Herman Cain: Two-Thirds Of Blacks 'Brainwashed,' Standing By Claim

Republican presidential candidate Hermain Cain drew criticism from both sides of the political spectrum for telling CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday that many African Americans have been "brainwashed into not being openminded, not even considering a conservative point of view."

“I have received some of that same vitriol simply because I am running for the Republican nomination as a conservative,” Cain said. “So it’s just brainwashing and people not being openminded, pure and simple.”

WATCH:

Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson called Cain's comments "demeaning and insulting" toward African Americans, and former Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele said on Thursday that while Cain may have a point, his use of the word "brainwashed" was likely to further alienate many black voters.

"I think the in context of running for president, there's a way to express a particular opinion with a respect to how people vote without getting everyone riled up," Steele told Chris Matthews on "Hardball." "The point, which I think is a valid one, is lost in what people hear him say right out of the box. When you start the conversation by saying, "well, the audience I'm going after is brainwashed," guess what? That audience -- you're not going after them anymore."

But Cain, who's polling third in a recent Fox News poll behind former Massachussets Gov. Mitt Romney and current Texas Gov. Rick Perry, shrugged off the criticism on Sunday and quipped that his comments were no more insensitive than President Obama's policies.

"His policies have failed the country, his policies have failed black people. That's more insulting to me than using the term brainwashed," he said on "Fox News Sunday." "That's their only weapon, Chris -- to try and silence me because I'm a conservative. And it's simply not gonna work."

Cain's inflammatory remarks are sure to raise eyebrows in light of his campaign communications director, Ellen Carmichael, announcing her resignation on Saturday, but Carmichael insists the timing of her departure is coincidental and "not reflective of any particular current event."

Cain maintains that African American voters are coming around to the idea of a black Republican in the White House, despite the GOP's historically strained relationship with minorities. Fox anchor Chris Wallace pointed out that there are only two black Republicans in Congress -- Allen West (R-Fla.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) -- compared to 42 black Democrats, but Cain said that "one-third of black people in this country, at least, are thinking for themselves," which he thinks bodes well for his chances of defeating President Obama in an election.

"History isn't necessarily a predictor of the future," he said. "[Voters are] not looking at history and what the Republican party's reputation might have been. They're now looking at this guy Herman Cain who is putting real solutions on the table, and this is what I believe the people are starved for."

Related Video:

Comments

[RepublicanDepression]

05:09 PM on 11/02/2011

Are two thirds of female Restaurant Association workers also "brainwashed? "

[RepublicanDepression]

06:14 PM on 10/08/2011

So are all the whites who vote Republican also brainwashed?

[wurdmythe41]

09:41 PM on 10/07/2011

Mr. Cain's comment that college-aged Blacks were the youngest to participate in the Civil Rights Movement, is entirely false. I was born and raised in the South, and was in Jr. high when I, as well as other high schoolers, watched out for klansmen who had threatened to bomb the home of Mrs. Daisy Bates, President of the local NAACP. And, I was friend, playmate, and schoolmate, with all of the Little Rock Nine, who integrated Central High School. Most, if not all, of us participated in what ways we could, without our parents knowledge or consent, but we did participate, and we certainly weren't college age.

[Moxo]

01:21 AM on 10/04/2011

Moxo - LOL - and that shape would be FLAT, no doubt!
posted Oct 3, 2011 at 11:11:51 Reply Link

BuckCarson - As a tea-bagger PhD in Physics, it's actually closer to a prolate spheroid.
---------------

to a normal person with a PhD, this planet of ours is actually an OBLATE spheroid.

