From CNN:
Rep. William Panek called the Cain campaign Tuesday morning to say he was dropping his endorsement, telling CNN he will shift his support to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich instead…
“One or two allegations, it kind of piqued my interest, but you know, it’s politics,” Panek said. “But with a long-term, ongoing affair I’d kind of had enough.”
So, if understand Rep. Panek’s logic here, he’s decided to switch from a candidate who has been accused of a long affair to a candidate who actually is known to have a long-term affair.
I guess if you think Cain’s response to the affair has been disqualifying, switching to current flavor of the month would make sense, same if you think Cain is damaged good that is irrecoverable. Although, the reason Gingrich’s peccadilloes aren’t hurting him because they’re not being covered right now.
But if you think the allegations of the affair are the problem and buy them, why on God’s green earth would you switch to Gingrich? Perry, Bachmann, Santorum, even Romney, sure. But Gingrich?
November 29th, 2011 at 9:55 pm
Adam, the suspension of reality by the ABR’s knows no limits
November 29th, 2011 at 9:57 pm
It’s intellectual dishonesty. Plain and simple.
November 29th, 2011 at 10:00 pm
Huh? Cognitive dissonant much? I guess we’ll hear another recantation soon enough…
November 29th, 2011 at 10:00 pm
It does make sense. Newt’s affairs are known. They’re built into the candidate.
If Cain had surged now instead of October, we may not have known about this in time and he might have won the nomination before any of this came out. Then we’d be stuck with a candidate who had a ticking time bomb. We’d probably need to use the convention to replace him.
Obama could do anything he wants and still walk into re-election.
November 29th, 2011 at 10:01 pm
finally the only thing adam has posted that i agree with, but adam is still a biast towards cain lol but the article he wrote is true
November 29th, 2011 at 10:04 pm
I love conservative principles. I don’t think Romney is a pure conservative, but I support him because he’ll be a lot more conservative than Obama, he can beat him, and with the way the economy is going there’s never been a time where we’ve needed a hard working over achiever in the White House.
If my fellow Republicans can’t stand Romney, so be it. But to try to sink Romney in favor of Newt is just disgusting. Newt has all of Romney’s bad qualities and not nearly as many positives. If conservative purity is what they’re craving they should be inclined to circle the wagons around Santorum. Instead their true colors are shown…it truly is anybody but Romney, even if the person is much less desirable and ideologically pure than Romney. Disgusting.
November 29th, 2011 at 10:04 pm
This is why politics piss people off so much.
November 29th, 2011 at 10:05 pm
Adam,
I’m with you on that. Your post made total sense.
November 29th, 2011 at 10:06 pm
Adam,
If this affair is real…it only stopped right before Cain started his run.
Newt’s affairs, as we know them, are in his past.
If someone pops up now and is credible in saying Newt has strayed since his last Vows…ok…..you have a story that can stop Newt in his tracks.
I think you know this……timing is everything in politics…or almost everything.
Redemption is a part of Newt’s story…..if the redemption is proved to be false, then it’s curtains for Newt.
So yes, as of now there is a big difference between Cain & Newt.
November 29th, 2011 at 10:06 pm
Because it’s not just the affair. It’s the harassment charges that kept piling up, the fact that Cain really does seem clueless on foreign policy, the fact that he can’t navigate the tough political environment in any way that gives Republicans any confidence he is ready to take on Obama, the fact that he keeps falling back on 9-9-9 and doesn’t seem to have any depth or any ability to defend the plan from those who charge that it’s a big tax increase on the middle class.
Then there’s the fact that Cain was touting his 40-year marriage just a couple of weeks ago and this affair is now coming to light.
It’s not the affair. It’s everything.
November 29th, 2011 at 10:11 pm
Adam, I’m in agreement with you. And, I disagree with Smack that Newt’s adultery shouldn’t matter because it’s in the past.
For anyone who cares to bother, you can write Rep Panek at:
http://www.willpanek.com/index-5.html
Here’s what *I* wrote:
November 29th, 2011 at 10:11 pm
9 – The problem that you ignore, Sojo, isn’t the dumping of Cain. It’s the choice of recipient. If you have a problem with the alleged affairs, why on God’s green earth would you support someone who has the same history. I agree that everyone who sincerely asks their Heavenly Father for forgiveness should and will receive it. That doesn’t mean that the rest of us should forget.
November 29th, 2011 at 10:12 pm
Gingrich is not going to make it. If he does, it’s a total repeat of the McCain scenario, and I’ll feel ripped off. We NEVER get a competent candidate. I really think this year should be the year.
November 29th, 2011 at 10:12 pm
Here’s another way to reach him
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
Use zip code 03835
November 29th, 2011 at 10:14 pm
He would be better served to withhold his endorsement until the General.
Smack are you saying that Newt flipped on adultery? He believed in it before but now he has changed his mind so it is ok?
November 29th, 2011 at 10:14 pm
Adam, you’re not the only one scratching your head over SoCons dropping Cain because of the allegations and then moving to Gingrich, who has a “track record” in this area.
It doesn’t add up.
It doesn’t make sense.
Unless there are other motives said SoCons are not expressing…
November 29th, 2011 at 10:15 pm
I doubt there will be much impact since we’re not in his district, but I’d just like him to hear how hypocritical it sounds.
