Where there is a will, it is said, there is a way. More often, where there is a will, there are a lot of lawyers, but that is a whole other subject.
What is known at this time is that Mr. Cain has suspended his campaign. He has stated on his website that he has ended his campaign, preferring to put family first.
Laudable as that decision may be, it may also be that his family will encourage him to reconsider for the good of the country. See, there aren't many alternatives out there. I say there aren't any alternatives -- at least none that are electable and whom I could support with a clear conscience. Whether one looks at Romney's authorship of Obamacare, Gingrich's support for "rethinking the Constitution" or Bachmann's failure to generate any widespread appeal, any road a Conservative voter might take seems to lead back to Obamaville. The country can't live there anymore.
What is generating support -- and hope -- is a Herman Cain write-in movement. In a recent RCP poll, Cain placed third, despite having already suspended his campaign. That is a measure of how much support he still has. This movement deserves a close look, at the very least; it may be the last chance for voters -- rather than media and party 'establishment' types -- to say who will be on the general election ballot. Remember, not one primary vote has yet been cast.
Get informed. Educate yourself on the write-in requirements for your state. In several states, Cain will be appearing on the primary ballot, so not all voters will have to resort to writing him in. But either way, be sure your vote counts.
Remember, this is the primary. If Cain doesn't win the primary, holding our noses and voting for whomever the media and establishment anoint remains an alternative to simply handing the election to "Obama"; however much the two actions might seem to be one and the same, we can register at least a symbolic protest without wasting our votes outright. Besides, if a nominal 'Republican' does win in November, his party affiliation could be useful in pulling him to the right, however slightly and incrementally that might be. But for now, the tantalizing prospect remains that we might get to decide who the candidate will be, and that candidate might turn the 2012 campaign into a real contest in which race cannot be used as an issue, instead of a minor disagreement among two guys with very similar worldviews.
I don't have links to offer at this time -- one site advertising itself as being about a Cain write-in campaign turned out to have been hijacked by Paul supporters. There are at least two pages on Facebook that are very active with Cain supporters. Seek and ye shall find.
Keep the faith,
CC
Monday, December 12, 2011
Saturday, December 3, 2011
The Cain Truth
Mychal Massie is a Christian, a patriot, a successful businessman...and a conservative Republican. But those things won't be held against him here.
He says what I have been thinking about Herman Cain, and he does it about 1,000 times more eloquently than I could. Mr. Massie's website is well worth a visit; his 12/03/11 column can be viewed here:
Herman ‘Cain,’ but America Won’t
Keep the faith,
CC
He says what I have been thinking about Herman Cain, and he does it about 1,000 times more eloquently than I could. Mr. Massie's website is well worth a visit; his 12/03/11 column can be viewed here:
Herman ‘Cain,’ but America Won’t
Keep the faith,
CC
Stopping the Train
And so we have the first casualty of the 2012 campaign -- before anyone had a chance to vote.
If the same standard used to judge Herman Cain had been used on Bill Clinton, we would have had a different president in 1997. What is especially emetic is that what Clinton did -- as president, in the Oval Office -- was proven, but no proof is or will be forthcoming against Cain, who simply applied for the job. His 'true' crime was not knowing his place.
Welcome to the new realpolitik, where candidates can be removed from the ballot before one vote is cast, and that by innuendo and gossip. From now on, every talking head on the news shows should either be shown sitting under a hair dryer or standing at the back fence. Print 'journalists' should communicate by party line, and I don't mean the one they all toe.
I want to be very clear that I do not believe that journalists are solely -- or even principally -- responsible for this disaster. The lion's share of the blame divides between the 'major' parties; one helped it happen, and the other stood by and watched it happen. I'll leave you to figure out which is which, because it really doesn't matter.
The great danger is that when something is rewarded, we get more of it. Therefore, what happened to Cain will happen again, probably in this cycle. Look for Bachmann to be targeted next. What is more, it will keep happening in future elections; the assassins will get bolder and bolder, while the choices we are allowed will get narrower and narrower. Ballots with only one name on them are not far off.
Welcome to the new realpolitik, where candidates can be removed from the ballot before one vote is cast, and that by innuendo and gossip. From now on, every talking head on the news shows should either be shown sitting under a hair dryer or standing at the back fence. Print 'journalists' should communicate by party line, and I don't mean the one they all toe.
