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13 Jun 2011 15:52

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Politics: Herman Cain asserts his Americanism over President Obama’s

  • … I feel more of an affinity for America than I do for Africa. I’m a black man in America. Barack Obama is more of an international. … he was raised in Kenya, his mother was white from Kansas and her family had an influence on him, it’s true, but his dad was Kenyan, and when he was going to school he got a lot of fellowships, scholarships… He spent most of his career as an intellectual.
  • GOP Presidential candidate Herman Cain • Speaking to The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, in an interview he wrote for Bloomberg View. Goldberg, to his credit, corrected Cain that President Obama spent some years of his childhood in Indonesia, not Kenya, to which Cain replied, “Yeah, Indonesia.” Whether this was a sincere mistake or not is impossible to say, and frankly doesn’t entirely matter — Cain is trying to paint Obama as mysterious and foreign, as opposed to himself, an American black man who rejects the term “African-American.” He also throws in some anti-intellectualism for good measure, but really, the story here is his stoking of, if not birtherism, the core belief that allowed that rumor to spread — he ain’t one of us. In trying to seize momentum with his recent, strident remarks, Cain’s campaign slogan could easily share a title with a classic 80s film — “Say Anything.” source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Jun 2011 11:21

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Politics: Weinergate: Story somehow centers upon teenage Delaware girl

  • They were made aware of an alleged contact between Congressman Anthony Weiner and an area teen. The teen has been interviewed and disclosed no information regarding any criminal activity.
  • New Castle County Officer Tracey Duffy • Describing what happened when the New Castle police department interviewed a teenager who talked to Anthony Weiner via Twitter. While the consensus — from the teen, her family, the police department and  Weiner himself — seems to be that the conversation was innocuous, the fear is that he actually said something really creepy to a teen, in a Mark Foley sense. But, in case you needed proof that this is a media circus, we’d like to pull this sentence from the story: “A shirtless man approached reporters standing outside the family’s house and began threatening them with an ax. New Castle County police took the man into custody.” Good God, really? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Jun 2011 19:41

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Politics: GOProud chairman sticks by Herman Cain despite “sin” remark

  • The truth is that Herman Cain is running on a campaign centered on conservative policies that would improve the lives of all Americans – including gay Americans.
  • GOProud Board President Chris Barron • Responding to remarks made by Herman Cain, which we mentioned earlier. His defense is that though he disagrees with Cain on homosexuality, Cain supports things (such as the Fair Tax and repealing the Affordable Care Act) that he believes will benefit all Americans, homosexuals included. Here’s our issue with that: If you believe Cain was speaking honestly, and believes in the Bible unequivocally as he seems to suggest, he believes not only that homosexuals will literally burn in hell, suffering for eternity, but that this would be just — all God’s judgments must be rejoiced, after all. We don’t think he actually feels this way, nor do people just because they’re Christians. But condemning homosexuality as a “sin” is beyond the pale, and should be denounced in much stronger terms than Barron seems willing to. Focusing on real-world issues is fine, but it’s never good to soft-sell bigotry. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Jun 2011 13:37

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Politics: Documentaries or e-mails: Choose your Sarah Palin narrative

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Jun 2011 11:57

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Politics: Newt Gingrich: “A fundamental strategic difference” with staff

  • There is a fundamental strategic difference between the traditional consulting community and the kind of campaign I want to run. Now we’ll find out over the next year who’s right.
  • Newt Gingrich • Explaining why his staff left him en masse yesterday. He says that despite the setback, he plans to stay in the race. One of the reasons his staffers left was due to what they claimed was the overpowering nature of Newt’s wife, Callista, to which he said, “We make decisions as a couple, I think most couples would find that refreshing, not a problem.” We’re not voting for your wife, Newt. We’re voting for you. Newt’s apparent campaign implosion means that some key staffers are now available for Rick Perry should he choose to run, which it sounds like he’s leaning towards. Newt’s loss? Perry’s gain. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jun 2011 15:48

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Politics: Gingrich’s campaign suffers high-level staffer exodus

