Slog Oct 7, 2011 12:19 PM

The Primaries Are a Long Way Off

by Dan Savage

Comments

1
It'll never happen. Too much of the Republican base is just too racist. But if I'm wrong, I'd sure love to see the O outright annihilate Pizza Man in the debates. Be funnier than SNL.
The Max on October 7, 2011 at 12:32 PM · Report this
2
cracker is a racist term
Max Solomon on October 7, 2011 at 12:36 PM · Report this
3

If it ends up being Obama vs. Cain then Rick Perry won't have anyone to vote for.
Supreme Ruler Of The Universe on October 7, 2011 at 12:37 PM · Report this
4
If that happens, they'd probably get some southern cracker with secessionist tendencies like Rick Perry to run as a third-party candidate, which would be even better for Obama.
Gern Blanston on October 7, 2011 at 12:39 PM · Report this
5
If, by some miracle Cain is the Republican candidate Obama will win in a landslide. The substantial racist subset of Republicans will just stay home. That will eliminate probably 10% of Republican voters. For the first time in Decades states like Alabama and Mississippi (with an even larger racist population) would have a substantial potential to go Democrat.
Root on October 7, 2011 at 12:43 PM · Report this
6
I'm sure President-Elect Romney will get a good laugh out of this next November.
Fifty-Two-Eighty on October 7, 2011 at 12:47 PM · Report this
7
@6 Exactly! We are due for a competent, boring president who will restore faith in our economy. All other issues are secondary at this point.
_db_ on October 7, 2011 at 12:52 PM · Report this
8
@6

Your predictions for the last Republican primary, Democratic primary, and the general, turned out to be what, again? Wrong in every case? Yes. Yes they were.
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn on October 7, 2011 at 1:03 PM · Report this
9
Ah, but how many of the respondents thought "Cain" was "McCain" - an old white guy?
DAVIDinKENAI on October 7, 2011 at 1:10 PM · Report this
10
The Tea Party Dream Ticket is Herman Cain and Allen West for VP. I would love to see the race baiters and hucksters try and spin that into a racist conspiracy.
Herman Cain would DESTROY Obama in a debate. Herman Cain actually has accomplished something in his life beyond "community organizing.".
DavidNoSpam on October 7, 2011 at 1:10 PM · Report this
11
..and white people will fall over themselves having discussions about who is the whiter of the two and how those discussions aren't really racist.
reverend dr dj riz on October 7, 2011 at 1:17 PM · Report this
12
Cracker is pretty mild as a pejorative, @2. I am not in the least bit offended at being called a cracker, or honky, and I can't think of a pejorative term for caucasian person that would offend me. The truth is that those terms don't usually succeed at dehumanizing or repressing their targets the way other words for other races have been used. Now, you call me a bitch, or a ditz, or some other pejorative term to describe females, and I will be offended, because those words have real power.
anyes on October 7, 2011 at 1:18 PM · Report this
13
Herman Cain would destroy Obama in any debate. Check out his background on Wiki. He actually accomplished something in his life besides mastering a teleprompter.
The nightmare Republican ticket for the race baiters and hucksters like Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Janeane Garofalo would be Herman Cain and Allen West for VP.
DavidNoSpam on October 7, 2011 at 1:25 PM · Report this
14
@13 - Cain's best chance in such a debate would be if Obama fell asleep out of boredom.

Or, the nation takes pity on him for the brutal beating he receives, like when a school rallies behind the special-needs kid who gets beat up for no good reason.
MacCrocodile on October 7, 2011 at 1:30 PM · Report this
15
@11 - so right on, riz.