I want to be very clear that I do not believe that journalists are solely -- or even principally -- responsible for this disaster. The lion's share of the blame divides between the 'major' parties; one helped it happen, and the other stood by and watched it happen. I'll leave you to figure out which is which, because it really doesn't matter.
The great danger is that when something is rewarded, we get more of it. Therefore, what happened to Cain will happen again, probably in this cycle. Look for Bachmann to be targeted next. What is more, it will keep happening in future elections; the assassins will get bolder and bolder, while the choices we are allowed will get narrower and narrower. Ballots with only one name on them are not far off.
Where to go from here? Still chewing on that one. If any Democrat were running against "Obama", I would be sorely tempted to vote for that person in the primary election just to help split the "Obama" vote -- I cannot in good conscience support any of the RINO herd that remains on the GOP side. At last, something good can come of open primaries.
Of course, the general campaign will now be all about race; during the primary season, once Bachmann is eliminated, it will be the 'underdog' against a bunch of white guys. Anything they say against him will be racially motivated, as will any vote for them. Cain would have eliminated all of that garbage, which is one of the main reasons he had to be removed from the contest.
December 3, 2011: a sad day for American politics, and a sad day for America.
CC
CC
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Quick Take
I'll make this brief, because I have to get to WORK:
It occurs to me that cities across the country have been 'occupied' in exactly the same sense that a restroom is occupied. It is high time for someone to find the special key, open the door and evict the occupants. Bring lots of Lysol and remember to flush about 50 times. We, the 53%, say ENOUGH!
No more 'negotiations', no more meaningless deadlines. Mayors, stand up for those who pay the taxes you spend so willingly. Police chiefs, enforce the law. Public spaces are for the use of everyone, not just a band of malcontents in tents. Rape is a CRIME. Any public sex act, for that matter, even if it is between 'consenting adults' or if only one person need consent, is likewise a CRIME. Willful destruction of private property is a CRIME. Arrest the criminals and restore order. In other words, do your duty.
Be safe out there,
CC
It occurs to me that cities across the country have been 'occupied' in exactly the same sense that a restroom is occupied. It is high time for someone to find the special key, open the door and evict the occupants. Bring lots of Lysol and remember to flush about 50 times. We, the 53%, say ENOUGH!
No more 'negotiations', no more meaningless deadlines. Mayors, stand up for those who pay the taxes you spend so willingly. Police chiefs, enforce the law. Public spaces are for the use of everyone, not just a band of malcontents in tents. Rape is a CRIME. Any public sex act, for that matter, even if it is between 'consenting adults' or if only one person need consent, is likewise a CRIME. Willful destruction of private property is a CRIME. Arrest the criminals and restore order. In other words, do your duty.
Be safe out there,
CC
Monday, November 21, 2011
Right Now
A periodic look at the current landscape...
Well, Cain didn't get the memo that he was 'finished'. The accusers crawled back to their respective rocks when the expected 'me too' flood failed to materialize. Even high profile attorneys have been uncharacteristically quiet. The Libya flap fizzled -- Cain acquitted himself quite well in a recent post on his website (www.hermancain.com/news/americas_role_in_the_world_peace_through_strength_and_clarity), which will be widely quoted in the press about the same time the chairman of Occupy the White House reveals his real birth certificate.
In what may prove to be the least surprising 'news' story of 2011, the 'Super Committee' totally failed to find a way to trim a lousy $120 Billion per year from the federal budget over ten years. Anyone more than a few hours old when this committee was announced knew the purpose was not to save money, but to link Republicans to unpopular budget cuts in an election year. Mission Accomplished, guys!
Admittedly, the task was daunting: reduce the federal budget by a tiny fraction of a percent (starting after the next election, of course) by cutting as much from defense as from fraud-wracked, wasteful and often-redundant or unnecessary domestic programs while carefully ignoring bloated 'entitlements' altogether. And now the process becomes yet another playground scuffle generating additional tremors of uncertainty in both domestic and worldwide markets -- the very situation the 'committee' was supposed to avoid. Of course, generally speaking, the failure of a committee to accomplish anything useful is hardly the stuff of banner headlines in its own right...