November 29th, 2011 at 10:17 pm
Kavon, SITE NOTE:
hitbox.realclearpolitics.com is drastically slowing down your site. Takes over a minute to load, getting stuck on that.
Or, is it just me?
November 29th, 2011 at 10:18 pm
My contention is that there are a whole host of factors that have to be weighed when choosing a presidential nominee. Cain’s affair is one, just as Newt’s infidelity is.
But very few people decide who to support based on such a narrow range of issues.
I don’t think people dumped Cain because he had an affair and then decided on Newt. I think people have been fleeing Cain for weeks because of all that I outlined, and that this is just the straw that broke the camel’s back.
November 29th, 2011 at 10:25 pm
I think there are a lot of people who answer a phone survey and say “newt” because they remember the name from a previous era when the economy was good and we had no wars, etc. Many voters do not know about his infidelity or any of his other skeletons. His support is pretty soft.
BTW did you hear that Perry screwed up again? He got the voting age and election day wrong in a speech in NH.
November 29th, 2011 at 10:27 pm
Yeah. I read it before. The fact that no one hear even cares enough to talk about it only proves just how inconsequential Perry has become.
November 29th, 2011 at 10:27 pm
no one here*
November 29th, 2011 at 10:30 pm
No, this site takes a long time to load and refresh for me too.
November 29th, 2011 at 10:32 pm
Same here. This site is slow. And I just upgraded my computer to 2 GB of memory.
November 29th, 2011 at 10:36 pm
Adam exactly… Really Panek really a serial adulterer is much better than a man accused and not proven guilty.
November 29th, 2011 at 10:37 pm
Every candidate has flaws. The difference with the winner it that the group somehow decides the flaws don’t matter that much. No way to tell in the beginning who will somehow fit the sweet spot and be covered by the golden teflon.
Cain always had a very high bar to get over . . . . no high office previous to running. That’s not just an outsider, that’s an alien. He did fantastically well considering, and maybe he never really anticipated flying so high.
Right now Gingrich seems to be finding the sweetspot. Mitt can fly United and a howl and cry will rise that it’s a flip flop because he recently flew American. It’s getting just that bad.
Meanwhile Newt can claim he was patriotically motivated in his sexual escapades, claim Freddie Mac hired him as a historian, etc., and no reaction from the herd. Without the golden teflon he would laughed out of the race. Those of you wanting anything to stick on Newt are likely to be sadly disappointed. Looks like he has the golden teflon. I hate it, I think he will be a disaster for the Party, but that’s what it looks like to me.
November 29th, 2011 at 10:41 pm
25
ROTFL! Too funny!!
November 29th, 2011 at 10:43 pm
25. I don’t think so, Watchin. Newt will have his fall. I predict it will happen shorty before Iowa. Or, maybe shortly after. But, probably before.
November 29th, 2011 at 10:44 pm
Adam, I agree with your argument. My wife and I have had this conversation a couple of times during the last month or so. My wife has been a Gingrich fan all along, but I started leaning more towards Cain back in October. I have told her that in my opinion it would be racist for me to leave a black candidate over sex for a white candidate with a past of sexual misconduct. It would be saying that its OK for the white guy, but not OK for the black guy.
November 29th, 2011 at 10:52 pm
Frank Luntz was on Sean Hannity’s radio show and he made an interesting point on why people are backing away from Cain cause of alleged adultery and supporting Gingrich despite having committed adultery. He claimed that what drew voters to Cain was his likability, inspiration, his character and ability to connect to the average voter. For him to be accused of adultery or sexual harassment is much less forgivable than Gingrich who isn’t attracting voters cause of his likability or character. That Gingrich is drawing voters in cause his intelligence, debating skills, experience, and his ability to stick it to the media. Luntz argued that because of that, Gingrich is more forgiven than Cain on these events. It’s an interesting point. He may be on to something here.
November 29th, 2011 at 10:56 pm
Adam,
Glad to that some So-Cons are being truthful. It makes absolutely no sense to me that voters would abandon Cain because of an alledged affair and then jump to Gingrich who’s had two of them with the last one, with choir-girl Calista, lasting six years.
If family values are truly important to Christian voters, they need to migrate to Bachmann, Santorum, Romney, or one of the candidates with stellar morals. Gingrich is the poster boy for bad behavior and I don’t buy the argument that it is all in the past and forgiven. It establishes a pattern. Newt pledged fidelity before God to two different women and after a while got tired of them and cheated. His current wife may face the same fate given the passage of sufficient time. More importantly though, if the people he claims to love and that he commits his life to can’t trust him then how can the American people?
A convicted thief can confess his sin and be given forgiveness by both God and mankind but would he ever get a job in a bank? Not a chance. Likewise,
November 29th, 2011 at 10:58 pm
Total FAIL for Rep Panek.
Perhaps Newt and Cain truly are brothers from another mother.
November 29th, 2011 at 10:59 pm
8. That’s about the dumbest logic I have ever read. Do you even read what you write, or do you just type in every incoherent thought that pops into your head and then lazily click the “submit comment” button?
November 29th, 2011 at 11:00 pm
27. I wish you were right, but I think it’s no joke. Newt has supplied the ammunition to the firing squad, and they won’t pull the trigger. Meanwhile, Romney is getting blasted by the Dems and Tea Partiers standing shoulder to shoulder, and the firing squad does not flinch or stop.
