Redstate

By Feddie Posted in Archived — Comments (6) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Promoted from Diaries.

On July 20th, Herman Cain is going to shock the world (of politics) by beating or forcing Johnny Isakson into a runoff.  The pundits think otherwise, but trust the fedster on this one: Cain will ultimately win the Republican nomination, and thus the Senate seat up for grabs (the dems have zero chance of beating any Republican for this seat).

Now, for those of y'all who don't follow Georgia politics closely, allow me to give a little background on the players....Johnny Isakson: Let me be blunt. Johnny Isakson is no conservative.  You see, Johnny is a longtime prochoice Republican who has lost both of the previous statewide races that he's run.  There's a reason for that.  Georgians, for the most part, don't share ol' Johnny's views on social issues. Yes, it's true that Johnny did get elected to Congress, but he won in the 6th District, which is about as Republican as you can get (he took Newt's seat--when he resigned--in a special election), and nobody of any substance ran against him.  But let's get back to the prochoice part. Now, if you perused Johnny's campaign web site, you might believe that he was quite the prolifer:

"I have a deep respect for life, and a voting record that reflects that respect. I am personally opposed to abortion except in cases of rape, incest, and to protect the life of the mother. I strongly support President Bush's view that we need to create a culture of life in America. A key step in this process is appointing federal judges who understand that laws are made in the Congress, not in the courthouse."

Sounds pretty good, right? Other than being for the "rape" and "incest" exceptions, that is.  And his prolife resume looks fairly solid as well.  That is, until you dig beneath the surface a little.

What really bothers me about Isakson is that he has yet to own up to his prochoice past. A little story.  Shortly after Johnny announced that he was running for the Senate, one of my Republican buddies called me in South Bend to see if I would be interested in joining Isakson's Macon team.  This is how the conversation went:

Friend: You interested in joining Johnny's team in Macon?

Me: You're kidding, right?

Friend: No. What's wrong with him?

Me: He's a prochoicer, dude. Don't you remember when he ran against Guy Milner for the Senate back in 1996 as a openly prochoice Republican?

Friend: Uh, nope. I guess I wasn't paying too much attention to politics back then.

Me: I guess not.  Well, go ask your campaign contact what Johnny's position on abortion is and then get back to me.

(Two weeks later)

Friend: Dillard, Johnny's staff told me that he's always been prolife and that Milner misrepresented his views on abortion back in 1996.

Me: Uh, no. That's patently false. Please tell your staffer friend that his candidate is not being honest about his past views on abortion, and, as such, I'll play no part in his campaign.

In sum, Isakson is not being forthright with the voters about his past prochoice record, and I hope and pray Herman Cain beats him in the primary.

By the way, Georgia Right to Life is (finally) running some stinging radio ads against Isakson, which you can access here.

Oh, and did I mention that Isakson has a history of supporting the gay rights agenda?

So, why (you might ask) is Isakson favored to win the Republican nomination if his views on social issues is so spotty, feddie? Fair question. Answer: The statewide Republican party apparatus is, for the most part, run by a bunch of wealthy moderates who only give lip service to social issues in order to appease the grassroots base.  They've anointed Johnny, given him loads of cash (although Cain is starting to catch him on this front), and expect the rest of us to fall in line for the sake of the team. Well, that ain't gonna happen, folks.

Why? Two words: Herman Cain.

Herman Cain is a conservative "Bullworth" candidate who tells voters--now get ready for this-- exactly what he believes! I know, it's quite shocking.  And Cain, Godfather Pizza's former president and CEO, is simply superb on the campaign trail. Here's a taste:

Cain said he doesn't alter his message when he's speaking to an audience that includes black voters. But he does add something: statistics showing how the problems he describes, like a Social Security system that needs to be restructured, are worse for blacks than for whites.

"When you look at the life expectancy of a black male, it is 68," he tells a biracial audience at the Rex World Outreach Center. "Well, I was informed by Social Security a few years ago that I could apply for benefits at 66 ... I mean, if God is good to me, I get to draw benefits for two years."

Then Cain sat down and tried to calculate how long he would have to live to receive the same amount of money he'd paid into the system. He'd have to make it to 110 years old.

"God didn't promise me he was going to let me live that long," Cain said.

And here's more:

"I am pro-life from conception, and I believe that God defined marriage as between a man and a woman. And I believe God knew what he was doing -- end of story."

