(ThyBlackMan.com) Who does the establishment fear more, Ron Paul or Herman Cain? The experts keep telling us neither can win. Are they right in their assumptions? And what exactly is the role of the “experts” in the electoral process? Do they explain political realities or do they shape them?
Political consultants are hired by campaigns to determine public opinion. They conduct polls to find out what the public thinks about the issues and their candidate. Using this info they package the candidate to perform better in later polling. Thus, political consultants determine public opinion in order to determine the public’s opinion. Knowledge is power. Once you know what the 
public thinks, you know how to make the public think the way you want it to.
And so the question. Do polls reflect the actual preferences of the public or the preferences of the public as shaped by political consultants?
What are polls? Who makes them, and what do they tell us? Polls are conducted by the candidates, the networks, the newspapers, and various special interest groups. Each has a point of view, an agenda, an axe to grind. None are totally objective. All are slanted to some degree. If there is only one poll that matters, the one on Election Day, why then do we have the others?
People like to identify with a winner. It is human nature. So if you can get the public to think that your candidate is on top, even if they are not, that will boost their chances of actuallly winning. Polls attempt to become “self-fulfilling” prophecies, that is, predictions that become true simply because the prediction has been made. Look at how this dynamic works today.
Ron Paul, despite the fact that he generally appears third in the polls, is regularly dismissed out of hand by the experts, that is, people who write for newspapers, appear on news programs or who are political consultants. Herman Cain has consistently been rated by those in the know as “not having much of a chance.” They still say this even though he handily won the Florida straw poll beating all the others by a very wide margin, and despite the fact that the presumed front runner, Texas Governor Rick Perry, completely self-destructed in the last debate.
The treatment of Ron Paul and Herman Cain is similar to the treatment that Jesse Jackson received in 1984 and 1988. No matter how many primaries and caucuses he won, the experts, and even the newscasters, would always solemnly intone the mantra, “Of course we know Jesse Jackson cannot win.” Thereby implanting that idea in the minds of the electorate.
So who is going to win the nomination? I do not know. No one does. But here are some observations. The most active members of the Republican Party belong to the element known as the Tea Party. The Tea Party has consistently been called racist. Recently, Morgan Freeman made that charge. Herman Cain sharply countered him, and a few days later won the Florida straw poll. Whether as a direct response to charges of racism or not, the Tea Party support of Herman Cain does to some extent rebut the charges of bias. One can only wonder if this pattern will continue; charges of racism followed by increasing support for Cain. And will the ignoring and downgrading of Ron Paul’s standing effectively suppress his rise in the polls? Time will tell.
When all is said and done, could we see a Ron Paul – Herman Cain ticket, with either at the top and the other in the VP spot? Yes, that is possible, no matter what the “experts” would have us think. Imagine that, Herman Cain vs. Barack Obama, Brother vs. Brother, a story as old as Cain and Abel. In the end, though, one thing’s sure. No one matter how much money is spent, by how many people to hire how many experts, we the people are ready, willing and able to think for ourselves. After all, is this not supposed to be a democracy?
Staff Writer; Arthur Lewin
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