This is how good men who are bad politicians lose. No golden teflon.
November 29th, 2011 at 11:13 pm
Not one dart has been thrown at Newt in any of the debates until the last one and he played it off. There are still a bunch of debates left and a bunch of campaigning to go. It will be his turn in the trenches starting Dec 3.
November 29th, 2011 at 11:23 pm
Most people forget that Gingrich’s fine wasn’t just for ethics violations, it was for intentionally misleading and providing false documents to the House Ethics Committee. I think we need to hear more about that. In the real world, this is called fraud.
November 29th, 2011 at 11:25 pm
35. I did not know that aspect of it. Is it true?
November 29th, 2011 at 11:27 pm
Adam: I think the problem is that you are taking seriously what a politician says. Politicians back winners. Panek sees now that Cain is finished and so he wants to jump on another horse. Any excuse will do.
November 29th, 2011 at 11:27 pm
Newt sings! This video just surfaced (even though, I’m a Mitt guy, I have to admit Newt’s pretty talented)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYdmOT4p0LY&feature=youtube_gdata_player
November 29th, 2011 at 11:27 pm
Gee, Adam, you are just waking up to the fact that the True Conservatives don’t give a crap about anything other than who is the next not Romney?
That must have been a deep sleep you were in.
Opps, whats this?
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/30/us/politics/gingrich-gave-push-to-clients-not-just-ideas.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&hp#
Bad Newtie.
November 29th, 2011 at 11:29 pm
I think he was developing a case of buyer’s remorse, not so much due to the initial allegations, but due to repeated examples of an embarrassing lack of knowledge and competence on many key issues.
He was looking for a good excuse to back out of his endorsement and this latest development was it. He didn’t want to state the real reasons, i.e. incompetence, because it would reflect poorly on his own judgement.
November 29th, 2011 at 11:37 pm
Pure and utter stupidity. And people wonder why we Romney supporters are so frustrated? If Cain’s problems are a problem for you, fine. But don’t say you can’t support someone who you think had an affair and then turn around and support someone you know has had several.
The RomNot hate is disgusting and irrational. Must support the FOTM, regardless of how idiotic I look doing it.
November 29th, 2011 at 11:38 pm
The dumb thing for Panek was to endorse Cain in the first place. And Cain isn’t losing because of allegations, he’s losing because the more he gave interviews, the more apparent it became he didn’t have the chops for the job. The allegations just tarnished his image as a good, honest guy.
Cain and Perry sank as FLOTM because they came across of dumb. Newt will not sink because he is dumb. In fact, he is dazzling the ABR group with his flair for words. But Newt is not as smart as he himself believes nor as smart as he has managed to convince the not-Mitt crowd.
Newt’s on an egomaniacal high right now, having a ball. But will he crash and burn as he always does? We are at the mercy of the ABR vote who continue to be snowed time after time.
November 29th, 2011 at 11:44 pm
>>Newt’s on an egomaniacal high right now, having a ball. But will he crash and burn as he always does? We are at the mercy of the ABR vote who continue to be snowed time after time.
Come on, thats not true. The not Romneys are incredibly principled. True, the only have one principle, support anyone not named Romney facts be damned, but thats a principle.
They aren’t being snowed. They are being stupid, childish and petty.
But they still have their principle.
November 29th, 2011 at 11:45 pm
That’s hilarious!!! If that were MY representative……..I’d be looking for someone to run AGAINST him next time!
#42………haha, that’s great! Newt’s NOT as smart as he thinks he is……..or Fox promotes him to be. He’s good at bloviating and pontificating. He’s as narcissitic as the current occupier of the WH.
November 29th, 2011 at 11:49 pm
I am completely baffled and frustrated by the utter lack of intelligence and pure hypocrisy of the RomNots. For years we have heard how Romney has no principles based on the fact that he has flipped on every single issue. Despite that being a total load of crap, it stuck. It has been repeated over and over and over and over and is still one of the favored criticisms of Romney.
Now that the desperate haters have run out of all potential alternatives but Newt, one of the least principled politicians in the party who flips on issues from week to week, flipping is a good thing to be praised. Romney’s problem now is that he sticks with what he believes and doesn’t pretend like he made a huge mistake with health care. Newt is a conservative hero because, while he called Paul Ryan’s Medicare reform plan “right wing social engineering” and has advocated a NATIONAL health insurance mandate for FIFTEEN YEARS, he suddenly saw the light a few weeks ago and became a pure and committed conservative.
It is pure and utter BULLCRAP! I have no problem with someone who honestly and rationally disagrees with Romney or prefers someone else for good reason. I have a huge problem with people covering up their true reasons with hypocrisy and lies. It is disgusting and pathetic.
November 29th, 2011 at 11:52 pm
#45 Poor Jax. Read Boomer’s #43.
November 29th, 2011 at 11:55 pm
42 – Newt rode his high long enough to get elected Speaker in the 1990s. He will crash and burn … It is inevitable. My fear is that it happens next Summer, or worse yet, in the White House. Republicans are on the verge of committing suicide.
November 29th, 2011 at 11:57 pm
Forget the affairs allegations. What I find amusing is that many people supported Cain because he is a Washington outsider, never been in politics, not compromised by the system, not a career politician. Now they want Newt Freakin’ Gingrich.
