need to be ignored. Rational people that are capable of discussing issues they disagree about need to stop throwing food to the monkeys - they will just throw their feces back at you.


131 posted on 10/16/2011 10:19:16 AM PDT by alicewonders
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To: man_in_tx

“this asshattery with regard to saying you “favor” and electrified fence and then turning around”

Just keep in mind that this story is from a New York Times blog.


132 posted on 10/16/2011 10:19:23 AM PDT by BarnacleCenturion (Heartless)
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To: CajunConservative
>>>>>>One thing is certain, Cain just lost the hispanic vote with his “joke”.

Excellent point. I don't think Hispanic Republicans will see this as a reason to vote for Cain in the primaries. For a Republican to win the general election he/she will need 35%-40% of the Hispanic vote. Bush43 had a hard time reaching that level of support among Hispanic voters. McCain fell short in 2008.

133 posted on 10/16/2011 10:19:32 AM PDT by Reagan Man ("In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.")
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To: MNJohnnie
"Bill Kristol to a NY Time Reporter telling him how the GOP Establishment plans to deal with “the Tea party mutiny”

MNJohnnie pimping for Kristol and the NYT.

What can we expect anything rational or factual from a poster dumb enough to pimp for Romney elitists Bill Kristol and the NYT?

134 posted on 10/16/2011 10:19:55 AM PDT by lonestar (It takes a village of idiots to elect a village idiot.)
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To: man_in_tx
Note to Mr Cain: As one of your supporters, I am putting you on notice: Your back-pedaling about whether or not you would put a Muslim on your Cabinet was strike one; this asshattery with regard to saying you “favor” and electrified fence and then turning around and saying it was only a joke — is strike two. This kind of nonsense is not worthy of a SERIOUS Presidential contender.

You missed a few strikes. The execution of the American citizen terrorist, the auditing of the fed and the rock on Perry's property. On those three issues Cain denied saying something he clearly said. I strike it up to inexperience since he is not used to being challenged on his previous statements. If you listen to his campaign stump speeches they are extremely defensive. He uses the word "they" about 999 times. That is the language of an underdog running at 4% in the polls. Well he is the front runner now. He needs to watch his mouth, get off the defensive and start acting like a statesman. Give him some time. He will do better - or fade away.

135 posted on 10/16/2011 10:20:06 AM PDT by plain talk
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To: alicewonders

Good screen name, seems fit for the times. Honestly, I see so much distortion and even out and out lies about Perry that I wonder if they are doing this on purpose, or if they’re really that ignorant of Perry’s actual record (he’s never supported amnesty, for instance).

To me, Cain’s remarks remind me of the jerks (and we all know at least one) who say something awful, then when called on the carpet for it, snicker and say, “Jess jokin’, doncha know?” Sure they were, uh huh.

Even worse, I suspect that much of this dislike is for southerners in general and Texas in particular (at least one Freeper has remarked how happy she is that she doesn’t have to live in Texas—and I’m sure the feeling is mutual). Sometimes I think the civil war is about to be fought all over again. :(


136 posted on 10/16/2011 10:21:11 AM PDT by MizSterious (Apparently, there's no honor when it comes to someone else's retirement funds.)
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To: Reagan Man
On that thread yesterday there were enough posters who thought Cain was dead serious about wanting to zap illegal border crossers.

A lot of them pretended to be that stupid. One thing is sure; Perry has the Humorless Old Biddy Bloc sewn up and Cain will never touch that.

137 posted on 10/16/2011 10:21:21 AM PDT by TigersEye (Life is about choices. Your choices. Make good ones.)
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To: CharlesWayneCT

I will take Cain in a heartbeat over Obama, even if he praised Romney and jokes about an electrified fence. Big deal. We need Obama out and a conservative in.

And if Cain gets the nomination, then Romney is not the enemy, Obama is.


138 posted on 10/16/2011 10:21:46 AM PDT by Williams (Honey Badger Don't Care)
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To: lonestar

Instead of racing back to Perry HQ to find out the next smear attack you are suppose to post about Cain, how about you answer the questions for once?

Who got in the race last after it was clear Romney was not going to get any appreciable support from social conservatives?

Who did the GOP Establishment push into the race after it seem Tea Party heroine Bachmann was going to upset Romney’s ride to the nomination?

Who does the GOP Establishment see as their back up card if Romney fails?

Who has long standing intimate ties with the Liberal wing of the GOP Establishment?

The answer is Rick Perry.

Bill Kristol to a NY Time Reporter telling him how the GOP Establishment plans to deal with “the Tea party mutiny”

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2792217/posts?page=3

Kristol told me just after Perry entered the race, a development that essentially ended [the more radical Michele] Bachmann’s brief ascent. Establishment Republicans may prefer Romney to Perry, but their assumption is that either man can be counted on to steer the party back toward the broad center next fall, effectively disarming the Tea Party mutiny.

Wonder who Perry will be VP with?

Odd how that question never gets asked of Perry.

Could it be because everyone knows Perry is the GOP Establishment mole in the race to split the Tea Party/Conservative vote and hand the nomination to Romney?

Could it be because they know the ticket the GOP Machine is setting up is “Romney/Perry 2012? Think about it. Romney has the money, Perry has the idolatrous worship from the social Conservatives.

Could that be why the Perry camp is knowingly lying about Cain’s solidly Conservative record on both social and fiscal issues? Because they know full well Perry’s record can not stand close scrutiny?

What does anyone really know about Perry other then the nice words and platitudes he puts in his speeches? Looks like Perry is just Bush 3.0 another tough talking social conservative who will go to DC and be yet another good little GOP crony capitalist water boy.


139 posted on 10/16/2011 10:22:06 AM PDT by MNJohnnie (Giving more money to DC to fix the Debt is like giving free drugs to addicts think it will cure them)
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To: MNJohnnie

“SOP for Romney campaigns is to pay surrogates to go out and trash talk the other candidates while having them pretend to not be connected to Romney. The standard Romney-bot posting tactic is to offer nothing rational or factual to back up their trash talking of the other candidates.”

Yea, I’m picking up on that too. Romney (and for that matter, Perry’s) campaign has lots of money and can do things like that. It’s dirty, but it is politics.


140 posted on 10/16/2011 10:22:16 AM PDT by BobL (A vote for Perry is a vote for Romney)
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