Tuesday, March 1, 2011

On Koch Supported Herman Cain

I've noticed that Herman Cain, who is already an announced candidate for president, seems to have a close association with the Koch brothers. He attended the recent Koch conference in Rancho Mirage and he has been a speaker at the Koch-funded rightonline.

I have seen clips of him speak, but never anything of substance. He sure can deliver a speech though (see below). So I was excited to see that he was going to appear on Eliot Spitzer's CNN show last night. True to form he gave one hell of a performance. Lot's of talk about cutting government down to size (all generalities though), and he threw out the fact that he was a former exec at Pillsbury and CEO of Godfather's Pizza for 10 years. But then Spitzer zeroed in. He asked Cain about the war in Iraq. Cain said he supported it because, get this, Saddam was using weapons of mass destruction against his own people. Cain also said that he was in favor of food stamps (Though the program needs to cut out fraud). It also sounds like Cain is in favor of some kind of "fair tax", whatever that is.

And, oh yeah, he's a former chairman (1995-96) and deputy chairman (1992-94) of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

What the hell are the Koch brothers thinking?

When you compare Ron Paul to Herman Cain, the choice is obvious. Congressman Paul says, let's start by bringing U.S. troops home from overseas to help reduce the budget deficit and shift priorities to Americans. He is like that on every issue. He is always about details and specifics He doesn't talk in generalities such as  "Well I'm a great manager", like Cain does. Everybody says that, from Mitt Romney to Rudy Giuliani. Who needs more of that?

Congressman Paul is also more principled. You would never see Congressman Paul, as a libertarian, ever say that the food stamp program is a good program. And it appears he has a different view about the Fed, than does the former Fed insider Cain.

So what are the supposed libertarian Koch brothers up to here? It sure isn't about backing the most libertarian candidate. That's clearly Ron Paul. It really strikes me that Cain is likely more controllable than Congressman Paul. You know in advance where Ron Paul is going to stand on issues. He is not about to change anything for a couple of billionaire brothers playing Kochopoly with the world.

Cain on the other hand doesn't strike me as the type that is as hardline on his non-government views. I mean he has already said that he is for food stamps. He has come up with a brand new reason why attacking Iraq was a great idea. And somehow he ends up as head of the KC Fed.

If I'm a billionaire playing Kochopoly, I like this guy. He seems to have that ability to fine tune his thinking to the greater good of the billionaire game. I'm thinking, we may have another Paul Volcker or Colin Powell type. Volcker and Powell, I'm convinced, if called upon by their controls, could justify doing pretty much anything.

Further, Cain's not stuck on liberty the way Ron Paul is, he understands the necessary nuances that so often only billionaire oligarchs see.

In other words, the Kochs must be thinking, "Hey, he's a long shot, but we can make him our long shot. Let's lay down a few bucks on this guy."



UPDATE: Notice this no fact video is put out by the Koch organization, People for the American Way.

22 comments:

  1. Cain flip flopped on auditing the Fed.

    http://www.unitedliberty.org/articles/7691-herman-cain-flip-flops-on-federal-reserve-audit

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  2. Fairtax is not just goofy nonsense, it's ABSURD goofy nonsense.

    If you are fooled by this nonsense -- see

    http://fairtaxfineprint.blogspot.com/

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  3. Cain is not in favor of some kind of "fair tax." He supports the FairTax, bill HR25. See fairtax.org for details.

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  4. Good analysis. They all talk a good game, don't they?

    But when it comes to government programs, then it's back to whatever buys voters.

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  5. I don't think it has anything with him being a long shot. I think he is being funded solely to take away votes from Ron Paul and will be branded as a "Tea Party" Republican choice for President.

    Like all Tea Party loudmouths, he will talk loudly about cutting spending, but tow the line on just about everything else.

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  6. Ron Paul is the best so far! Good game coming this way to a theatre near you!

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  7. PFAW is not affiliated with Koch Industries

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  8. Cain is not without content. He has the content the Kochs want, obviously. This is exactly what we got with Reagan, great showmanship and rhetoric with just that disconnect.

    Words did NOT = Action.

    Reagan took California further toward centralized government than any other governor in our history. He did the same when elected president.

    You buy the delivery system and play your own tune.

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  9. "UPDATE: Notice this no fact video is put out by the Koch organization, People for the American Way."

    PFAW is by all appearances a left-wing anti-Koch group (that actually keeps tabs on Koch-supported groups like Cato). Either you know something I don't or you've confused them with someone else.

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  10. Yeah it looks like that video is put out in order to show how "intolerant" the conservatives are. At the very end it says "Right Wing Watch," which if you look at, is clearly not in bed with the Republican party.

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  11. Alright!

    Wenzel is back to doing what he does best, presenting the facts before the conspiracy. I thought we had lost him over the whole Wisconsin teacher deal.