November 29th, 2011 at 11:59 pm
This is borne out of a pure hate Romney (even bigotry) that drives this irrational thinking. If this is what this party does, I don’t want to be a part of it. I’ll become an Independent.
November 30th, 2011 at 12:00 am
After reading some of the above comments, I have to agree that Panek is likely using the new allegation as an excuse to jump off a sinking ship. Sadly, the ship he jumped onto is the SS Newt Titanic. Looks like a great, unsinkable ship, but it’s headed to a huge ice burg any week now.
Mark my words.
November 30th, 2011 at 12:01 am
48 – Exactly right … The similarities in Cain and Newt are small. To jump from Cain to Newt is a sign of one thing … You are a RomNot hypocrite.
November 30th, 2011 at 12:02 am
#47 Jax. Newt’s mother was manic/depressive. Newt shows all the signs: Sexual promiscuity, risk taking, egocentric, impulsivity, poor money management skills, profligate spending, prodigious writing, manic speaking, talking out his rear, ethics violations, a sense of invincibility, admitted times of “feeling empty.”
Most of Newt’s life has been one of poor judgment. If he does become the Pub nominee, he will get creamed in the general as a brilliant-sounding, irresponsible loon.
And yes, this has been a suicidal nation for some time now.
November 30th, 2011 at 12:04 am
#48 Jax: Ha! The similarities between Cain and Newt are profound. Neither is Mitt.
November 30th, 2011 at 12:04 am
Why hasn’t that principled conservative, Sarah Palin weighed in yet? How much more time does she need to know that Newt is the True Conservative just as she pretends to be? Don’t all True Conservatives makes tens of millions lobbying in DC?
Oh, what’s that? She’s really just a politician who doesn’t want to risk her brand that is making her millions?
Shocking.
If nothing else, this election is teaching me a whole bunch about True Conservatism.
November 30th, 2011 at 12:07 am
More RomNot insanity:
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/284408/gingrich-urged-give-speech-about-past-mistakes-katrina-trinko
Evangelicals begging Gingrich to repent so they can back him over Romney. Seriously people? Newt Gingrich? The guy who was a laughing stock six months ago? He is the solution to our problems in Washington? Seriously?
November 30th, 2011 at 12:10 am
#54 I dunno. People today are making noises like Sarah might endorse Newt. But why? All her voters no doubt have gone from her to Cain to Newt anyway.
It would be hilarious if she did since her claim to fame is running against corruption and crony capitalism.
November 30th, 2011 at 12:10 am
36 I read about it on his wiki page thats all I know. But the pattern fits. Reckless with the truth and acting above the law.
November 30th, 2011 at 12:12 am
#55 Jax: That would be a mighty long speech even by Gingrich standards.
Besides he’s already repented. I thought. Didn’t he use the Patriot Defense?
November 30th, 2011 at 12:13 am
I will so some more research on the ethics violations tomorrow.
November 30th, 2011 at 12:15 am
It amazes me that the media is talking about distorted statements from Romney on immigration when this is out there (and is only the beginning):
http://spectator.org/blog/2011/11/29/when-newt-was-for-the-individu
November 30th, 2011 at 12:18 am
#55 Jax: I just read the link to Richard Land. OK, IMO this is just crazy. Now that Land is out there not only calling for the speech but publicly coaching Newt (who does THAT?), how does Newt comply? It would make him look like a laughing stock. Richard Land looks like a laughing stock.
It’s like you say to your 3-year-old; tell your sister you’re sorry.
The entire world has gone entirely mad.
November 30th, 2011 at 12:24 am
http://staugustine.com/news/2011-11-30/poll-gingrich-tops-florida#.TtXL6fJv1Bn
Florida Times-Union Insider/Advantage Poll:
Newt 41
Mitt 17
Cain 13
Perry 7
Paul 4
Bachmann 3
Santorum 1
November 30th, 2011 at 12:27 am
Those are pretty salty numbers in Florida.
“I am totally shocked by these numbers,” said pollster Matt Towery, CEO of InsiderAdvantage. “Newt Gingrich is winning nearly 50 percent of the independent vote, but more importantly, the Republican vote which makes up the vast majority of the Florida Republican primary.”
“I have not seen a lead this large, this late in a Republican presidential primary season since I have been polling,” said Towery, who notes that his firm has never missed identifying the winner in Florida’s statewide contests.
November 30th, 2011 at 12:54 am
Polls for Newt are the same at the peak of Perry, Cain, and etc. Newt sticks because of this “intellectual” label. The guy is a talker nothing more. The best politicians usually are because of their ability to talk their way out of most corners that they put themselves in. I’ve told you before and I’ll say it again. Romney hasn’t yet lifted a finger and when he does there will be a lot of soul searching going on within the party. Gingrich is the epitome of “conservative” movement hypocrisy if purity is what the socon tea party crowd is looking for. That they’re even thinking of telling him to repent to them so they can purify him is horrifying. Now they want to play God for the GOP and conservatism? It’s a principle! Not a right or something to bestow on someone.
Romney is fine. Oppo research is too easy and when the time comes either the sh** will hit the fan on its own on Gingrich and his new found following or Romney will bring the hammer down and expose it for what it is. Either way it’s a rude awakening for the socon tea party faction. Many who will come out of the darkness will push for Bachmann to save face or they’ll fall in line with Romney to beat Obama.