  • A bad day for big Newt: Want to know what can’t fill your heart with confidence heading into a Presidential primary? When your press secretary tells the AP he’s resigning, and your campaign manager, along with a spate of aides throughout Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina follow suit. Gingrich has said that he will continue to run, undeterred by this “rats fleeing the sinking ship” sort of moment. As it happens, Gingrich wasn’t even in the country a few days ago — he’s on vacation with his wife near the Greek Isles (which, in the midst of a campaign in such crisis, doesn’t make him seem that serious about all this). source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jun 2011 15:08

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Politics: Herman Cain believes homosexuality is both a sin and a choice

  • I believe homosexuality is a sin because I’m a Bible-believing Christian, I believe it’s a sin. But I know that some people make that choice. That’s their choice… I believe it is a choice.
  • GOP Presidential candidate Herman Cain • Speaking to CBS News reporter Brian Montopoli in an interview yesterday. You know, we’ll admit we expected this sort of stuff out of Rick Santorum, but we’re pretty surprised Herman Cain has made casual bigotry such an element of his campaign (you may also recall that he refused to appoint any Muslims to his hypothetical cabinet). Cain is, despite the utterly absurd things he’s said the past few days, a man of undeniable charisma and energy, and frankly if he focused on promoting himself as a successful self-made man he could be a real player in this election. Of course, that’s the grisly nature of the GOP primary process; you have to swing hard right to get the gig, then hard back to the center to win a general election. In any event, Herman Cain in his own words is very rapidly removing himself from the ranks of politicians with independent or mainstream appeal. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

09 Jun 2011 10:32

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Politics: On Anthony Weiner and the drumbeat for his resignation

  • This is a massive overreaction and I don’t understand it.
  • Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington Executive Director Melanie Sloan • Offering one of the few defenses to Rep. Anthony Weiner, who has been told by members of both parties that he should resign. Even close friends of his — including Fox News commentator Kirsten Powers, an ex-girlfriend of Weiner’s — are forcing the issue. In that case, what’s a little surprising is that he went out of his way to help Powers when her parents were stuck in Egypt during the Arab Spring, and she defended Weiner long after many correspondents quit. It took a lot for her to turn on him — though she now claims he used her. But for us, Sloan’s point — that Weiner likely did nothing illegal, considering that all of his affairs were virtual in nature, and a guy who actually paid for prostitutes, Sen. David Vitter, is still in office — isn’t really getting heard. He screwed up, but really? Really? Come on now. People do worse things every day.  source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jun 2011 00:39

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Politics: Herman Cain’s solution to illegal immigration: Alligators!

  • Put me in charge of the fence and it will be a twenty foot wall, barbed wire, electrified on the top. And on this side of the fence, I’d have that moat that President Obama talked about. And I would put those alligators in that moat!
  • Herman Cain • Laying out a portion of his proposed immigration policy. Some pundits wonder why Cain, who’s polling better than guys like Pawlenty and Huntsman, isn’t taken seriously by the beltway media. Sentences like “I would put those alligators in that moat” probably have something to do with it. It’s a gimmicky non-solution to a policy issue that deserves to be taken seriously. One can be pro-immigration, anti-immigration, or somewhere in between, but ideology aside, a fence with alligators isn’t going to solve the problem. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jun 2011 00:18

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Politics: Cory Booker loves Newark: Star Democrat says no to Senate run

  • There was a rumor earlier today that Newark Mayor Cory Booker, famous for his faux-feud with Conan O’Brien a few years back, was considering a run at the US Senate. Booker is, without question, one of the Democrats’ brightest national prospects, and one of our favorite politicians here at SFB. His candidacy would be a major coup for the party. However, Booker quickly swatted down the rumors, insisting that he’ll finish his term as mayor. While this is a disappointment for national Democrats, it says a lot about his commitment to Newark, and by extension, his integrity as a politician (Booker often turns down appealing offers in order to remain Newark mayor). Once his tenure in Newark is up, however, we can’t help but hope he’ll set his sights on higher office. Way higher, if you catch our drift. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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