"I'm one of these people who feel very strongly that there is no ambiguity about the intent of our founding fathers that God would be a part of the foundation, morally, of this country"

Oh, but it gets better, so much better. Here is Cain's position on abortion:

I do solemnly pledge and promise to the voters of Georgia,

that as a United States Senator, I will:

Introduce legislation that will restore legal, moral protection of unborn human life.

Confirm conservative judges to the federal bench.

Oppose the use of tax dollars to pay for abortions, abortion research, and activities which could encourage abortion as a "solution" to problem pregnancies.

Oppose any fetal experimentation which requires or results in the death of an unborn child.

Oppose abortion for pregnancy resulting from rape or incest.

Support legislation requiring parental notification and consent before an abortion is performed on a minor child - until the goal of total protection of the unborn is reached.

Oppose any attempts to legalize the RU 486 abortion technique.

Oppose any attempts to make Partial Birth Abortion legal.

Now, that's what I am talkin' about, folks.

Cain is also in favor of going to a national sales tax (to replace the income tax). supports the FMA and school vouchers, is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, supports tort reform, strongly supports President Bush's leadership in the War on Terror, and is in favor of partially privatizing social security (for younger workers).

The perfect candidate. I think so.

So, does Cain have a chance? You bet he does.  And all he has to do is force ol' Johnny into a runoff.  Isakson's support is a mile wide and an inch deep, folks. In contrast, Cain's supporters (like yours truly) are passionate about his campaign.  And if Cain does make it into a runoff with Isakson, Cain's supporters will turn out en masse to vote for him. Isakson's won't.

Now, I know that some of you may be thinking that a great deal of this post is sheer speculation; and to some degree you'd be right.  But it is informed speculation.  I've been closely involved in Georgia politics for some time now (even when I was in South Bend I stayed in touch with my Georgia people and monitored the races), and long time readers of Southern Appeal will remember that I predicted Saxby's win over Max Cleland when virtually all the other pundits thought he had no chance (see here also).  And here's some inside dope that tends to support my upset prediction for Cain. First, I have it on good authority that only four people showed up at Isakson's last fundraiser in Macon. Second, I spoke with Herman Cain this past Monday (I interviewed him for 940 WMAC) and he told me that he has a lot of money coming in and that his phone was ringing off the hook with people volunteering to work for his campaign. Third, every Georgia politico I know (and that includes several major players in the Central Georgia area) thinks that Isakson is in deep trouble and that this race is heading toward a runoff (even NRO's Miller has hinted at this possibility). The general consensus among these folks is that if Isakson and Cain end up in a runoff, Cain wins (indeed, Johnny has already lost one runoff election). Fourth, Cain's momentum is starting to carry over into newspaper endorsements. The Albany Herald has given Cain a glowing endorsement over Isakson and Mac Collins (the other candidate--more on him later), both sitting congressmen; and I have it on good authority that the Macon Telegraph will endorse Cain as well. The ultra liberal AJC has endorsed Isakson (no surprise there). Fifth, Cain recently attended church with Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue. Now, that may not seem like a big deal, but y'all know that public appearances like that don't just happen for no reason. Methinks Sonny is sending his supporters a message.  

In sum, things are looking awful good for Cain. But we shall see.

There is one more player in this unfolding election drama: Mac Collins. I like Mac. He's a good guy, and he's been a great congressman (and very prolife); but it just ain't gonna happen for him. Spotting a Collins campaign sign or bumper sticker in Macon is like looking for a needle in a haystack, and his chances of actually winning the Republican nomination are very slim. What Collins is likely to do, however, is secure enough votes (say about 10%) to send this bad boy into a runoff. And if that happens, any Collins supporters that return to the polls will, in all likelihood, vote for Cain over Isakson (on the abortion issue alone).  I also think it is quite likely that Collins will endorse Cain if he comes in last place on July 20th.

There's a lot more that I could say, but I digress.

But before I go, I would like to make a small, two-pronged request to anyone who took the time to actually read this post (and perhaps some of the accompanying links): (1) check out Cain's website (especially his radio ads and t.v. spots, they're awesome); and (2) contact everyone you know in Georgia and tell them to vote for Cain.  We've already got far too many squishy Republicans in the U.S. Senate (as today's FMA vote demonstrates).  We need another solid, hard-core conservative, and Cain definitely falls into that category.  This is important stuff, folks. Treat it as such.

(originally posted at my blog, Southern Appeal)