The attacks on Herman Cain

Herman Cain has had a tough two weeks. So, will he remain the "flavor of the day"? Or of the month? Or even into January, when the first Republican presidential primaries and caucuses will be held?

That is, can the successful Georgia businessman's popularity surge among likely GOP voters be sustained, in light of accusations by anonymous women, and some not anonymous, that he sexually harassed them -- charges he strongly denies -- during his tenure as the National Restaurant Association's chief executive officer?

Of course, Cain should be held to public accountability just like any other viable candidate for the presidency. His statements and policy positions naturally deserve media and public scrutiny. I disagree with him that most black people are "brainwashed" into voting for Democrats and he has to be careful that he doesn't work so hard to be unorthodox that he is accused of being somewhat reality-showish. After all, at the end of the day, Americans want our president to be a responsible adult.

The former Godfather Pizza CEO and radio talk show host must completely get away from his old radio habits, such as "joking" about building an electrified border fence that would kill anyone attempting to cross. Cain has formulated serious policy positions, ranging from illegal immigration, to taxes, jobs and budget policies. He needs to stick to conveying those serious issues to voters.

That said, however, a great majority of Cain's critics go after him, not because he is black necessarily, but because he is a politically conservative thinker, who happens to be black. He sincerely and passionately opposes higher taxes, thinks we should defend ourselves in time of war and prepare for war during peacetime and supports the traditional definition of marriage as between a man and woman. He doesn't believe in more government control over our lives. In particular, he -- along with all the other Republican presidential candidates -- opposes the expensive ObamaCare law that mandates insurance, hikes taxes (like the crippling tax on the manufacturers of medical devices), cuts Medicare spending and rations health care services for senior citizens.

In retrospect, cheap shots against black conservatives in the mainstream media have been on the upswing for, say, 20 years. Just ask U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. At this time in 1991 he was subjected to a withering and vicious assault against his reputation and opinions by many Democrat politicians, their media allies and attack groups. Thomas called it "a high-tech lynching." Unfortunately, the propaganda campaign and name-calling against black conservatives keeps the black vote marginalized because Republicans generally ignore them while Democrats like President Barack Obama say "stop whining and march" -- even if black voters aren't told where they are marching to.

The bottom line: The media and Democrat Party establishment think Herman Cain shouldn't be taken seriously because he isn't a "progressive thinker." His attackers of course, are also at the same time ripping reasonable conservative policies and solutions to the massive problems brought on by Washington's ruinous tax-and-spend philosophy.

If we could take our Republican and Democrat caps off just for a moment and really be honest with ourselves and ask the question: If Herman Cain was a black liberal Democrat would the Democrat establishment or the press allow him to be called a buffoon, a clown or say he is not a man of serious intellect? I even find it disheartening that the other Republican presidential candidates, with the exception of Newt Gingrich, haven't denounced this name calling.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Rev. Al Sharpton, Tavis Smiley and other black Democrats and I have had our differences on how to fix poverty, whether or not to raise taxes or how to fix education in America. They take a more liberal view and I take a more conservative approach. In spite of the fact I disagree with their ideology, however, I have never questioned their intellect. I happen to believe they are very bright men, even if they disagree with me.

However, if you are black and you don't comply with liberal thoughts on marriage, life, taxes or health care, then you are fair game for the punishment, however vicious.

Radio personality Larry Elder places this in proper perspective by underscoring that the mainstream media, with rare exceptions, don't strive anymore for "diversity" when it comes to objectively reporting all sides of the political spectrum.

Elder notes "the media do indeed put front-runners -- all of whom willingly enter the political fray -- under an intense microscope. And properly so. But not all microscopes are created equal."

Indeed. Just ask Herman Cain.

J.C. Watts (JCWatts01@jcwatts.com) is chairman of J.C. Watts Companies, a business consulting group. He is former chairman of the Republican Conference of the U.S. House, where he served as an Oklahoma representative from 1995 to 2002.