Video

Saturday, December 3, 2011

You're Fired!


 

 
               
                While Republican Candidate Herman Cain may not have been fired, he has suspended his campaign for the Republican nomination. The title of this post does refer to the recent announcement from, the once Republican hopeful, Donald Trump. The reality show star and media mogul is set to moderate a Republican debate in Des Moines, Iowa. The conservative website, Newsmax is slated to sponsor the debate that will air on December 27th. Thus far, the only candidate to confirm an appearance is Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Both Representative Ron Paul and Governor John Huntsman have declined the invitation. The Paul campaign even issued a statement addressing the decision to choose a television personality as a moderator, calling it “beneath the office of the presidency”.  Candidates like Governor Mitt Romney, Governor Rick Perry and Representative Michelle Bachmann have yet to respond to the invite, however the participation of the current front runner Gingrich puts pressure on the others decision.  For reasons of pure entertainment value, I hope that this debate comes together. As the first caucus and primary approach, this type of debate will be the icing on the ridiculousness of the Republican candidacy. It is a shame that Cain will miss out on such an opportunity.
                For the past few weeks it seems that many of these posts have been focused on Herman Cain. This is mostly because he has been in the news frequently compared to candidates like Santorum or Huntsman. He has also been the most exciting candidate to watch as his controversial rhetoric and questionable behavior towards women sent him rising and then plummeting in the polls. After all, it is very uncommon to see a former CEO gain so much momentum in the race for presidential nomination. His popularity was most likely a result of his smilingly “outsider” status, despite the fact that he was a lobbyist for the Food and Restaurant Association for years. Republicans have been desperate for a candidate to shake up the party and many saw that in Cain. However, recent missteps on foreign policy and the sexual harassment allegations of up to five women have sent the Cain campaign on a downward spiral.
                The announcement came from a press conference in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday in front of a crowd of Cain supporters. Cain has been in Atlanta in order to discuss with his family the state of his campaign and whether the heartache suffered by the family was worth his continuation in the race. In the speech, Cain announced that he would be suspending the campaign and initializing his Plan B. The suspension of his campaign allows Cain to continue to accept donations in order to pay for the campaign up until now as well as finance Plan B; travel across the country to promote his tax and foreign policy plans. In many ways, this announcement is not a surprise. Since the POLITICO article was publishes on October 30th detailing the first two sexual harassment allegation, Cain has experienced a tough time in the polls. However, the allegations were not the first factors to hurt the campaign. While Cain’s rhetoric was popular amongst most Republicans it was also the source of controversy and ultimately got the candidate in trouble most of the time.  For example, Cain’s suggestion to build an electrified fence along the Mexican border resulted in great backlash from the public but Cain claimed to be making a joke. There is also, of course, the famous 9-9-9 plan that Cain has held onto for dear life despite countless studies by nonpartisan organizations that prove the plan would raise taxes on the lower class as well as lower the corporate tax. All of this makes it no surprise that Cain has dropped out of the race. 
Governor Mitt Romney

The larger question is what took so long? I personally believe that Cain never expected to get this far in the campaign, that he never thought his catchy tax plan would be open to such public scrutiny and that he would be questioned on his knowledge of not only foreign policy like the war in Libya but also democratic process like how an amendment is passed. Cain is the perfect example of the GOP’s obsession with “outsider” candidates and their immense opposition to a candidate like Romney.  Republicans want to win in 2012 and the odds are very much in their favor with Obama’s approval rating low in important battle ground states and the economy not yet recovered.  Regardless of this, Republicans still do not have a candidate they feel to be sufficient to battle Obama.
Mitt Romney is still struggling to gain support from Republicans as Gingrich is now rising in the polls as a favorite. Governor Rick Perry hasn’t made the news lately while Representative Ron Paul trudges on as always. Candidates like Bachmann, Huntsman, and Santorum should take a hint from Cain as the chances of any of them winning any state are slim. With Cain gone, the caucus in Iowa has been the focus for Romney and Paul. Romney has recently aired a television advertisement while his son has organized rallies in Iowa. Paul has also scheduled two college rallies in the state.  
The suspension of the Cain campaign can have many consequences. It will be interesting to see which candidate his supporters will switch to. Also interesting will be the reaction of the other candidates on the decision. With the race still in full swing the presence of Cain’s Georgian drawl and complete ignorance to the democratic process and lack of knowledge on topics like tax reform and foreign policy will no doubt be missed. Maybe. Probably not. 

Sources:

No comments:

Post a Comment