Meanwhile, in a formerly-public park near you: The Occupiers are losing cachet (fewer people care about them), so they are going to have to ramp up their tantrum in the remaining days before their encampments get buried under all the snow we're not supposed to be having. The occupiers having failed to accomplish even the nebulous goals they managed to articulate, even the MSM has lost interest and moved on to more interesting stories, such as the National Paint-Drying Championships. Which raises an interesting philosophical question: if someone stages a protest (with 'stages' being the operative term) and there is no audience, has anything been accomplished?
Did Soros seriously imagine that most working people would walk off their scarce jobs and camp out in city parks? Did any of the Occupiers' fellow travelers really expect that people would smile and wave while sitting in their cars, waiting to be allowed to get to work -- that they would enjoy having the parks and streets their tax dollars pay to maintain blockaded by people who can't even make a coherent case for such an action? Did anyone -- even in the MSM -- believe that potential employers would be moved to hang the 'help wanted' sign once again by the spectacle of people who say they want jobs monopolizing public spaces and defecating on police cars?
One of the more hilarious -- and non-surprising -- aspects of all of this is that it now comes out that one of the 'leaders' of OWS fancies himself too good to share a tent with the people on the front lines -- he has chosen instead to occupy a rather nice hotel room to the tune of several hundred clams a day. Follow the money...
There is plenty more where today's sampling came from, never fear. The political landscape is like a vast field of material for analysis, always ready for harvest. A never-ending supply of sinister occurrences...
Miriam-Webster defines 'sinister' thus: "Of, relating to or situated on the left..." yet the common definition is 'having evil intent'. Coincidence?
CC
Well, Cain didn't get the memo that he was 'finished'. The accusers crawled back to their respective rocks when the expected 'me too' flood failed to materialize. Even high profile attorneys have been uncharacteristically quiet. The Libya flap fizzled -- Cain acquitted himself quite well in a recent post on his website (www.hermancain.com/news/americas_role_in_the_world_peace_through_strength_and_clarity), which will be widely quoted in the press about the same time the chairman of Occupy the White House reveals his real birth certificate.
In what may prove to be the least surprising 'news' story of 2011, the 'Super Committee' totally failed to find a way to trim a lousy $120 Billion per year from the federal budget over ten years. Anyone more than a few hours old when this committee was announced knew the purpose was not to save money, but to link Republicans to unpopular budget cuts in an election year. Mission Accomplished, guys!
Admittedly, the task was daunting: reduce the federal budget by a tiny fraction of a percent (starting after the next election, of course) by cutting as much from defense as from fraud-wracked, wasteful and often-redundant or unnecessary domestic programs while carefully ignoring bloated 'entitlements' altogether. And now the process becomes yet another playground scuffle generating additional tremors of uncertainty in both domestic and worldwide markets -- the very situation the 'committee' was supposed to avoid. Of course, generally speaking, the failure of a committee to accomplish anything useful is hardly the stuff of banner headlines in its own right...
Meanwhile, in a formerly-public park near you: The Occupiers are losing cachet (fewer people care about them), so they are going to have to ramp up their tantrum in the remaining days before their encampments get buried under all the snow we're not supposed to be having. The occupiers having failed to accomplish even the nebulous goals they managed to articulate, even the MSM has lost interest and moved on to more interesting stories, such as the National Paint-Drying Championships. Which raises an interesting philosophical question: if someone stages a protest (with 'stages' being the operative term) and there is no audience, has anything been accomplished?
Did Soros seriously imagine that most working people would walk off their scarce jobs and camp out in city parks? Did any of the Occupiers' fellow travelers really expect that people would smile and wave while sitting in their cars, waiting to be allowed to get to work -- that they would enjoy having the parks and streets their tax dollars pay to maintain blockaded by people who can't even make a coherent case for such an action? Did anyone -- even in the MSM -- believe that potential employers would be moved to hang the 'help wanted' sign once again by the spectacle of people who say they want jobs monopolizing public spaces and defecating on police cars?
One of the more hilarious -- and non-surprising -- aspects of all of this is that it now comes out that one of the 'leaders' of OWS fancies himself too good to share a tent with the people on the front lines -- he has chosen instead to occupy a rather nice hotel room to the tune of several hundred clams a day. Follow the money...