November 30th, 2011 at 1:02 am
Not enough voters in the general will believe that Newt can turn the economy around.
November 30th, 2011 at 1:04 am
I can’t believe I’m actually AGREEING with Graham on this! Quick! Get out the winter coats!
November 30th, 2011 at 1:33 am
It’s simple….Cain hasn’t apologized like Gingrich has…..saying sorry is all some in the conservative movement want to hear.
November 30th, 2011 at 2:37 am
#62 – Unbelievable. If Newt skyrockets because of Herman’s sexual allegations they will have to make up a new word for irony as that blows irony out of the water.
The Republicans will become an utter joke of a party if Newt wins this thing.
We are in bizarro world.
Look at Newt’s idea about following Obama around the general election until he debates him……why is that being lauded as a good idea in the conservative commentariat?
And that Newt thinks this is a great idea should give pause to anyone thinking about casting a vote for him. This has shades of an erratic McCain ‘stopping’ his campaign during the financial meltdown.
The visuals of a stodgy portly white haired Newt chasing Obama around while he’s doing his presidential gigs flying around on Air Force One will be like doing SNL’s job of satire for them. “Pay attention to me Obama” Pay attention to me Obama”……good grief.
Look at what Chris Christie (a Romney supporter) did the other day asking Obama ‘what are we paying you for’ that is 100 times more powerful & effective than Newt’s tactic will ever be.
If your going to follow Obama around the country, do it strategically. Do what Romney did in the summer when Obama went to a campaign event in PA, Romney had a press conference standing in front of a company that went out of business that Obama stood before just a year earlier lauding it as a success of his stimulus package…..now that’s how you do it.
November 30th, 2011 at 2:51 am
Newt is an Electoral College death sentence for the party.
Should he get the nomination, the following day all the Left Wing Media willd delight in how stupid the Conservatives are and throw in their face, all the anti-Newt material they have.
It’s painful to watch how stupid this roaming 20% of neanderthals are.
Here you have Clinton praising Gingrich – halfway. He did the same thing back when Perry was surging. The only propblem is, Clinton’s praise is only the first half of his complete thought.
Sure he says he’s smart and thinks of a “conservative” solution to each problem. However that will be followed up with “… but he is so wrong and wrong for the country” once the nomination is won.
November 30th, 2011 at 3:53 am
“I can’t believe I’m actually AGREEING with Graham on this! Quick! Get out the winter coats!” Winter coats???? What happened to global warming?
November 30th, 2011 at 4:09 am
Mark Steyn sums up Gingrich’s status as “the smartest guy in the room on the stage” pretty well
http://dailycaller.com/2011/11/29/mark-steyn-gingrichs-ideas-sound-all-as-if-they-are-coming-from-a-self-help-manual/
November 30th, 2011 at 4:56 am
Liberal Mission almost accomplished.
.1. “Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have.” The accusers, their lawyers, and the media want you to believe that they have more proof than they really have. They speak in vague terms, and use legalese to give people “doubt” in their minds that maybe these allegations are true. They know they have no leg to stand on. They know they have lies. They are counting on the American people to assume they have facts to back up their allegations. The bad part is, Americans are not asking for it. They just assume things are there, shake their heads, and move on.
2. “Never go outside the expertise of your people. When an action or tactic is outside the experience of the people, the result is confusion, fear and retreat…. [and] the collapse of communication. We are all too familiar with the liberals’ familiarity with sex scandals, harassment, rape, and affairs. In general, politically speaking, both sides have used illicit scandals to bring down, or attempt to bring down, their opponents. When they can no longer successfully attack your politics, you have to give them something else. They tried to attack 9-9-9, but they could not back up their case. So they retreated to harassment. When that didn’t work, they were forced to again retreat to assault. When that didn’t work, they retreated to calling him ignorant and dumb. Now they are bringing on the affair. I am sure there is a dead body somewhere they are just waiting to pull out and accuse him of killing.
3. “Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy. Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty. (This happens all the time. Watch how many organizations under attack are blind-sided by seemingly irrelevant arguments that they are then forced to address.) Herman Cain has been an upstanding business man, husband, father, leader, and Christian for many, many years. It’s outside the scope of his character to deal with allegations of immorality. Now, instead of discussing policy issues, or solving problems, he is forced to address accusations he has not had to face before. Has he messed up on some of the response to these attacks? Absolutely. Again, these are “irrelevant arguments” that are outside of the expertise of a man of integrity like Cain.
4. “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules. You can kill them with this, for they can no more obey their own rules than the Christian church can live up to Christianity.” I think this one is self-explanatory and ties into the last rule. Mr. Cain is a Baptist minister, and a man who has prided himself on his faith and conviction. So how do you bring him down? You use his own rules against him. If Cain was a liberal, no one would care if he had an affair. Barney Frank has had gay sex parties at his home and it’s hush hush. But since Cain is vocal about his morality, it means he has those rules to abide by. So they opposition comes in and says he isn’t following his own rules. Why should you trust him? Again, creating doubt in peoples’ minds, and making Cain look dishonest and immoral.