(I did not realize that the Tea Party required home-schooling through to PhD! I should've guessed))

[Clara FrostYoung]

12:14 AM on 10/04/2011

Black folks can't win! And now we’ve got Herman Cain, a Black man, planting not so subtle seeds of manipulation by telling us Black folks that two-thirds of us are brainwashed, narrow minded and can’t think for ourselves. WTF…If Blacks don't vote then we are lazy and irresponsible; if Blacks vote Republican then we are Uncle Toms; if Blacks vote Democrat then we are Brainwashed; and if we vote Independent then we are foolish. Why can’t Cain and other people respect the Black vote without questioning our intelligence? I don’t hear Cain accusing the White Tea Partiers of being brainwashed or narrow minded because they want a White Republican candidate. There is nothing narrow minded about wanting a candidate/party that best represents your interest…it is called democracy. As American citizens, Blacks are stakeholders in this country! America is our home, too, and it is about time we claim rightful ownership of this democratic system that is our heritage. Vote!!!

[Sam Curcuro]

03:35 PM on 10/04/2011

You've pretty well covered it and I agree with you. But this does not change the fact that too many people base their vote on other things, other than the issues. Black, White, Male, Female, Democrat, Republican, Independent, Liberal, Conservative, Catholic, Protestant, and let us not forget....A movie star or celebrity. If you think I'm off base, ask a few people who they're voting for (ignore the answer, ("that's my secret") and then ask what their persons agenda is! We've got to get over this black/white thing, but that's a tall mountain to climb!

[Clara FrostYoung]

05:00 PM on 10/04/2011

Exactly! Yet, I still have hope.

[silkphoenix]

07:30 PM on 10/03/2011

What a shame that you have to degrade your own race to get ahead with the Republicans. And you don't think Blacks do have a mind of their own? Who's being brainwashed now?

[Terence Manuel]

09:13 PM on 10/03/2011

He is not degrading his race. he is simply speaking the truth. As a Black man, I live this daily. Most Blacks follow the crowd. We have "groupthink" mentality. We refuse to step outside the "black" box.
We support a candidate JUST because he or she is Black. Wrong. You must evaluate everyone.
President Obama is a classic case. The man had no real credentials. Sure he was a US Senator but he had never ran anything or governed. He ran on "Hope and Change" but took in more $$$$ from Wall Street than any elected President in history. Check the facts for yourself.
He appointed people as advisers who created the mess he incessantly blames on President Bush (Tim Geithner, Larry Summers, and other Goldman Sachs cronies)
If you can't see the trees for the forest, either you are blind or "brainwashed."

[libobstruction]

07:19 PM on 10/03/2011

One can certainly tell when a candidate starts to gain momentum and begins to create the emotion of fear in the opposition, yes? Mr. Cain must have struck a major chord as of late.....

[aynrandfan2012]

06:55 PM on 10/03/2011

WOW.....and Democrats cant even argue back on this one........its either 99% of blacks hate Freedom,Individualism,and the pursuit OF happiness.....or they are lazy,and vote for Welfare

[silkphoenix]

07:30 PM on 10/03/2011

Talk about being a racist!

[aynrandfan2012]

08:46 PM on 10/03/2011

I dont have a racist bone in my body....you see...Im a Objectivist....I believe that ALL men are created equal.....and I mean Muslins,whites,blacks,the Chinese...EVERYONE

[btone31]

09:36 PM on 10/03/2011

I'm black. I love freedom, individualism, and the pursuit of happiness. However, I won't vote Republican.

[aynrandfan2012]

10:27 PM on 10/03/2011

Freedom and Capitalism are inceparable.......Welfare,and Entitlements are violations of Freedom...what say you now

[jffrybrk]

06:34 PM on 10/03/2011

Dear Mr. Herman Cain, thank you for taking the time to prejudge an entire group of people. You could have just as easily have demonstrated your ignorance by saying that 2/3 of Blacks are lazy or that 2/3 of Blacks are criminals. Yet you chose to say brainwashed because their political views differ from what you stand for. Please understand that as the leader of the free world, ("free" being the operative word) your responsibility is to foster and protect fredom of choice, and not to admonish any group or individual for how they chose to vote. This is the second time, in as many months, that you have singled out a group of citizens that make us the great melting pot we call the United States of America. You would be well-served to immediately cease and desist from targeting the remaining groups of citizens, otherwise you may find that the only position you hold would be serving tables at that lousey pizza joint you ran.