There is plenty more where today's sampling came from, never fear. The political landscape is like a vast field of material for analysis, always ready for harvest. A never-ending supply of sinister occurrences...
Miriam-Webster defines 'sinister' thus: "Of, relating to or situated on the left..." yet the common definition is 'having evil intent'. Coincidence?
CC
Thursday, November 10, 2011
The Great Cain Robbery
I had wanted to 'get my feet wet' by talking about other pressing issues before dealing with presidential campaign politics. But 'life is what happens while you are busy making other plans,' it is said, and so I have to jump in at the deep end.
Just to avoid later confusion, I hold that the treatment Herman Cain has received in the press in recent days is a new low. Once you think the MSM has sunk as low as it can go, someone finds a basement door. The court of public opinion has been a kangaroo court on past character assassination attempts targeting conservatives, but there is a refreshing change this time around; people aren't buying the charges. Cain remains well within the 'frontrunner zone' in polls (though few will acknowledge this) and the Cain campaign is exceeding its own funding goals, enabling it to ramp up a presence in Iowa that had recently been lampooned as 'hopelessly weak'. One endlessly-cited Reuters / IPSOS poll, in reality an unscientific online survey, showed minor dips in Cain's 'favorability' with Republicans (still well above 50% even if you believe the survey) and with voters in general (in the 30's, which ain't bad for an 'unknown' candidate two months before the first primary and who wasn't supposed to make it even this far).
The way to overcome gossip, slander and libel (from the law firm of the same name) is to "live so that no one will believe your detractors." Cain does this, and it explains why his support remains firm despite the sewage-slinging attacks that have been aimed at him. If there were any truth to these allegations, Cain would have been dogged lo these many years by a whisper campaign that would drown out anything he might have to say. If he had a 'past' anything like these women are alleging, any associate who cares anything about Cain at all would practically have forbidden him from running. Instead: no whispers, no negative counsel, no doubt on the part of his Democrat wife that the charges are false (thank you, Lord, for keeping his family out of this and keeping this from harming his family life). In short, no proof = no story, or how journalism used to be practiced in days gone by.
The way this 'story' went down is the politics of personal destruction at its sleazy worst: Anonymous accusers, uncorroborated claims, no evidence. Demands for Cain to 'come clean' and 'tell all'. The problem with telling 'all' in a case like this: suppose there isn't anything to tell. Suppose all you can tell is that the accusations are false. Unfortunately, human nature being what it is, many people are too cynical to believe in the possibility of straightforward, unalloyed innocence. Therefore, Cain's detractors are looking for an abject admission / 'apology' a la Clinton, while a vocal minority of nominal Cain supporters seem to be waiting for a rueful press conference where Cain looks suitably chastened and offers details that do not totally exonerate him but do not fully corroborate the accuser's stories, either ("there were some things said and some things done that I wish I hadn't done, but it wasn't as bad as she's saying it was,"). That way, everyone receives their pound of flesh and we can finally rejoin the campaign, already in progress.
Someone who maybe had crossed a line here and there (like 'we all' do at times) could offer up a meaningless mea culpa, reasoning that 'giving the people what they want' is the fastest way out of this quagmire. He could even borrow a page from the Democrat playbook and say, "I did nothing wrong and I won't do it again." But an innocent man of character would rightly see such tactics as both a sellout and an open invitation for more of the same.
It is worth noting that as of the time of posting, the dreaded five-way press conference is now down to two (presuming that additional accusers can't be found beforehand). Obviously the others said to whomever is driving this (cough David Axelrod cough), "Look, this isn't gaining traction the way you said it would. I'm not letting myself be dragged through a minefield for this. Get someone else." But Judas would still have been Judas even without the inducement of thirty pieces of silver; one wonders what the going rate is, these days. Perhaps Jezebel is a more apt analogy.
The possible Axelrod angle is not due as much to the overt threat posed to "Obama" (see my future post on the many names of 'The One') by Cain at this pre-Iowa juncture as it is to the desire of a Democrat in deep trouble in national polls to run an easy, uncomplicated campaign against an 'opponent' who agrees with him on virtually everything, thus limiting real debate and making life easier for the teleprompter operator. Thus, "Obama" wishes to run against Father of Obamacare Mitt Romney. The advantages for "Obama" are many, but the principal one is that it allows him to basically re-run the '08 campaign so that he can focus on keeping his past under wraps (and/or improving his golf game).