I think the real message of this is that the Republicans are a hot mess right now, and how quickly the news cycle works to affect opinion these days.Repubs have created so many litmus tests for their candidates to fulfill that none can come off strong enough, and so they jump to whomever appears to be making waves and hitting Obama, until that person fucks something up or something from their record comes up, and then it's onto the next. First it's Bachmann, then it's Romney, then it's Perry, then back to Romney, and now Cain? It's possible that the Dems would be as messy as well if Obama wasn't running again, but this looks to me like the most sloppy primary contest the GOP has run since I've been alive.
bookworm on October 7, 2011 at 1:33 PM · Report this
16
@13 Are you honestly trying to imply being the 1st US President to order the assassination of a US citizen w/o even a hint of due process, is not an accomplishment? Pishaw, sir. This great man has done much, much, to expand the reach of executive power. Just think of all the laws the next Republican will get to ignore thanks to the precedent set by Obama. Why are you not thanking this man?
OuterCow on October 7, 2011 at 1:49 PM · Report this
17
So, you want the election to be a vote for which evil you like better ....
KittenKoder on October 7, 2011 at 2:03 PM · Report this
18
For what it is worth "cracker" was originally used by rich white planation owners to refer to poor white non-land-holding whites in the south. Equivalent to "poor white trash" (another white-on-white perjoritive) it is therefore more classist than racist.
thatsnotright on October 7, 2011 at 2:16 PM · Report this
19
My head would explode, too, actually. OMG, pass the popcorn. And heap the schadenfreude on it, plzkthx.

I don't think it is too likely to happen... but it would be amazingly delicious to watch if it did...
BEG on October 7, 2011 at 2:17 PM · Report this
20
I'll have some of what DavidNoSpam is having since I also need a complete psychotic break from reality.
shaneleopard on October 7, 2011 at 2:25 PM · Report this
21
@18 cracker was used to refer to poor whites because their diet was mostly of crackers, but it was also used to refer to the slave driver who would 'crack' the whip on the slave. I find the latter to be a more perjorative term, and would be what I assume Dan was referring to here.
vavavarooooom on October 7, 2011 at 2:47 PM · Report this
22
@9 Have to admit, until I saw a picture I did.
BritishRichard on October 7, 2011 at 2:47 PM · Report this
23
Oh, also, I so totally hope that Cain is the nominee. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!
vavavarooooom on October 7, 2011 at 2:48 PM · Report this
24
We can look at history: Obama v. Keyes for Senate in 2004. Keyes is, if possible, crazier than Cain.
bobbo on October 7, 2011 at 2:49 PM · Report this
25
@2: No, racism is a culturally-institutionalized set of practices that discriminate against a group of people. As cultures in the US, on average, heavily advantage White people over persons of color, "cracker" does not function as part of any larger racist cultural construct, however it's used, so it's not racist. It *might* be bigoted, though in this usage, it's application is dependent upon individual behavior, making it simply appropriate.
John Horstman on October 7, 2011 at 2:54 PM · Report this
26
#11 - Isn't Obama pretty obviously the whiter of the two? I mean, the guy's half white.
catsnbanjos on October 7, 2011 at 3:32 PM · Report this
27
I agree with #9, how many people are thinking JOHN MCCain is back in the race. And really, Cracker is an attempt to be rude but it only has power in the South. Now "White Trash" is a phrase I find as offensive as the OTHER word. Because calling a human being a piece of trash is about as offensive as you can get.
on October 7, 2011 at 3:51 PM · Report this
28
Cain will not be the GOP nominee.... the base will not allow it. Further, the man is not qualified to be POTUS.
pgbach on October 7, 2011 at 5:24 PM · Report this
29
@11, 26, of course Obama is whiter; well, where I come from (and in any place that actually thinks about this stuff), Obama wouldn't even be called black. But America has strange notions about people's ethnicity (such as the curious idea I heard when I was in Texas that, since I was Brazilian, I should identify as Hispanic or Latino...).
ankylosaur on October 7, 2011 at 5:52 PM · Report this
30
Herman Cain is Donald Trump with less money and more melanin. I predict he will flame out just as quickly.
I have always been... east coaster on October 8, 2011 at 9:18 AM · Report this
31
# 28 ". Further, the man is not qualified to be POTUS."
How can anyone say that with a straight face with Obam in the Whitehouse?
DavidNoSpam on October 8, 2011 at 10:36 AM · Report this
32
Does anyone think that maybe something like "reaction formation" could develop in the Republican voter base? Something like "OMG, I've fucking ALWAYS loved black people! Of course I'm voting for Cain!"

Either way, that would be really interesting to watch...
jackdee on October 8, 2011 at 5:17 PM · Report this
33
If Herman Cain finds a way to moderate his positions on social issues a bit, he'd be a real threat. I agree that Obama v Cain would be an epic battle, especially because it would finally shut all the people up who have the "all Republicans = wannabe KKK members" mentality.
luke1249 on October 9, 2011 at 1:45 PM · Report this