Janeane Garofalo: Racist Republicans Support Herman Cain

[a kennedy]

Janeane Garofalo: "Herman Cain is probably well liked by some of the Republicans because it hides the racist elements of the Republican party. Conservative movement and tea party movement, one in the same.

"People like Karl Rove liked to keep the racism very covert. And so Herman Cain provides this great opportunity say you can say 'Look, this is not a racist, anti-immigrant, anti-female, anti-gay movement. Look we have a black man.'"

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/09/29/janeane_garofalo_racist_republicans_support_herman_cain.html

Video is there too....

[RockaFowler]

1. I was thinking the same thing

"Look at me I'm not a racist. I voted for Herman Cain."

[calendargirl]

21. Please. She's racist for making this statement.

Presuming that the only reason some Republicans would vote for him is blatantly, patently RACIST.

[ChazII]

24. That is what I learned in high school. n/t

[LynneSin]

2. A Black Man

:eyes:

Whites make up about 65-70% of the population so the concept that about 1-3% of the Tea Party is a person of color pretty much shows it's not in touch with American Demographics.

[monmouth]

3. I wonder if deep down "Herb" realizes he is being used..n/t

[vminfla]

4. Leap of Logic

This is the classic logical fallacy of "begging the question". "God exists because the Bible says so. The Bible is inspired. Therefore, we know that God exists. "

Herman Cain is well liked because he shares some of the core beliefs of his supporters. No need to bring race into this.

[kctim]

7. Huge leap

[Celebration]

9. exactly

But it is kind of a twofer, for some people. "Hey this guy really makes sense to me, AND by the way, see, I am not racist." Not all tea partiers are completely racist. Some are just a weird combo of libertarian and Bible thumpers.

But didn't Cain have something to do with the FED? Paul supporters shouldn't like this aspect.

[vminfla]

12. Cain was a Fed Governor in Kansas City in the 90s

Which adds to his credibility. Granted, in the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king. I am sure that many Republicans do not like the Fed, or the EPA, or Planned Parenthood. However, there are many that realize that tinkering with the Fed is bat-crazy.

[Celebration]

17. I don't think that anyone that likes Paul

could vote for an ex Fed Governor. JMHO!! That would be more of an issue with the tea party types than his race. But that wouldn't cause the corporate sponsors of the tea party to bat an eye. I am sort of LMAO at the whole group. They are a bit too eclectic to get behind one person.

[vminfla]

20. Anyone that would vote for Paul would not vote for Cain

Cain's mere existence in the race is a repudiation of Paul's tirade against the FED and demonstrates that the Republican party is not as monolithic as Garofalo would allege.

http://dailycaller.com/2011/09/27/cain-annoyed-by-%E2%80%98stupid%E2%80%99-questions-from-ron-paul-supporters/

[joeybee12]

5. Absolutely...knr

[bullwinkle428]

6. Totally nailed! I was thinking the same thing the other day, along

the lines of "Cain's ascension almost seems like a bagger plot to desperately prove to the world that they're not actually the racist scuzzbags we all know them to be!"

[Celebration]

8. there are all manner of racists

The hardest core ones will NOT support Cain. IMHO. But the more libertarian types of the tea party, ones that hate things like racial quotas, etc. will like him.

[YellowCosmicSun]

10. just like Mike Steele. He even came with "urban" lingo.

[SoCalDem]

11. Remember the 2000 election in Florida?

Remember when that ferret-faced Racicot-guy and all his cronies would line up at microphones to trash Gore daily?

One particular day when they were all bloviating, and Al Sharpton was in Florida leading a protest over some black people complaining about how they were treated at the polls..

anyway, one of these yahoos steps up and said..(paraphrasing) I don't see what all the fuss is about, we treat our black folks real good...

[Zax2me]

13. Janeane - you are a dope.

How obvious did you just paint wingers as damned if they do, damn if they don't?

WEAK>

If you have some tangible racism from wingers - and there is a lot out there - point it out.
But keep the whacko broad brush leaps to yourself.

It just renders you impotent in the political arena.

[pintobean]

16. She is impotent in the political arena.

That's why she makes ridiculous statements. She tries to pass herself off as extremely intelligent, then spits out dumbfuckery like this.

[NoodleyAppendage]

14. The phrase "Token Black" was invented for nothing...

The Republics have been doing this thing for years. They will latch onto any minority they can hold up as an example that they are not inherently racist.

I can't figure out which is more pitiful the racist or the minority who is oblivious that he/she is being used to cover up that racism.

J

[Celebration]

18. if they put up a black POTS candidate

I would not categorize that as "token."

[Dreamer Tatum]

15. What a sad little woman. nt

[Fuzz]

19. On another board I frequent the right wing nuts actually said how can we be racist if Florida voted

for Cain in the straw poll. (paraphrasing)

So some are using this as an example, even though only a bit over 1k voted for him.

[RZM]

22. I really don't think this is what's behind Cain's 'rise.'

It could be a part of it, but only a very small part. I think other factors are far more important:

1) The Republicans have been in 'flavor of the week' mode since July, when Bachmann was rising. She was replaced by Perry as the candidate of the moment and the spotlight moved to Cain after that. Today it's Chris Christie and that will be over before we know it too.

2) Cain has performed well in the debates. He hasn't made gaffes and he hasn't been challenged too much. He also doesn't have nearly as much in his record to defend as Perry or Romney.

3) He's actively courting the Tea Party and tells them what they want to hear. This isn't rocket science here. If you cast your lot with a certain subset of the base, that subset is more likely to accept you.

4) Race. This is where Garofalo comes in. She calls it 'hiding racism.' I call it 'desperately trying to show your non-racism.' In the end, both are pretty close to being the same thing. It all depends on your opinion and perspective.

Now, the reasons that Garofalo is saying this seem to be more about her than about Cain or the Republicans. Remember when that guy on CNBC (I forget his name) ranted about the bailouts on air? That clip was replayed on tv and spread on the internet and has been cited as a moment in the birth of the Tea Party. Garofalo's rant about the Tea Party 'not wanting a black man in office' on Countdown was the equivalent moment for the 'Tea Party is racist' argument. She was one of the first people to clearly state that argument in an MSM outlet and the comment was picked up and spread around, just like the CNBC rant was. Neither were necessarily decisive -- there would still be a Tea Party without the bailout rant and people would still think that the Tea Party was racist without Garofalo, but it was important.

Problem is, Cain's rise in the polls throws a wrench into her argument that the sole motivating force behind the Tea Party was getting a black man out of the White House. She's having to work harder to make that argument stick and this comment reflects that.

[RaleighNCDUer]

23. The candidate who sat by the door. nt