Quote of the Day

"Sean Hannity is about to have Herman Cain on to talk about New Black Panther voter intimidation. This is going to be amazing."

Matt Binder, on Twitter.

Let the wonderful conspiracy theories begin.

When Satire Becomes Reality

Dave Weigel's article on the Herman Cain tea party event reads like an Onion article. That is not the fault of Weigel's prose. The tea party activists are buffoonish.

Weigel points out the absurdity of a Republican presidential candidate driven out of the race by a sex scandal and still holding rallies. Imagine progressives flocking to hear John Edwards speak in 2012. It isn't going to happen. In defense of Cain supporters, they are really fucking stupid. Check out their cheer if you don't believe me.

Chris Burgdon, Cain's cowboy-hatted videographer, boards another one of the six chariots and tells its occupants to get revved up.

"Gimme a 9-9-9!"

9-9-9

"Now say, we're not stupid!"

We're not stupid!

If the biggest PR goal of your movement is proving that you are not stupid than chances are no one in your group is going to discover the cure for cancer anytime in the near future.

Then there is William Temple. He is to the tea party movement what overweight 40 year-old guys that dress in green spandex Riddler costumes are to Comic Con. Temple has several different militia outfits he wears to tea party events. This moment Temple had with Weigel is surreal.

A waiter walks by, cradling a tray of crabcakes, each approximately the size of a gummy eraser.

"Ah, yes," says Temple, affecting his revolutionary-era accent. (Think of an extra from the John Adams mini-series.) "I'll have a full regiment."

Yes, there was nothing that George Washington's troops loved more at Valley Forge than mini-sized crabcakes.

You will not be shocked to learn that there were many empty seats at Cain's Renaissance Hotel event. As lame as this movement is, former DNC chair Tim Kaine lost the midterm elections to the tea party and RNC chair Michael Steele. The tea party may be a joke. Kaine is a bigger joke.

Quote of the Day

"Yes, President Obama is very likable to most people, if you just look at him and his family. But if you look at his policies, which is what most people disagree with, it’s a different story. And I think many men are much more familiar with the failed policies than a lot of other people, as well as the general public."

Herman Cain, on Fox News, saying that women (other people) aren't smart enough to understand President Obama's policies.

This is horrible territory for Cain to venture into. Cain had to end his campaign because of allegations of sexual harassment. Cain couldn't even explain his own policy positions. Which is why he became a walking punch line on the campaign trail.

Herman Cain's Bizarre Fish Ad

Where to even begin with Herman Cain's lates ad disaster. Why is a girl, who belongs in a creepy horror movie, standing in an apocalyptic field of death?

Why is a fake looking animated Herman Cain looking away from the viewer?

Was the goldfish in killed in the making of this video? That is very pro-life.

Is Herman Cain trying to make people think he is insane?

Cain to Endorse Gingrich

FOX 5 Atlanta reports that Herman Cain will endorse Newt Gingrich on Monday. That should seal up the adultery demographic. The other Republican candidates better have an affair ASAP to compete with the Gingrich-Cain combo.

Quote of the Day

"How do you say 'delicious' in Cuban?"

Herman Cain, in Miami.

Cubana speak Spanish. There is no Cuban language. I wonder if Cain thinks Klingon is a real language.

Yes, Star Trek geeks. I know someone with far too much time came up with a Klingon language. No one who has had sex before the age of 30 years-old speaks Klingon.

Herman Cain Heckled in Florida

Herman Cain's visit to Florida yesterday did not go well.

GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain dove into his stump speech at a campaign stop in Florida yesterday, telling the crowd that we are a “nation of crises.” After listing the nation’s many “crises,” Cain declared, “we’ve got a moral crisis!”

This Republican field is like watching a season of Last Comic Standing.

The Silly 9-9-9 Tax Plan

For a Tea Party Nation member, Robert E. Kelly writes some surprisingly sensible things about the tax code. Kelly also is honest enough to point out that Herman Cain's 9-9-9 plan is flawed. Sadly, Kelly' solutions are not realistic.

I regard the Cain proposal as an incomplete idea that should be mixed with others to produce a tax system that will restore America to good government and to prosperity.

A better alternative would be to abolish all existing taxes, to close the IRS as we know it, to eliminate Amendment XVI (the power to tax incomes), to impose the so-called Fair Tax (a national sales tax), and to pursue a constitutional amendment that requires a balanced budget (with an allowance for wars and recessions) and a cap on spending of twenty percent of GDP.

