Cain Grasps at Straws

In an effort to draw support, GOP Presidential hopeful Herman Cain has continued his trend of anti-Islamic rhetoric with recent statements.

Echoing earlier comments that he would feel uncomfortable appointing a Muslim to his Cabinet, Cain stated Sunday that Murfreesboro, Tennessee is “not discriminating based upon religion” by attempting to ban mosques in the community. He further stated his position that the city has “a right” to do so. Cain maintains that as both a religion and a code of conduct, Islam is different from “our other traditional religions.” Although he is an associate minister himself, Cain seems to paradoxically not consider Christianity a way of life beyond its religious practices.

With this stance, Cain is doing a disservice to himself by ostracizing the intellectual right and putting on full display his ignorance not only of Islam and Sharia law, but also of the First Amendment and the religious freedom it protects.

Cain has already drawn a slew of criticisms for his vacuous remarks, most notably from the Council on American-Islamic Relations spokesman Ibrahim Hooper, who denounced Cain’s comments as a “sign of desperation” and called on “reasonable people within the Republican Party to come out and strongly repudiate these kinds of un-American unconstitutional views.”

--Adam I. W. Schwartzman

Johnson Announces Presidential Run

It s official. Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson (R) is now in the running for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012. His announcement on Thursday, coming from the steps of the New Hampshire State House, is hardly a surprise, at least for those who have heard of him. The enigmatic libertarian has long been mulling a presidential run he even stopped at Dartmouth back in January but few have given him much thought as a real contender.

As it stands, of course, Johnson is actually the only real Republican candidate. While others like Mitt Romney and Donald Trump are testing the waters, raising funds through exploratory committees, Johnson has simply gone ahead and declared his intent.

And it comes as a breath of fresh air, adding some much-needed credibility to the GOP s lineup. Among the potential candidates, Johnson is perhaps the only certified fiscal conservative. As governor of New Mexico, Johnson ran the state like an accountant (in a good way) and became famous for his veto, which he used to trim the state budget by 10% in his first six months.

He opposed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, supported a balanced budget and school vouchers, and now favors turning Medicaid into a block grant program. For better or worse, however, Johnson is best known for his views on one particular issue: he would like to legalize marijuana (and maybe prostitution). This puts him at odds with most of the Republican Party, and a good chunk of Americans as well. According to recent polls, about 50% of Americans oppose legalization.

Add the fact that he doesn t go to church, and it s unlikely that the GOP will be ready for Johnson within the next year. Like Ron Paul before him, though, Johnson will hopefully bring a lens to sensible fiscal policies and real conservatism in this coming election.

--Thomas L. Hauch