5. “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. It is almost impossible to counteract ridicule. Also it infuriates the opposition, which then reacts to your advantage.” They have called him a serial harasser, a sexual offender, a cheater, a liar, an Uncle Tom, dumb, uninformed, unprepared… The list goes on. They have ridiculed his campaign as being a joke from the beginning. They are planting seeds in the minds of voters that say, “Hey Cain’s a nice guy, and passionate, but he’s not serious. So, stop looking at him and come over here.” Even when you attempt to defend yourself against this stuff, it’s hard. They called him dumb, but he has degrees in mathematics, and computer science, and worked on ballistic missiles. He ran major corporations. An idiot, he is not.
6. “A good tactic is one your people enjoy.” America loves a good scandal. They love soap operas, celebrity gossip, and even more, they love Sex. So they pull it out of the bag because they know as soon as they do, people will pay attention.
7. “A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag. Man can sustain militant interest in any issue for only a limited time.” They moved from harassment, to campaign finance. They moved from campaign finance to sexual assault. They moved from sexual assault to foreign policy and his intelligence. They moved from foreign policy and his intelligence to his business dealings. And finally they moved from his business dealings to an alleged affair. They will keep hitting, and running. Hitting and running. Just as negative publicity fades, and something good begins to arise, they will strike again.
8. “Keep the pressure on, with different tactics and actions, and utilize all events of the period for your purpose.” As you’ve seen above, there are multiple tactics being used. They have attacked his character, his leadership, his campaign, and his mental capacity. They keep hitting. They don’t let up. They can’t. If they do, they risk people catching on to the reality of who Cain is, and it makes it harder for people to believe the lies. So if they hit you with enough in a row, you get exactly what is happening now. The whole, “where there’s smoke there’s fire” nonsense.
9. “The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.” The democrats argued that Bill Clinton’s affairs and personal issues didn’t take away from his ability to lead. In history, we’ve seen this proven. Many of the greatest minds and leaders throughout the world have been personally flawed in some way. We are all human and have shortcomings. The average person knows this in their heart. But when they are faced with the possibility that someone they are looking at may be a “secret monster” it scares them. And with vague accusations there are usually little to no concrete facts to go on, and rather than use logic, people scare themselves into saying, well, WHAT IF it’s true? WHAT IF he did it? WHAT IF we nominate him and something comes out later? So what if he’s the best man for the job, we can’t take the risk!
10. “The major premise for tactics is the development of operations that will maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition. It is this unceasing pressure that results in the reactions from the opposition that are essential for the success of the campaign.” You have to believe when a man is doing several events a day, every day, for months, that he will be exhausted. Now add the attacks. And keep them coming. Don’t let up. Now he’s not only tired from the hard work he’s doing, but from constant pressure of defending himself, being on guard for new attacks. The campaign has to shift strategy to damage control. They may miss a foreign policy question because he’s spent two weeks with a non stop barrage of sexual harassment questions.
11. “If you push a negative hard and deep enough, it will break through into its counterside… every positive has its negative.” With allegations of harassment, then escalating to assault, and again to full-fledged affair, they have dug deeper and deeper. Every time he denied an accusation, another one came forward. He denied again. Now every denial feels negative to people. Why is Cain always on the defensive? He must have something to hide. So even though he can stand up and say, “I did not do this,” people will still buy into the smears. There’s no way to ignore the accusations, and very little you can do to defend he said/she said.
12. “The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.” The media is constantly throwing other candidates in our face. Usually it’s Romney. Occasionally Gingrich. Here’s the attack. Here’s why you can’t trust your guy. Here are all his faults. And oh, by the way, here’s how wonderful your other option is. So quit paying attention to THAT guy, and come check out THIS guy.
13. Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. “In conflict tactics there are certain rules that [should be regarded] as universalities. One is that the opposition must be singled out as the target and ‘frozen.’…” It’s obvious in this campaign that the majority of negative news stories have been directed at Herman Cain. They have continually “dug up dirt” or, more accurately, made up dirt, to attempt to derail his campaign. He was the unknown candidate with one of the most passionate bases. His support was growing by leaps and bounds. They have given you a face to sexual harassment and the stereotypical black man attacking white women. They polarized his supporters, the GOP base, and the American people.It seems up in the air right now as to whether or not these tactics have once again brought down a good man. As I am writing this, there is a headline that Cain is reassessing whether or not he will remain in the election. It’s a sad day for America if he drops out. I am hoping he chooses to fight. But I cannot help but think of the tremendous emotional and mental toll this is taking not on him, but his wife, his kids, and even grandkids.Whether or not you agree with his politics or his ability to lead or his intelligence, the tactics used against him in the media were dirty and uncalled for. Choose not to vote or endorse someone because you have a difference of opinion on the issues. Don’t assassinate their character, call them every name inthe book, and then leave them for dead.
November 30th, 2011 at 5:36 am
Ohio Joe, simple: hell froze over. Same as will happen if Gingrich wins the general election and saves the country…
November 30th, 2011 at 5:52 am
#62-63 – Astounding.
To provide some comfort to the rombots, InsiderAdvantage had Guiliani in first and Huckabee in second as late as January 7, 2008. Obviously, much can and will change.
November 30th, 2011 at 6:07 am
Absolutely on the mark. There is no ambiguity in these kinds of conservative positions . Nobody is hiding behind accusations and slander in endorsing candidates. No mealy mouthed Cain defending himself from hearsay and speculation. These folks come right out and endorse the guy EVERYONE KNOWS has a scumbag past. Nothing hidden about Gingrich. Even the Union leader knows he has ” CORE VALUES ” relating to personal morality ( none……Bimbo of the month Club charter member ), political ethics ( NONE , ask House ethics committee), economic smarts ( NONE, try 22 bounced checks ), flip -flops ( Master practitioner, see Cap and Trade, medical mandates, global warming ).