Getting the United States Senate and 2/3 of the states to pass a constitutional amendment is nearly impossible. Congress , the CBO and the Office of Budget and Management would not have any idea what would constitute 20 percent of GDP spending. Estimates on the federal budget to the GDP aren't crunched by economists until after the fiscal year. Economist Bruce Bartlett called this idea the "Dopiest Constitutional Amendment of All Time."

I won't repeat all of my previous criticisms of the balanced budget amendment that can be found in the links. But let me discuss one other thing. The gross domestic product is not a concept defined in law and is revised constantly; from time to time, the Bureau of Economic Analysis revises the GDP data all the way back to 1929. And of course, the 18 percent figure is totally arbitrary; the proposal effectively assumes that all federal outlays consist of funds that are appropriated annually, rather than consisting primarily of mandatory programs such as Social Security, Medicare and interest on the debt. Even if Congress was willing to cut mandatory spending, it is practically impossible to do so quickly unless it is willing to reduce the monthly checks going to current retirees and other actions difficult to contemplate.

In short, this is quite possibly the stupidest constitutional amendment I think I have ever seen. It looks like it was drafted by a couple of interns on the back of a napkin. Every senator cosponsoring this POS should be ashamed of themselves.

Kelly does bring up the point that Cain's 9-9-9 plan is tilted toward the rich.

Again we have the same question: Will a lower tax rate applied to a higher base, plus the elimination of some income, yield a lower tax burden than higher tax rates applied to the existing base?

Cain must be more explicit in his presentation if he expects to sell this plan. I appreciate the dumping of the tax code, but I’m skeptical about his claim that his plan will be beneficial, and to whom? The tilt seems to be toward those with large capital gains and dividend income, and those with large estates. The lure to lower income groups is the elimination of the payroll tax.

Cain’s plan does not speak to those who currently pay no tax because their income is too low.

Good luck on having Cain explain his plan. The truth is Cain 9-9-9 plan is a campaign talking point gimmick just like Rick Scott's 6-6-6 jobs plan. Cain and Scott never had economic experts draw up plans. Cain and Scott put a bunch of political consultants in a room to come up with an easy to remember catch phrase.

As far as Cain's plan being geared to the rich, Cain's campaign is filled with people that have worked for the Koch brothers. The incompetent Chief of Staff Mark Block has never won a presidential campaign. Block has worked for the Koch brothers' funded Prosperity USA. The Koch brothers are using Cain to be a spokesman for their tax agenda. It doesn't matter to them if Cain's tax policies won't fly in the general election. The Koch brothers and the rest of the GOP establishment knows Cain will never get the nomination.

Quote of the Day

"I'm not supposed to know anything about foreign policy. Just thought I'd throw that out."

Herman Cain

Cain fails to understand that if he is running for president he is required to understand foreign policy. The President should be smarter than the average voter. However, Cain has been running a fake campaign to help sell his books. I perfect example of how unserious Cain is about winning the nomination was his appearance in Wisconsin. The state is not an early battleground state. So why is cain in Wisconsin?

"My chief of staff and my assistant, they wanted to go to a football game, and I said yes!" Cain exclaimed.

Cain is no different than reality telvision stars in the quest for attention.

Herman Cain's Libya Failure

Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips finally comes to the realization that Herman Cain is clueless. What gave it away.

Tonight there is a video from the Journal Sentinel online that show an interview with Herman Cain. Forget the sexual harassment allegations. Forget Mark Block’s gross incompetence. Herman Cain needs to leave the race because he is not qualified to be President.

Phillips cites an an example that Cain does not even have a basic understanding about Libya.

Candidates have something called briefing books. These are prepared by staffers and contain, among other things, topics candidates are expected to have at least a passing knowledge of. Cain may not be expected to know the name of the President of Montenegro or the Prime Minister of Moldavia, but Libya is a question that will obviously come up.

This video is what Phillips is referring to. Cain asks the intervierer if President Obama supporting the uprising and overthrowing Moammar Kadafi. The fact that Cain doesn't know this is embarrassing. Cain goes on to say that he would be more deliberate in assessing information than Obama. Somehow I seriously doubt that.

Cain states he would have learned more about the opposition than Obama. The interviewer asks Cain if Obama failed to assess the opposition. Cain says he doesn't know. This Republican field gives me more respect for the intelligence of George W. Bush everyday.