An Obama / Romney 'contest' (apart from being like the counter person at the ice cream store asking which flavor of vanilla you would like) lets "Obama" be the 'underdog' to Romney's white RINO. The (s)crappy community organizer from Kenya / Indonesia / Hawaii / Connecticut / maybe not Connecticut / Illinois (yeah, that's the ticket!), vs the guy from Utah via Massachusetts. The guy in the contest with the most experience being president vs the guy with the most experience running for president. The guy from the mean streets of Chicago (so he would have us believe) vs the quintessential country club establishment Republican.
Whereas Obama vs Cain gets rid of the race angle right away (how can someone vote for Cain only because "Obama" is black?). Obama vs Cain means lots of questions about Obamacare, and about fundamental differences in economic theory (Socialist vs free market conservative). Obama vs Cain could even raise the issue of eligibility (gasp!), though Cain has not commented extensively on this to date. Cain vs Obama could, in short, produce the sharpest difference seen between candidates in a presidential campaign since Reagan vs Carter. Not bad for a former 'pizza guy' who had no experience and wasn't running a 'serious' campaign.
The seriousness of Cain's campaign is no longer in question, thanks in part, oddly, to five accusers who likely won't receive their full fifteen minutes of fame but who hopefully have learned to beware Democrats bearing gifts. I don't know that it is true that 'everyone has a price' -- I can't be bought -- but clearly there are at least five people in this fallen world who need to take a close look at how easily they and their services can be purchased.
Until next time, remember that being right there is better than being left there.
CC
Just to avoid later confusion, I hold that the treatment Herman Cain has received in the press in recent days is a new low. Once you think the MSM has sunk as low as it can go, someone finds a basement door. The court of public opinion has been a kangaroo court on past character assassination attempts targeting conservatives, but there is a refreshing change this time around; people aren't buying the charges. Cain remains well within the 'frontrunner zone' in polls (though few will acknowledge this) and the Cain campaign is exceeding its own funding goals, enabling it to ramp up a presence in Iowa that had recently been lampooned as 'hopelessly weak'. One endlessly-cited Reuters / IPSOS poll, in reality an unscientific online survey, showed minor dips in Cain's 'favorability' with Republicans (still well above 50% even if you believe the survey) and with voters in general (in the 30's, which ain't bad for an 'unknown' candidate two months before the first primary and who wasn't supposed to make it even this far).
The way to overcome gossip, slander and libel (from the law firm of the same name) is to "live so that no one will believe your detractors." Cain does this, and it explains why his support remains firm despite the sewage-slinging attacks that have been aimed at him. If there were any truth to these allegations, Cain would have been dogged lo these many years by a whisper campaign that would drown out anything he might have to say. If he had a 'past' anything like these women are alleging, any associate who cares anything about Cain at all would practically have forbidden him from running. Instead: no whispers, no negative counsel, no doubt on the part of his Democrat wife that the charges are false (thank you, Lord, for keeping his family out of this and keeping this from harming his family life). In short, no proof = no story, or how journalism used to be practiced in days gone by.
The way this 'story' went down is the politics of personal destruction at its sleazy worst: Anonymous accusers, uncorroborated claims, no evidence. Demands for Cain to 'come clean' and 'tell all'. The problem with telling 'all' in a case like this: suppose there isn't anything to tell. Suppose all you can tell is that the accusations are false. Unfortunately, human nature being what it is, many people are too cynical to believe in the possibility of straightforward, unalloyed innocence. Therefore, Cain's detractors are looking for an abject admission / 'apology' a la Clinton, while a vocal minority of nominal Cain supporters seem to be waiting for a rueful press conference where Cain looks suitably chastened and offers details that do not totally exonerate him but do not fully corroborate the accuser's stories, either ("there were some things said and some things done that I wish I hadn't done, but it wasn't as bad as she's saying it was,"). That way, everyone receives their pound of flesh and we can finally rejoin the campaign, already in progress.
Someone who maybe had crossed a line here and there (like 'we all' do at times) could offer up a meaningless mea culpa, reasoning that 'giving the people what they want' is the fastest way out of this quagmire. He could even borrow a page from the Democrat playbook and say, "I did nothing wrong and I won't do it again." But an innocent man of character would rightly see such tactics as both a sellout and an open invitation for more of the same.