[JoeTheProgrammer]

05:12 PM on 10/03/2011

Trying to make something out of nothing.

[BobbyPeru2]

04:54 PM on 10/03/2011

WILL CAIN BE ABEL?

[Oneandoneandone]

07:48 PM on 10/03/2011

Ha. Cute.

[Ms Georgia Peach]

04:49 PM on 10/03/2011

I have never been one to vote strictly democrat or republican. I vote for the issues at hand and how they affect me as an individual. I make every attempt to read what is going on and how a particular candidate can address an issue. I do not agree with Mr. Cain's remarks that blacks are brainwashed. That is stereotyping in every sense of the word. I feel that many blacks do share some of the same views as the republican party but they don't seek out our vote as they have with other races. They talk about social programs and affirmative action as if blacks have been the only ones to benefit from them and were the sole recipients. In actuality, whites and white women have been some of the main benefactors of these programs! I also have a dislike of how they try to convince everyone that hard work will allow everyone to enjoy the comforts of a good life. That is the biggest misconception ever. I know alot of people who work hard but do not earn a decent salary. Everyone is not able nor capable of earning a high income. It is not even logical to think that everyone is going to be rich and successful. Those are my two major issues with the republican party. I am neither brainwashed nor misguided. I am a successful black woman with a family who knows the importance of having the right mix in regards to politics.

[billjmcdaniel]

06:02 PM on 10/03/2011

Thank you, I have to say that I have the exact same views (and I hate that I feel like I have to add the qualifier of being a black man in order to be "believable" on this topic).

I'm not brainwashed (though I hear rumor that by having an IQ of 150, it makes me more susceptible to brainwashing...).

I just remember "white hands" ads, I remember "welfare queen" comments, I remember statistics showing how "crime prone" black people are over white people, I remember reading about "dixiecrats", I know how to research which political group certain racist single letter alliterative groups tend to vote for, I know which political group has to apologize more often than the other for insensitive/racist/bigoted statements, I know which group makes no secrets about how it feels about "reverse racism" and the evils of "affirmative action"(I do hope one day it won't be necessary, but when the most complaints were being made, it was a necessary program), I know who spends more time railing against the public school system which nurtured my IQ of 150 to its current bachelor degree holder status.

And I remember where all of the above came from.

Yep, brainwashed, just not by who he thinks is doing the "brainwashing"

[JaneK13]

04:14 PM on 10/03/2011

Bravo for Herman Cain. We need some straight talk instead of all that politically-correct nonsense.

If Mr. Cain thinks brainwashing takes place, he has every right to say so.

[Seven Teenatheart]

07:45 PM on 10/03/2011

He has a right to say so, no matter how ridiculous he sounds.
But it doesn't make him qualified to run a country. And it doesn't make him right.

And if he were wise he wouldn't be making such ridiculous statements.

But I won't say "bravo". Because he's just a sensationalist and a non-candidate. What's running through my mind is "have we hit the bottom of the barrel with this guy yet"? I sure hope so....

[Moxo]

01:33 AM on 10/04/2011

If HE was brainwashed by the GOP... would he be able to tell us?

[Manny Pac]

03:53 PM on 10/03/2011

I wonder how they got brainwashed?

[Ken in Kent]

03:52 PM on 10/03/2011

Is there any other way to explain blacks overwhelming support from the African American community. No, the Democratic Party has never done anything for blacks. It was the Republican party that ended slavery, it was the Republican party that gave more support to the Civil Rights acts while Democrats led the opposition to both advances.

[ALPHAKITA]

04:20 PM on 10/03/2011

You know things changed.
The Repub party is NO LONGER THE PARTY OF LINCOLN.

[silkphoenix]

07:39 PM on 10/03/2011

You know this is 2011, right?