The Little Engine That Could: The Last Tango for Herman Cain

Herman Cain may be out for the count. The pizza mogul turned politician told senior staffers at a conference call this morning that he is reassessing his campaign and will decide whether he stays or goes in the next few days. Cain has been plagued by numerous accusations of sexual harassment, womanizing and extramarital affairs in the past few weeks. A woman named Ginger White told Fox 5 Atlanta that Cain ended their 13 year affair shortly before he began his campaign. His numbers have plummeted and his base has seemingly disappeared. How did it all unravel so fast for the little engine that could?

            His was a political rags to riches story that even Horatio Alger would marvel at. A man with no real political background who shot to the forefront of the GOP race seemingly from nowhere. He portrayed a more common man than Romney and a more daring man than Perry. Republican voters could identify with him because, while he wasn’t exactly like them, he wasn’t a politician either. He was some kind of strange middle ground, but it’s obvious now that his luck is just about run out.

            It all started just as soon as it began. At least four women – two who chose to remain anonymous – have come forward with claims of sexual harassment from the candidate. Ginger White is the only person to claim a long lasting affair with Cain. Throughout October he was leading the Republican polls, but towards the end of the month the allegations began to come forward. One he could hide from, two he could settle. But when the third and fourth came, Cain started to sweat around the collar. Ginger White was the proverbial nail in the coffin.

            The really disturbing part about all this is that the support that Cain once had now belongs to the next Republican flavor of the week: Newt Gingrich. The thrice married adulterer Gingrich, a would-be career politician if he hadn’t been voted out so long ago, stands to profit from the sexual misconduct of Herman Cain. If that’s not irony, I don’t know what is.

            Regardless, the Cain Train has run its course right off the tracks. He seldom really knew what he was talking about (see his thoughts on Libya), he worked his hardest at eradicating the middle class and he believed with all his might that he could get away with anything. And while it’s not official yet, Cain is sure to throw in the towel and call it a day.  The little engine that could found out the hard way what happens to people who think they’re invincible: they get crushed and tossed aside like an empty beer can you see lying in a gutter. 

A Debt Deal That Never Was: How No One Cares About Congress Failing Anymore

A deal was in place. Two sides that have been biting and clawing at each other’s necks seemingly since 2008 were acting bipartisan and agreeing. The finish line was in sight. Then, for no particular reason at all, the deal came crashing down and everybody involved just shrugged their shoulders and went back home.

            It was another deficit deal that should have happened but just didn’t. Members of the special Congressional committee on deficit reduction – including at least one Republican siding with the Democrats – had all tentatively agreed on a plan that would cut trillions of dollars from the national debt by means of tax rates (including raising taxes), revenues, spending cuts and changes to Social Security and Medicare. This supercommittee fell short just before the deadline, and decided to throw in the towels and blame somebody else.

            Worst of all, the two sides couldn’t even agree on where the talks went wrong. Democrats say the Republicans backed away from their initial willingness to accept revenue increases in exchange in cuts in the growth of entitlement projects. Republicans, who seemed to be in agreement with the framework of the deal less than a week ago, point their fingers at the Democrats for being wishy washy and never really committed to a plan.

            Maybe we shouldn’t blame Congress for failing to a reach a yet another debt deal. Maybe we need to blame ourselves. For being overly optimistic that anyone in this Congress could agree on anything and for giving them yet another chance. Because time and again every elected official has proven to us that the last thing they deserve is one more chance, but somehow they keep getting it.

            A key aspect of the breakdown was the Jason Voorhees-esque Bush Tax Cuts. They’ve been slated to die for years now, but somehow keep coming back for sequels. They’re slated to expire in 2012, but some 11^th hour deal will most certainly come through for the salvation of the legacy of George W. Bush.

            Democratic Senator Joe Macnhin said of the deal “We cannot accept failure.” But somehow that’s all we’ve been asked to accept for quite some time. I think by now we’re used to the flavor of defeat. Of the negotiation breakdown, John Kerry said “If this weren’t so serious I might laugh.” Honestly, Kerry I’d go ahead and laugh if I were you. By now it couldn’t really hurt. We’ve reached a critical moment in our history, and we stand at a fragile crossroad. Never before have elected officials done more harm to their own country, and never before have the voters cared less.

            It’s tough to place the blame here, but it’s no longer a simple Democrat-Republican divide. Now it’s between the powerful and the powerless. It’s an us against them situation, and it doesn’t look good for us. Because we’ve given away any power we had by being indifferent. We’re headed for a crash, and we really only have ourselves to blame. 

The Rep Who Cried Wolf: Catching Up With Joe Wilson, America's Cleanest Dirtiest Politician

            Turn back the clocks to 2009. Newly christened President Obama is giving his address on healthcare reform to a packed Congress. The President says “There are also those who claim that our reform effort will insure illegal immigrants. This, too, is false – the reforms I'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally.” A matter of fact statement that everyone knew was true but that some pundits kept refused to believe. Then a voice rings out like a catfight in the night. “You lie!” The heckler was Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina’s second district, a Republican lovechild who favors arming airline pilots, giving tax credits to living organ donors and federal prohibition of online poker.

            Fast-forward to today. Anthony Weiner has been cast out of the House for sending pictures of his junk to consenting women. Neither of the acts is illegal in the letter of the law, but Weiner became a martyr while Wilson got a slap on the wrist. That’s right, the Representative who showed ignorance and insubordination towards the President of the United States got off scot-free. All he had to do was issue a half-hearted apology towards Obama. “This evening I let my emotions get the best of me when listening to the President’s remarks regarding the coverage of illegal immigrants in the health care bill. While I disagree with the President's statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the President for this lack of civility.” Even in his apology he said that Obama was wrong.

            This is not the first controversy that Wilson has been involved with. In 2002 Wilson and Democratic Congressman Bob Filner were discussing Iraq weapons of mass destruction on C-SPAN. When Filner said that the US had supplied Iraq with “chemical and biological” weapons, Wilson said point blank that Filner was wrong, that he had made that up. “This hatred of America by some people is just outrageous. And you need to get over that.” When it turned out Filner was right, Wilson was forced to issue an apology. In 2003 it was revealed that the late Senator Strom Thurmond had a child out of wedlock with his black maid. Wilson adamantly said that girl’s story was not true, and that even if it was true, she should never have revealed it because it was a “smear” campaign and would “diminish” Thurmond’s legacy. When the Thurmond family came forward and said the girl was in fact the Senator’s illegitimate lovechild, Wilson again had to apologize but said he still didn’t believe that she should have come forward with the truth.

            Joe Wilson is not so much a statement of his own perseverance but rather the lack of balls the Democrats continue to show. Weiner was thrown out like a disease ridden dog who growled one too many times. A shit storm rose up and he was caught in the crosshairs. Wilson, on the other hand, got to point his finger square at the President and laugh at his face. And nothing came of it. Time after time, Wilson has been able to stir up controversy and make us forget about it. Where others have fallen, he has remained. He is apparently a lot like the character Andy Dufresne from Shawshank Redemption when he escapes from prison. Joe Wilson, the man who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side.