Cain's Bizarre Singing at National Press Club

Via Pam Spaulding: I have avoided the Herman Cain sex scandal. After covering the Mark Foley scandal, I have mostly stayed away from sex related political stories. That doesn't mean I am not going to blog about Cain's bizarre appearance at the National Press Club.

Cain was asked by the reporters present if he knew about the financial settlements the Restaurant Association reached with women that accused Cain of sexual harassment. Cain said he didn't. Cain then decided to end the Q & A session by singing the hymn He Looked Beyond My Faults. What we are seeing is that Cain's bizarre campaign ads and disorganized campaign are part of a pattern. Herman Cain is a seriously weird guy. Running a normal campaign and acting like a rationale human being is impossible. Cain is neither normal or rationale.

Cain's support from the tea party says more about the tea party than it does about Cain. In past presidential elections Cain would not poll high enough to appear in a debate. The Republican tea party base is now made of people who boo gay soldiers and cheer people being denied health care. The tea party is made of dysfunctional people. It is no wonder they would flock to the weirdest candidate in the field and shun a mainstream politician like Jon Huntsman.

Quote of the Day 2

"Leadership Requires Leadership."

The title of a Herman Cain pamphlet. The $5.00 pamphlet is nothing more than Cain dissing President Obama without providing solutions. It is also one page long and can be read on the internet.

The 535-member Congress was not intended to be the leadership in Washington, D.C. Their job is to help maintain balance of power, advise the president, approve or disapprove legislation where needed, and repeal unwanted or unnecessary legislation. As Speaker John Boehner so appropriately stated, the president has to lead, and more importantly, lead the nation on behalf of the people in the right direction. A 535-member committee cannot lead.

Is Cain even aware that the Constitution mandates that the executive and legislative branches of government are separate? Under the Constitution, Obama can only sign or veto bills.

Section 1 - The Legislature

All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

As Tina Dupuy noted, The Congress of House Speaker John Boehner has 12 bills and two house joint resolutions in the first quarter of their two year term. There is no filibuster in the House of Representatives. Cain is blaming Obama for Boehner for not being able to create legislation in a Republican majority House. I like to see Cain write a pamphlet on the merits of Boehner's leadership.

I say this much for Cain. He knows how to draw every penny out of the wallets of his tea party followers.

Herman Cain's Internet Ad

This Herman Cain ad won't be on the internet long. Besides the porn movies productions values, it is not a good idea to have someone stumping for Cain smoking a cigarette in the video. I'm a smoker. It doesn't bother me. What amazes me is Cain used staffer Mark Block for an internet ad. No one uses staffers for ads.

Update

From the conservative Daily Caller: I have to question Cain's judgement if he would let someone with Block's history run his campaign. And appear front and center in an ad.

Yet (Block) was also banned from politics in Wisconsin for three years and forced to pay a $15,000 fine after being accused by the Wisconsin State Elections Board of violating election law in 1997 as campaign manager to state Supreme Court Justice Jon P. Wilcox.

The Wilcox campaign was accused of illegally coordinating activities with an outside group which mounted a get-out-the-vote effort. To this day, Block denies any wrongdoing.

As I wrote earlier today, Cain doesn't care about Block's past because he is running a bogus presidential campaign.

Update: Someone has created a fake Mark Block Twitter account.

Herman Cain: Fake Candidate

There is a reason Herman Cain doesn't have policy advisers to help strengthen his grasp of foreign and domestic issues. Cain has never ran a real presidential campaign. When I say real, I mean actually campaigning with the intention of becoming President of the United States of America. A major giveaway was Cain's meeting with serial fake presidential candidate Donald Trump. Mitt Romney met Trump but intentionally dodged cameras and reporters. Cain bragged about meeting Trump on Twitter.

Meeting James Baker or Henry Kissinger was once a way for a Republican candidate to prove his bona fides. Donald Trump is the current litmus test. My, how the Republican Party has matured. Romney avoided the media because he understands that the vast majority of Americans consider Trump a cartoonish buffoon. Cain doesn't have these consideration because like Trump he craves attention. Which is what Cain's fake candidacy is all about.

Mark Benjamin of Swampland tried to find out who is running Cain's state campaign in New Hampshire, Florida and South Carolina. Republican operatives in those states told Benjamin they have no idea.

