COMMENTARY | Herman Cain shouldn't get a pass on bigotry just because he's black. The theme song of desegregation was not "We Shall Overcompensate." It was, "We Shall Overcome," and I for one have had just about enough unchecked bigotry from this man currently tied in the polls with Mitt Romney for the nomination.
And I'm not just referring to his recent insinuation that 11 million Mexican nationals are coming into America and killing Americans. I'm speaking of his repeated bigotry toward Muslims.
Take his comment when asked if he would be comfortable hiring them into his Cabinet: "No. I will not. And here's why: There is this creeping attempt. ... There is this attempt to gradually ease Sharia law and the Muslim faith into our government. It does not belong in our government."
Later, he told Glenn Beck that he would be OK with hiring Muslims if they passed a constitutional loyalty test. Beck pressed him, asking whether he would apply the same test to Catholics and Muslims. "No. No I wouldn't because there is a greater dangerous part of the Muslim Faith than there is any of these other religions," Cain said.
Imagine if a white candidate said such things about black people. How long would that candidate last as a contender for the White House?
In 1948 Strom Thurmond ran for president as a segregationist. Fifty-four years later, then-Sen. Trent Lott, during a birthday wish for the 100-year-old elder statesman, said "If Strom had been elected president in 1948, we might not have all the problems that we have now." Immediately, charges of racism smacked him and shortly thereafter lead to his resignation.
Mel Gibson was fairly well kicked out of his profession for a racist tirade against Jews. Republican Rick Perry of Texas lost his spot as the Republican front-runner largely as the result of a ranch he owns that once had a derogatory name.
So what does it say when a black candidate is openly peddling bigotry yet rising in the polls to become the co-front-runner for the GOP nomination to the presidency?
He might get a pass for his bigotry by some writers, but not this one. Black people can be bigots too, and in the case of Cain, I'm calling him out. He's a bigot and he has no place in American politics.
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