    Thank you Robert. Great points, great perspective, and no conspiracy. ALL politicians are compelled by corporatist elites. However, while Ron Paul's ideas are somewhat in line with the Koch's purported positions, Paul will still not be easily compelled. Clearly the preference for the Koch's is some pushover who seems to be cut from the Paul cloth but will be easily compelled to do their bidding. Putting a significant share of the world's oil supply in the middle of a battle field while simultaneously keeping people at home dependent on entitlement programs both are plays to demand side economics that will drive up the profit margins of Koch oil. Leave it to a savvy economist like you to tease this out of the ankle deep flood of political doublespeak.

    Everyone should also credit Wenzel for never commenting on his own posts, even when criticized. So many bloggers do this and it is such a douche move. If you can't write an article that stands on its own merit, then you are clearly an amateur. To be sure, the great Bob Wenzel is a consummate professional.

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  12. Talk about repeating himself! I find him to be in the same league as Barry - hot air and vocal emotionalism. Oh, yeah, and Hitler. So, of course he will be popular - with meatheads.

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  13. I still believe that "Cain is Able" and has free market capitalism at heart , unlike the "comunity organizer" we now have..

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  14. I guess with Mitt Romney standing as a candidate for first Citizen of the Empire with all of the attraction to voters of week-old standing dishwater, and Sarah Palin not doing much better--her pretty legs and bosoms notwithstanding--and with Giuliani and Gingrich being as nauseating as ever, as candidates and as people, SOMEBODY has to be hauled up in the Stupid Party!

    Ron Paul is standing out more and more likely as the Blue Whale in the swimming pool, as the 800 pound gorilla in the middle of the living room, as the elephant in the broom closet! He is impossible to ignore, and can no longer be suppressed or overlooked! 2012 may be his year!

    The more that he--and his movement--is denied by the powers--that--be, whether by neocons calling us "terrorists" or by equally clueless "progressives" calling us "racists", the more obvious it becomes that we have the answers, and THEY, both "left" and "right" are incapable of even asking the correct questions!

    PEACE AND FREEDOM!!
    David K. Meller

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  15. Audit the fed isn't the only flip flop.... Look into his record on school choice... And ask him about affirmative action... Thanks for the heads up on food stamps - the guy is "flexible" in his positions....

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  16. After watching the South Carolina debate, it is evident Fox News is using the same game plan as the 2008 debates. Mike Wallace continues his attack on Ron Paul's vision to cut government, almost verbatum from 2008. Frank Luntz continues to present his ridiculous corporate media poll proclaiming the debate winner as anyone but Ron Paul. It seems these corporate shills are incapable of changing their strategy, from what worked in the past. Most Americans, who pay attention, remember Dr. Paul's economic warnings from the 2008 campaign and they understand continuing down the same path will result in our destruction.
    Ron Paul or not at all!

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  17. I Could not believe that the Frank Luntz could find anyone was impressed by Cain. He said nothing! Every answer was a dodge. Basically, his answer to every question is "I'd find me a really, really smart group of people and ask them what to do." And boobus just ate it up. By the way, managing a business is nothing ay all like running a bureaucracy, as von Mises pointed out.

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  18. Agree that Cain is not the One!

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  19. nader paul kucinich gravel mckinneyMay 6, 2011 at 6:42 PM

    Herman Cain the Federal Reserve insider
    19 dancing Oswalds = 5 dancing Mossad

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  20. Herman Cain has been a fixture on Atlanta talk radio for many years. I heard him tell his life story a couple of months ago on the last broadcast of his radio show. It is a compelling story of humble beginnings, hard work, and personal and professional success.

    He entered the national stage in the 1990s when he skewered Hillarycare at a nationally televised town hall meeting in a Q & A session with Bill Clinton.

    Mr. Cain is a nice guy. I met him a couple of years ago. He is a loving and devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He is smart. He is a person of faith. He has a no nonsense, take charge persona. The fact that he is successful in business and has never held political office of part of what makes him an attractive populist candidate.

    He is also a supporter of the Fed and the Fair Tax.

    He is a very recent drinker of the Fair Tax cool aid. Up until a week ago his tax reform plan consisted of eliminating taxes on repatriated profits, making current tax rates permanent, reducing the corporate income tax to 25 percent, eliminating taxes on capital gains, and a one year suspension of payroll taxes. Last night he stood up in front of America, and lo and behold, he became a card carrying Fair Taxer.

    A vote for Mr. Cain is a vote for the status quo. It is a vote for the Fed. It is a vote for continued backbreaking public debt. It is a vote for the Fair Tax.

    And don't believe anything you read or hear about the Fair Tax. Read the bill itself. It has been changed over the years since it began being introduced in the House in the 1990s.

    Compared to the Fair Tax, the recently passed healthcare act is a walk in springtime meadow. It confers vast intrusive powers to the Secretary of the Treasury. You can read the bill here. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:H.R.25:

    The endgame for the Fair Tax is to have both income and consumption taxes at the same time. It is a key part of the most confiscatory tax plan our nation has ever seen, and will be the final nail in the coffin of what little is left of personal and economic liberty in our nation.

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  21. One thing missing from this post: any sign whatsoever that the Kochs are backing Cain.

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  22. Here's your sign 6 months later!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWxBPaGF9GQ

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