“There is no sense of a tangible organization that you can point to,” says Rich Killion, an uncommitted GOP strategist in New Hampshire, who’s unsure of the location of Cain’s Granite State base of operations, or even if there is one. “If you said, ‘Rich, tell me who is running the effort here?’ I could not even give you that person.” Matt Murphy, Cain’s original state director, resigned in June.

“There is good will towards him, but there is almost no organization to speak of,” says Fergus Cullen, a former chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party. “If there is a local group who wanted to invite him to speak, it is unclear whom to call. I gather that they are adding staff and ramping up, but the primary is in two and a half months.”

Besides some tea party activists, Cain has no campaign offices or staff in New Hampshire. Does this sound like someone who wants to be president?

We see the same thing in Florida.

A prominent Republican operative in Florida says the Cain campaign is similarly invisible in his state. “If somebody called here and asked to volunteer for Cain, I would not know whom to talk to,” he says. Cain won a major Florida straw poll in late September, but he’s been largely absent ever since. “He came and worked the crowd. He got a few state reps. to endorse him” and then he left, the operative says. “It boggles the mind. I don’t know any of the usual suspects who have been called, asked or much less hired. There is no grassroots. The guys in key counties, none of them are getting talked to.”

The fact that the tea party would embrace Cain and Sarah Palin says much about how seriously they take policy. One thing is certain is that Cain and Palin will make a shitload of money off of the Christian Right conservatives that enjoy dressing up in Revolutionary War costumes.

Update: I did an internet search and couldn't find any Cain campaign offices in Florida. I did find that his last visit to Florida, on October 5th, was to sell his book.

On Wednesday, questions centered around Cain’s two stops in Florida — which were part of a book tour, not campaign events.

Cain hawked $25 copies of This is Herman Cain!: My Journey to the White House to about 300 people at The Villages in Central Florida and then to another 300 people at a Barnes & Noble in St. Petersburg.

St. Petersburg Times reporter Aaron Sharockman confronted Cain with the accusations that he isn't serious about his campaign. Cain gave his usual response about keeping his agenda secret. Cain usually does that when he doesn't want to answer the question.

“They don’t know my schedule. They don’t know my strategy,” said Cain, 65. “The perception that we’re not campaigning is ridiculous.”

What is "ridiculous" is people taking Herman Cain seriously.

Herman Cain Wins Florida P5 Straw Poll

Straw polls are taken too seriously by the Republican party establishment and the media. That said, Rick Perry and his staff have to be going ballistic over all the money they wasted on the Florida P5 straw poll. Perry lost to the poorly organized Herman Cain. What does it mean?

Perry placed too much emphasis on a straw poll and put himself in a vulnerable position. Mitt Romney knew the hard-right conservative that take part in straw polls won't support him. Romney saved himself money and embarrassment. Romney spent a ton of money and won the Iowa straw poll in 2007. The result was Mike Huckabee winning the Iowa caucus.

Cain won the American Policy Summit straw poll earlier this year. Cain winning the straw poll in Florida is not that surprising. Cain has either not taken the time to polish his message or study the issues. Perry is not a policy wonk, but he is a polished politician. Cain fumbling the question on the Palistan two-state solution tells me that this has always been a vanity campaign for Cain. Cain is neither polished or takes policy seriously.



Cain's campaign his staffed with tea party activists that has never worked a campaign. Cain released a bizarre internet Western-themed ad that hardly discussed Cain's positions. The ad made me realize that Cain is the Mike Gravel of this election cycle.

Update: Team Romney is getting really cocky.

One Romney aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity, overstated Romney's strength but underscord the team's cockiness when he said, "It's over. Perry's toast."

Bizarre Herman Cain Ad

Apparently, Herman Cain intends to be the Mike Gravel of this presidential election cycle. Like Gravel, Cain releases bizarre and pointless internet ads that don't further of (lack of) message. Cain uses actor Nick Searcy to play himself as a prima Donna actor in an ad titled "He Carried Yellow Flowers." Searcy provides to have his stunt man film fight a fake battle for him while Searcy talks about Cain. Searcy is best known for his role of the television series Justified.

Herman Cain Sings

Herman Cain recorded a gospel album called Sunday Morning. Only three used copies are available on Amazon.com. The record is obviously out of print.

I find gospel music lyrically limited. How many times can you say that Jesus is awesome. I tend to find gospel music boring.

The highlight track is This Is the Day. Cain tries to get funky and Christ-like. It was the only song I could almost listen to all the way through. Cain can sing. This just isn't musically my thing.