Today's DOTD: Herman Cain AND Iowa

Please notice the date this entry was originally posted - March 2011. I thought he was a douche then and Herman Cain just keeps getting worse. One of Stella's favorite slogans is: Where there is smoke, there's fire! Well, Mr. Herman Cain is smokin' hot - and not in a good way!!

ONCE A DOUCHE, ALWAYS A DOUCHE!

It seems that there is always a plethora of Douche of the Day candidates emanating from the Republican Party. A good friend recently asked me, "Why"? "Does it always have to be a Republican"? Well, my answer was, "No, not necessarily. It's just that they make it so damned easy"! And today is no exception with DOTD, Mr. Herman Cain. However, in addition to Mr. Cain, I have also chosen one of the reddest of states, Iowa, to join him as co-DOTD.

First, let's deal with Mr. Herman Cain. On the surface, Mr. Cain seems an admirable man. He is a self made millionaire from Georgia who was CEO of the Godfather Pizza chain. He is also an ultra-conservative Republican and, therefore, a darling of the Party of NO, i.e. The Tea Party. Speaking in Iowa recently, he made a statement claiming he is misunderstood and defamed by Democrats because he won't be part of "the Democratic Party Plantation"! The almost ALL WHITE, TP-loving audience applauded raucously. WTF?! The Democratic Party Plantation? What the hell is he talking about?! This is a black man pandering to an almost all white audience by playing the race card. Talk about the kettle calling the pot black - nod, nod, wink, wink. Come on folks, how could anyone, black or white, see any logic in a statement like that?

Mr. Cain soon descended further into a mind-boggling, politically suicidal rant. At the same Iowa conservative forum, he was asked by a reporter "if elected President, would you have a Muslim serve on your staff or in your cabinet"? Cain relied that "No, he would not", and continued, suggesting that he felt that way because Muslims "could not be trusted". When confronted with these statements on a Fox News programs, Cain dug himself an even deeper shit hole when he said that he felt that way because it has become apparent to him that there is a movement in the U.S. Muslim community to over-throw our government and institute Sharia law. WTF?! #2. Hello. You've been watching way too much Glenn Beck.

Now, in fairness, I have been critical of the American Muslim community in what, I believe, is their too muted response to acts of terrorism committed on the part of Muslims. I have questioned the role that their religion (as I have ALL religions) plays in everyday life. It was issued more as a challenge to the Muslim community then as an indictment of it. I stand by that. However, to suggest that NO Muslim is trustworthy on ANY level is not only narrow-minded, illogical, unfair, cruel, and bigoted, it tramples the very CONSTITUTION for which Mr. Cain and the Tea Party'ers claim to hold so dear. The Constitution strictly prohibits discrimination based on race, sex, or creed. And here is a man who would be elected to a post sworn to protect its tenents. Well, not if I have anything to say about it!

So, after hearing this, you would think that most people would quickly dismiss him for the quack that he is. Well, not necessarily. Not if you are from Iowa. They conducted a straw poll for the Presidency at the conference where he made the original statements, and he WON. Yes, he won handily over the likes of other stalwart conservatives like Tim Pawlenty and Michelle Bachman. It seems that in Iowa, the more socially isolated you are, the more they like you.

I've been to Iowa on a number of occasions, including for coverage of the Iowa Caucuses. I said it while I was covering the Caucuses and I'll say again: I DON'T get it. Beyond the fact that Iowans vote first, they don't have any real connection to what's going on in the rest of the known world! Iowa is mostly one, giant farm of corn or soy, dotted infrequently with small towns. The fields go on for as far as the eye can see. There are NO black people in the state. Well, that's not true. There are 6 (nod, nod, wink, wink) and they live in either Iowa City or Des Moines. The population is made up of mostly large, well-fed, blonde, white people whose girth suggests the eating habits of the cattle and hogs they raise for slaughter. Certainly, Iowa never looked like MY neighborhood! Think of it as WASP heaven. They are VERY friendly, too - as long as you believe in Jesus and NOT in evolution. And THEY set the tone for the entire country? How did THAT happen?

One of the experiences beyond work that I've had in Iowa, was one that I had with my stepson, Jeremiah. A year or so ago, he met a woman through an on-line dating service. They were around the same age and seemed, in the beginning, to be like-minded. She happened to live in Iowa. After a few weeks of on-line dating, Jeremiah decided to take a trip there to she if this relationship was worth pursuing. After a week, he came back enthused and felt that it was worth it for him to move to Iowa to make a go of it with this woman. Naturally, his mother and I urged him to be more patient before making such a drastic move. I was concerned that not only would he have to work out the relationship with the woman, he would have to make many lifestyle adjustments to accommodate the mid-western ethos. But Jeremiah was 27 or 28 at the time and determined to give it a try, not only for the woman, but to experience living somewhere else besides his native New Jersey. Together, we drove half way across the country to deliver him to her where she lived in Iowa City. She lived with her family in the last house in the town before the countryside blended into one, giant corn field. She and her family were fairly cosmopolitan for Iowans. After all, they did live near the bustling metropolis of Iowa City! Anyway, she as well as her family and most of the people we met, were very nice. They were polite, pleasant, and boring! Right from the beginning I knew that Jeremiah would just never fit in. Even though he is not a "city kid" he is imbued with the same drive (perhaps some would call it "aggression") that virtually anyone who grew up even around NYC has. They would not understand him, and he would not understand them. The clash of cultures proved too much to overcome. The relationship lasted 2 months and then he was back.

The point is that in supporting obviously unstable candidates like Herman Cain, Iowans show that they do think differently than the rest of the country. When I think of politics in Iowa, I see images of longtime Republican Senator Grassley, a PFOWG - a pasty faced, old, white guy. This is certainly not my vision for the future of our country. I truly hope that most of the rest of the country shares a similar concern with what we have seen coming out of Iowa. Only time will tell. In the meantime, Iowans will have to ponder how they, along with a wacked out businessman, became co-DOTDs.

photo: F LoBuono