Nope, nobody would accuse Newt Gingrich of not having public and sharply drawn negatives…….and he flaunts them daily to a growing crowd of sycophants who followed his equally portly predecessor off the cliff in 2008. Obama is learning to BELIEVE in prayer and deja vu. As Barney Frank said yesterday……God is good !
CraigS
November 30th, 2011 at 6:12 am
If Gingrich is the nominee, it is the last time a Republican candidate will ever see me near the polls. This Whig party repeat can commit suicide if it wants but I will follow the advice of my former neighbor, Marianne Gingrich, and leave Newt to the clutches of the idiots who drank his political Kool Aid, ignored the reality of his history and are ready to take the big plunge with this political Gordon Gecko. Start dreaming again folks. 2016 is only 5 years away
CraigS
November 30th, 2011 at 6:55 am
“hell froze over.” I beg to differ, with respect, you guys just think that we will just support anybody who can beat Mr. Romney. Well, not all of us will back Mr. Gingrich. In fact, many of us will support somebody other than either Mr. Gingrich or Mr. Romney.
November 30th, 2011 at 7:19 am
One review of Romney interview
“Tonight, Fox News’ Bret Baier showed why Romney doesn’t do too many interviews. It took a good amount of digging for Baier to show that Romney really has no plan to deal with the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in this country. Romney doesn’t want them hunted down. But he doesn’t want them to stay. He wants them to apply for citizenship and go home. Which they won’t do because they’re here illegally.
This Mitt Romney wasn’t the calm Mitt Romney of the debates.
At times during the interview, Romney was icily peevish. He laughed mirthlessly, or denied video evidence showed him shifting his positions or suggested he was espousing clear positions – which nevertheless required clarification. When pushed, he told Baier at one point that people should read his book.
Just what everyone wants: A candidate whose positions require homework, if not a concordance.”
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2011/11/bret-baier-qa-shows-why-mitt-romney-shies-away-from-media-asking-about-his-record.html
November 30th, 2011 at 7:33 am
Seriously, why don’t the ABR folks give Rick Santorum a look? He’s a true-blue so-con, at least as smart as Newt and more consistent, and has, to the best of anyone’s knowledge, lived a moral life (trust me, 8if Rick had ever done anything of this magnitude, the gay rights advocates digging through his garbage cans in 2006 would’ve found it). Sure he’s got electoral liabilities, but he does at least have the virtue of consistency.
Romney should absolutely not attack Gingrich; Perry, Bachmann and Santorum will do plenty of this.
November 30th, 2011 at 7:36 am
“Seriously, why don’t the ABR folks give Rick Santorum a look?” Hey, if he is still around by the time I vote, I’ll vote for him, unfortunately, most people realize he has no chance of winning.
November 30th, 2011 at 7:41 am
You guys, drop the concern about Insider Advantage numbers. They are one of the most discredited and useless pollsters.
Bad polling outfits:
We Ask America
American Research Group
PPP
Insider Advantage
YouGov
November 30th, 2011 at 7:47 am
I like Santorum for some reason, not all of his policies, just him personally. But he has a penchant for over-the-top rhetoric (like Newt). Everything is a crisis of civilization for him.
November 30th, 2011 at 8:05 am
80,
There is no such thing as “not electable” anymore, at least not in the GOP primary. What we are witnessing is insanity. If there were a credible option to Romney, I would take it. But there isn’t. Newt Gingrich as our nominee would increase the likelihood of a second Obama term. Be careful about pigeonholing Huntsman or Santorum or, hell, even Ron Paul at this point. Nothing is outside the realm of possibility it seems
November 30th, 2011 at 8:05 am
79. Santorum is kind of joyless. He lost his reelection race in PA by quite a lot after one term. His conservative record was solid, but he demonstrated no ability to cheerfully bring his consituents along for the ride.
Joyless Conservatism! It fits on a bumper sticker, but it doesn’t inspire . . .
November 30th, 2011 at 8:08 am
#84 – Good description.
November 30th, 2011 at 8:11 am
Possible caveat: Insider Advantage founder Matt Towery ran Gingrich’s political operation in the 1990s”
Guys, you know.
November 30th, 2011 at 8:13 am
Erick Erickson’s bigotry is forcing him to abandon some of his core values to promote Gingrich. Like I said, Romney will have to earn it, but America will be the better for it.
November 30th, 2011 at 8:15 am
87
Either that, or he doesn’t have core values, he just pretends to have them. That would explain his past corruption and his arrogant power trips.
November 30th, 2011 at 8:16 am
87
That is, Erickson.
November 30th, 2011 at 8:19 am
S.C. ,maybe Gingrich can lead Romney by 23, but in FL, I do not believe this poll. Gingrich lead Romney 24%? No, it’s can not happen. Guys, it’s FL
November 30th, 2011 at 8:23 am
72 – Great stuff! I just don’t understand why they are trying to take out Cain and not a more formidable opponent.
November 30th, 2011 at 8:26 am
79. AJ, your moniker contains the key argument against Santorum — and Bachmann and Paul for that matter. Where’s the executive experience in governing?
