Cain Makes Inroads in Ga Senate Bid: Black Hopeful Scores With Conservativ

[DaveSZ]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58347-2004Jul17.html

Cain Makes Inroads in Ga. Senate Bid
Black Hopeful Scores With Conservatives
By Manuel Roig-Franzia
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, July 18, 2004; Page A05


THOMASVILLE, Ga. -- Herman Cain, fast-food millionaire turned U.S. Senate candidate, fixed his gaze on the semicircle crowding around him at the local political hangout and grinned. It was showtime. The women in the red-white-and-blue blouses had set aside their fried chicken plates and ambled into the lobby of the Plaza restaurant, idling attentively beneath the autographed picture of former House speaker Newt Gingrich.



"If you want to define conservative," Cain told them, punching up that last word for emphasis, "I'll spell it for you: C-A-I-N."

Cain, a former Burger King executive who owned Godfather's Pizza for 15 years before selling the chain in December, has chosen the most unconventional of stages for his political debut. In a state where more than half the Democratic voters are black, he is bidding to become the first African American elected to the U.S. Senate from the Deep South since Reconstruction by running as a Republican -- and a highly conservative Republican at that.

He has no delusions of appealing to masses of African American voters, saying he would expect to draw some support from black Democrats, but "no avalanche," if he pulls an upset over the front-runner, Rep. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), and makes it into the general election. In recent years, two African Americans have been elected to Georgia statewide offices -- attorney general and labor commissioner -- though both are Democrats.

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[Moloch]

1. blah

He'll probably win too. Georgia seems to enjoy electing the biggest assholes (Miller & Chambliss) to the Senate...

[UnityDem]

3. Won't happen/here in Georgia

a guy named Johnny Isackson (two time loser for this seat before) has outspent everyone by a huge margin. He is considered a "moderate" Repub but is running to the right in the primary and wrapping himself in bushco. So, we will replace a conservative Dem (the retiring Zell Miller who has endorsed Bush) with Isackson. Not much change, really. Only difference is an (r) now after the name...sigh.

[oldhat]

2. Hit the snooze button

"If you want to define conservative," Cain told them, punching up that last word for emphasis, "I'll spell it for you: C-A-I-N."

Give me a fucking break. I've read better scripts from Jean-Claude Van Damme movies.

[TroglodyteScholar]

4. Cain or Isaakson?

Either way, the people of Georgia are screwing themselves yet again...

The Dem candidates aren't terribly exciting, either. One is a black female, usually a good thing, but her claim to fame is that she was very active in the effort to oust Cynthia McKinney. Then there's one dude who's a white male millionaire whose focus is on keeping jobs in Georgia. That's nice. But he's got lingering past allocations of spousal abuse. Then there's one guy whose entire platform involves nothing but getting our troops out of Iraq. Where have I seen THAT before?

Oh well.

[TroglodyteScholar]

5. Guess Dems have written off Georgia as a loss?

BTW, that was supposed to say "allegations of spousal abuse." Can anyone tell I've been working with computers too long?