It is worth noting that as of the time of posting, the dreaded five-way press conference is now down to two (presuming that additional accusers can't be found beforehand). Obviously the others said to whomever is driving this (cough David Axelrod cough), "Look, this isn't gaining traction the way you said it would. I'm not letting myself be dragged through a minefield for this. Get someone else." But Judas would still have been Judas even without the inducement of thirty pieces of silver; one wonders what the going rate is, these days. Perhaps Jezebel is a more apt analogy.
The possible Axelrod angle is not due as much to the overt threat posed to "Obama" (see my future post on the many names of 'The One') by Cain at this pre-Iowa juncture as it is to the desire of a Democrat in deep trouble in national polls to run an easy, uncomplicated campaign against an 'opponent' who agrees with him on virtually everything, thus limiting real debate and making life easier for the teleprompter operator. Thus, "Obama" wishes to run against Father of Obamacare Mitt Romney. The advantages for "Obama" are many, but the principal one is that it allows him to basically re-run the '08 campaign so that he can focus on keeping his past under wraps (and/or improving his golf game).
An Obama / Romney 'contest' (apart from being like the counter person at the ice cream store asking which flavor of vanilla you would like) lets "Obama" be the 'underdog' to Romney's white RINO. The (s)crappy community organizer from Kenya / Indonesia / Hawaii / Connecticut / maybe not Connecticut / Illinois (yeah, that's the ticket!), vs the guy from Utah via Massachusetts. The guy in the contest with the most experience being president vs the guy with the most experience running for president. The guy from the mean streets of Chicago (so he would have us believe) vs the quintessential country club establishment Republican.
Whereas Obama vs Cain gets rid of the race angle right away (how can someone vote for Cain only because "Obama" is black?). Obama vs Cain means lots of questions about Obamacare, and about fundamental differences in economic theory (Socialist vs free market conservative). Obama vs Cain could even raise the issue of eligibility (gasp!), though Cain has not commented extensively on this to date. Cain vs Obama could, in short, produce the sharpest difference seen between candidates in a presidential campaign since Reagan vs Carter. Not bad for a former 'pizza guy' who had no experience and wasn't running a 'serious' campaign.
The seriousness of Cain's campaign is no longer in question, thanks in part, oddly, to five accusers who likely won't receive their full fifteen minutes of fame but who hopefully have learned to beware Democrats bearing gifts. I don't know that it is true that 'everyone has a price' -- I can't be bought -- but clearly there are at least five people in this fallen world who need to take a close look at how easily they and their services can be purchased.
Until next time, remember that being right there is better than being left there.
CC
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Inaugural Post
Welcome to Conservative Craig. I am your humble host.
This blog began out of a desire to Right wrongs, set things Right and generally see America turned Right-side up again. I may make mistakes now and then, but I'll learn from them and turn this blog into a place where people of every political stripe are welcome tothink my thoughts after me discuss current (and historical) events in a civilized manner.
How often I will post and moderate comments is a function of free time. Unless / until this becomes the next Cake Wrecks and enables me to blog full-time, I must work a 'day job'.
This is an experiment. If people like what I do and there is a healthy (but not overwhelming) supply of comments that meet the reasonable moderation guidelines I have devised, it will grow. If not... But I prefer to think positively.
I'll leave you to ponder the implications of today's quiz:
The opposite of Right is: a.) Left b.) Wrong c.) Both
Keep Right,
CC
This blog began out of a desire to Right wrongs, set things Right and generally see America turned Right-side up again. I may make mistakes now and then, but I'll learn from them and turn this blog into a place where people of every political stripe are welcome to
How often I will post and moderate comments is a function of free time. Unless / until this becomes the next Cake Wrecks and enables me to blog full-time, I must work a 'day job'.
This is an experiment. If people like what I do and there is a healthy (but not overwhelming) supply of comments that meet the reasonable moderation guidelines I have devised, it will grow. If not... But I prefer to think positively.
I'll leave you to ponder the implications of today's quiz:
The opposite of Right is: a.) Left b.) Wrong c.) Both
Keep Right,
CC
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)