Group to make 1 million Iowa calls over 'lynching' of Cain

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A conservative group tied to the Tea Party movement and to a controversial GOP direct mail firm, says it will make 1 million phone calls to Iowa Republican voters to fight back against what it calls the “high tech lynching” of Herman Cain.

An email sent to supporters of Americans for Herman Cain, which dubs itself “a project of the 9-9-9 fund,” made the analogy to the infamous phrase uttered by Clarence Thomas during his 1991 Supreme Court confirmation hearing, in which he refuted allegations by Anita Hill that he sexually harassed her when he was her supervisor at the Department of Education and the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission.

Also from theGrio: Cain harassment scandal hits black conservatives hard

Thomas at the time denounced the U.S. Senate hearings as a “circus,” calling the inquiry over Hill’s allegations a “high tech lynching of uppity blacks who in any way deign to think for themselves, to do for themselves, to have different ideas, and it is a message that unless you kowtow to an old order, this is what will happen to you. You will be lynched, destroyed, caricatured by a committee of the U.S. Senate rather than hung from a tree.”

Cain’s supporters have fully embraced the Thomas analogy, and Cain himself has referred to the Politico story of an apparent settlement with two women who accused Cain of inappropriate behavior when he led the National Restaurant Association, as a “high tech lynching.”

The email, entitled “Don’t let the left ‘lynch’ another black conservative” and sent to supporters on Wednesday, calls Cain as the GOP nominee “Barack Obama and the Left’s worst nightmare,” and says, “that’s why they will do anything to take him down.”

The missive also takes shots at Mitt Romney, saying the “left wing” have “told Conservatives they have to pick” Romney, “despite his flip-flops on abortion, immigration, gun control. They’ve told us he’s more electable, ignoring the fact he’s lagging behind in the polls after 6 years of campaigning.”

Calling Cain “the real choice” for conservatives, and citing the former Godfather’s CEO’s grassroots support and polling, the Americans for Cain email asks for financial support to “fund part of the one million phone calls we are starting ASAP in Iowa.”
The email is signed by Jordan Gehrke, the former communications director and deputy campaign manager for Nevada Tea Party U.S. Senate candidate Sharron Angle, who failed in her attempt to unseat Harry Reid in 2010.

Gehrke formerly served as director of business development for a direct mail company called BMW Direct, which later changed its name to Base Connect. A Salon.com report last July found that Base Connect, whose clients were often long shot conservative office-seekers, charged exorbitant fees (including more than $600,000 to Angle’s campaign,) with 75-85 percent, and in some cases, 90 percent, of the funds going to the firm, or to one of its partner companies, based in the same suit on Washington’s K Street.

The 9-9-9 fund is an independent expenditure organization or “super PAC” not connected to the Cain campaign. The group describes itself on its website as “dedicated to advancing the principles of less government, lower spending, and more freedom as laid out in Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 plan.” Among its platforms are “abolishing the IRS” and “scrapping” the current tax code.

Cain has denied sexually harassing anyone, but admits he was aware of a settlement with at least one former employee of the National Restaurant Association, which he led from 1996 to 1999.

The complete fundraising email is reprinted below (emphasis from the original):

Patriot,

They’re at it again. The left is trying to destroy Herman Cain – just like they did to Clarence Thomas.

They are engaging in a “high tech” lynching by smearing his reputation and attacking his character.

The idea of a black conservative like Herman Cain as the GOP nominee is Barack Obama and the Left’s worst nightmare. That’s why they will do anything to take him down.

As the leading pro-Cain committee, we intend to fight back by launching one million phone calls in Iowa to defend Herman Cain. Will you join us?

The left wing have told Conservatives they have to pick Mitt Romney, despite his flip-flops on abortion, immigration, gun control. They’ve told us he’s more electable, ignoring the fact he’s lagging behind in the polls after 6 years of campaigning.

Let’s send a clear message to those who would like to tell us what to do. Let’s stand up against those who would like to take down any black man who stands up for Conservative values. Join “Americans for Herman Cain” today and support our efforts to fight back.

We have a real choice this time: Herman Cain. Will you help him today?

It’s days like this that reminds us why we launched “Americans for Herman Cain,” a project of 9-9-9 Fund.

Herman Cain has grassroots support. He has the poll numbers. He is a conservative. He can beat Barack Obama. Now it’s our job to propel him to victory in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina, Florida, Michigan, and Arizona.

We’re going to do everything from TV ads, voter mail, advocacy phones identifying Herman’s supporters, to get out the vote programs. But we can’t do it without your help. We’re fiscal conservatives like you, and we won’t waste a dollar.

Will you help us by helping fund part of the one million phone calls we are starting ASAP in Iowa? Will you help us elect a true conservative outsider in the mold of Ronald Reagan to the White House?

Together, we will take our country back.

For America,

Jordan Gehrke
Campaign Director
AmericansforHermanCain.com