November 30th, 2011 at 8:26 am
79 – Exactly … it is baffling. Santorum has at least as good a chance of beating Obama as Gingrich has, if not better. I would prefer him any day.
November 30th, 2011 at 8:28 am
86 – Good find. We already know pollsters like to play shenanigans to push their agenda. Seems like a clear conflict of interest there. Especially when those polls are extreme outliers.
November 30th, 2011 at 8:29 am
92 – Where is it for Newt?
November 30th, 2011 at 8:31 am
I heard someone on Bill Bennett’s show this morning — it might have been Bill — saying that Newt was a guy with great ideas who needs someone to filter his inspirations.
November 30th, 2011 at 8:37 am
Not to defend Santorum–I’m sort of on the Romney bus now–but (1) he actually won two terms in PA including one in which Al Gore was beating Bush pretty soundly in the state and (2) it’s not like Gingrich has a lot more executive experience.
Yeah, he was speaker of the house for two terms, but I’m not sure how executive that position was, and there are a lot of 90s-era house Republicans who don’t remember his speakership fondly.
So, you’ve got a two-term senator who went down in flames in a bad year for his party in one state, or a two-term speaker of the house who…went down in flames in a kinda sorta bad but not catastrophic year for his party, on the national stage. Not sure there’s a lot of electoral difference there.
Is Santorum really more “joyless” than Newt? There’s a Catholic compassion to Santorum–when he lets it show–which softens him at times. And he’s at least a good guy.
Now, do I think he can beat Obama? Nope. Does he have baggage? Yep. Do I think he’s more baggagy and less electable than Newt? No freaking way.
November 30th, 2011 at 8:40 am
Yeah, Newt needs a filter. Like a shock collar which will deliver a mild but painful jolt of electricity throughout his body when he’s about to say or do something stupid. A Newt Gingrich with discipline would be a wonderful thing to behold. Without it, he’s a ticking electoral time bomb. He writes pretty entertaining alternate history novels though.
November 30th, 2011 at 8:44 am
That bus lost its wheels while it got stuck in the ditch of the low 20s in poll numbers combined with declining intensity of support according to Gallup. No one knew where that bus was going anyway back when it was actually on the road: Mitt Romney: A weathervane in a hurricane
Was that bus ever on the road? I’m doubtful.
November 30th, 2011 at 8:51 am
Frankly, I can’t see the GOP SoCon, FiCon, and Teaper base rallying around Gingrich out of any other motive than sheer desperation at the prospect of being stuck with Mitt.
Don’t get me wrong. Gingrich proved himself as a capable rhetorical mud wrestler extraordinaire. His historical achievements in ending the six decades of Dem congressional domination are indisputable. But my God, when the man stops singing from the small-government conservative hymnal, he’s more than just gratingly off-key. He instantly morphs into your worst imaginable enemy, finding no need for limited government concepts to limit his artistic talents on the canvas of big bureaucratic government.
It can drive the sanest among us to mix metaphors with reckless abandon.
November 30th, 2011 at 8:52 am
The Buchanan operative who stole New Hampshire out from under Dole when Dole had been up in the polls by double digits for months has a lot to say about how New Hampshire can be wrested from Willard with the ease and the grace of a Sikh sword dancer: http://www.redstate.com/mikehammond/2011/11/29/five-things-you-need-to-know-about-new-hampshire/
November 30th, 2011 at 8:56 am
Casuist:
Will you ever support an actual candidate for being somthing more than not Mitt Romney? I’m doubtful. I get that you, uh, don’t like Mitt Romney, and sound vaguely intellectual doing it, but who exactly is your alternative? Gingrich’s flip-flops make Romney look like a straight arrow by comparison, Perry is basically an also-ran, Cain is rapidly making himself irrelevant, Bachmann already got there and Santorum definitely can’t beat Obama. You don’t seem like the Ron Paul type really, so what are your options? Put up or shut up time, m6y friend.
November 30th, 2011 at 8:58 am
#101 – Very interesting piece.
November 30th, 2011 at 9:00 am
Yes, and if NOT-Romney were a name on a ballot instead of a loosely cohering operational concept to organize the experience of the conservative opposition to a feckless GOP establishment, there would be no volatility in our polls because the primary contests would effectively be over. This should tell you something. There is no support for Willard. Just the opposite. There is so much opposition that almost any placeholder will do. Willard has not done the hard work of actually forging a coalition in advance of his electoral ambitions. He has nothing. He has no base, not regional as he cannot even carry the state he was once said to govern, and not ideological as the two principal ideological formations of the GOP, the Tea Partiers and the Social Conservatives, flatly reject him, and Willard’s indolence and indecision have allowed movement conservatives to consolidate against him in the form of a counter-narrative to every premise of a Willard presidency.
November 30th, 2011 at 9:01 am
Yes, NOT-Romney is my candidate. Whoever is the GOP frontrunner who is NOT-Romney has my vote.
November 30th, 2011 at 9:03 am
Did you like my Sikh sword dancer analogy? I thought that was a nice touch.
November 30th, 2011 at 9:09 am
107. Yes, nice touch, indeed.
November 30th, 2011 at 9:13 am
Don’t look now, but the Mitt-flops are once again going literary. He can’t even keep his own storyline straight. And he never could. Inconsistency is his only constant.