Oddly enough, the emergence of the first black president has coincidentally led to a resurgence of black Republicans. Following the election and swearing-in of President Barack Obama, Michael Steele, an African-American, stood at the helm of the Republican National Committee. And even though he was promptly removed for his incompetence, two African-Americans conservatives (Tim Scott and Allen West) were elected to Congress.
Following these unforeseen milestones, it appeared that for a short time that there might be an African-American standing as the Republican nominee across from President Obama. However, with the meteoric rise and fall of Herman Cain that image has faded. Many people now wonder about the future of Herman Cain, the value of his endorsement, and this new era of black conservatism.
theGrio: Herman Cain’s presidential run: A setback black conservatives?
The momentum of this new black conservatism and Herman Cain’s fall are not inextricably linked. The candidacy of Herman Cain might encourage more African American conservatives to run for public office, but that’s about it. Many people believed that then-Illinois Senate Candidate Barack Obama could not make a successful run for statewide office. We all know how that turned out. It is possible that Cain’s candidacy also changed some minds.
Unfortunately, Cain’s inexperience, poor campaign structure, and personal flaws prevented him from capitalizing on his support. In the end, his lackluster campaign may be a blemish on the republican presidential primary race, but his candidacy has no negative net effect on the black conservative movement. While future black Republican presidential candidates will likely be compared to Cain, they will also likely be compared to John McCain.
Black Republican Congressmen Allen West of Florida and Tim Scott of South Carolina will certainly not worry about Cain’s success or lack thereof in their upcoming re-election campaigns.
Despite his shortcomings, Herman Cain has two possible futures: the first is pretty promising, the other is not. Cain has indicated that he wants to keep the Cain Train chugging through The Cain Solutions, a website dedicated to pushing his 9-9-9 plan, peace through strength and clarity foreign policy plan, and a new energy independence plan that will soon be announced. If he manages to keep his solutions at the forefront of politics, the Cain Train may not run to the gates of the White House, but it will run for quite some time.
Unless Cain capitalizes on this brief moment in the limelight, his star power will rapidly fade. Without this capitalization, a Herman Cain endorsement will likely be as useless as other yesterday Tea Party favorites. In some cases, it could only hope to be as useless.
Rick Perry governs Texas, Bachmann represents the suburbs of the Twin Cities, and Herman Cain only presides over his home and backyard in Georgia. Whereas Donald Trump at least turned intimations of a presidential run into a successful second career as a political kingmaker, Cain needs to also market his policies and platform.
Regardless, Cain needs a plan. If you think Cain wants to be Vice President consider, ”[w]hether or not people believe that Herman Cain will endorse Newt Gingrich in hopes of garnering a Vice Presidential nod is irrelevant: the 12th Amendment, ratified in 1804, prevents a presidential ticket from containing two individuals who are residents of the same state,” says Bruce Fein, attorney and constitutional scholar.
Cain and Gingrich, the new frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, couldn’t be on the same ticket since each claims residency in Georgia. But, Cain is onto something with Cain Solutions. Here, Cain outpaces some of his conservative one-hit-wonder predecessors.
Whereas, Sarah Palin’s celebrity was based on character and a perceived hockey-mom persona and Trump’s relevance is based on wealth and his insistence that he is relevant, Herman Cain’s staying power might rely on his policy solutions and sweet-talking simple charm. Let’s keep an eye Cain and see what does.
