Herman Cain, was hospitalized with COVID-1 less than two weeks after joyfully going maskless at Trump’s Tulsa virus party.
Now:
Former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain has died after a battle with COVID-19, according to a post on his Twitter account and official website. He was 74.
“Herman Cain – our boss, our friend, like a father to so many of us – has passed away,” the website post stated. [links in the original]
Condolences to his family and friends.
The rest of us may draw what inferences we will.
Image: Guercino, Et in Arcadia ego, 1618
Baud
Two Herman Cain threads. Not one John Lewis thread.
Tom Levenson
@Baud: I didn’t feel able to add anything to the John Lewis story.
But you’re right, and I will post one in the next little while.
Elizabelle
@Tom Levenson: Thank you.
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
Let me offer my most hearfelt condolen….
Ah, fuck it.
???
Major Major Major Major
Elizabelle
@Tom Levenson: You don’t have to add. Just put up a link and the NY Times essay.
It is peak Balloon Juice to have one thread on Trump, 2 threads on Herman Cain, and nothing on John Lewis on the day of his funeral. Celebration of a brave life, well lived.
CaseyL
Wasn’t Cain the only POC in the Cabinet? Figures that he’d be the only one to die of the virus, so far.
Jharp
Removed by author.
cintibud
I am surprised that I feel bad about that
Dorothy A. Winsor
@CaseyL: You might be thinking about Ben Carson.
rikyrah
He was a walking underlying condition.
Ms. Rona doesn’t play.
Frankensteinbeck
I will not celebrate anyone’s death, and Herman Cain was not important enough for me to be relieved he can no longer hurt the world. I don’t care enough about him to mourn him, either. I’m going to settle on “I hope this convinces someone, somewhere, to take coronavirus seriously.”
CaseyL
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Oh, gosh. You’re right! My bad.
Major Major Major Major
@CaseyL: I uh. Have made that mistake a few times myself. And feel terrible each time.
At any rate, the cabinet has Carson and Chao.
Calouste
@Major Major Major Major:
I’ll sneer at Herman Cain and show no grace because the motherfucker exposed other people to the virus while committing his drawn out suicide-in-the-name-of-the-shitgibbon.
Gravenstone
Removed for dunderheaded posting.
mad citizen
Herman Cain used the Pat Buchanan M.O. of having some amount of respectability and intelligence bestowed upon you for having run for President, even if you were really just a stupid horse’s ass.
O. Felix Culpa
Memento mori. And consider wearing a mask.
L85NJGT
He was the Godfather’s Pizza CEO, and ran that 9-9-9 campaign in 2012.
JCJ
To quote Malaria Trump: I really don’t care, do U?
Barbara
@Frankensteinbeck: A good take on it, I think.
geg6
Tots and pears to the Cain family. Which is more than they would ever do for me.
Spanky
I’m saving my tears for the tens of thousands that Madame ‘Rona has yet to take. Most of them more innocent victims than Herman Cain.
Kay
Sometimes I think about what competent people in power might have done to address the pandemic on all fronts, what that would look like. A real national effort. I still think people are mostly generous and like to feel useful so we really could have put them all to it- ventilation, so …engineers, HVAC people, the whole set of practical measures. We have so much talent in the US. We just didn’t tap or direct any of it. You think about all the love and energy that went into making the masks at the beginning of this. People were so willing to help, to be directed to DO something and we just let all that meander directionless until malicious people pointed it down negative avenues. Such a waste.
jonas
@CaseyL: You’re thinking of HUD secretary Ben Carson, who as far as I know is still being his old drowsy self somewhere. Cain enjoyed a brief moment in the spotlight as a GOP presidential candidate in 2012.
Chetan Murthy
Immanuel Kant tells us that we should choose the maxims we follow so that we could will them to be universal law. I’m good with “if you’re a fucking fascist and disregard century-old public health procedures during a global pandemic, then yeah, people *should* piss on your fucking grave” being made universal law. B/c I’m not a fucking fascist and I follow basic public health rules.
rk
All I can say is that he payed a terrible price for his stupidity. He was in the hospital for over a month and must have suffered terribly. His family probably was not with him at the end. And all for the love of an utter imbecile orange buffoon.
lumpkin
Publicly dying of coronavirus is the one positive contribution to humanity that Herman Cain has made in his life. Now it’s Louis Gomhert’s turn.
Elizabelle
LOL re WaPost headline up:
Herman Cain, a former GOP presidential hopeful, dies of virus, according to his website
The GOP hopeful? No. They are the most sour and pessimistic types out there. They are professional stealers of hope. Talk about whitewashing. “Candidate” has less letters, too.
Hoppie
@Major Major Major Major: Personally, I would hope to be mocked and sneered at for being so stupid. There is no bad publicity for some people.
Major Major Major Major
@Calouste: @Chetan Murthy: We all have different mores, and that’s okay. I personally celebrate terrifying and painful deaths very rarely.
Felanius Kootea
I know you’re not supposed to speak ill of the dead, but he was a 74 year old cancer survivor who chose to sign a liability waiver and go maskless at an indoor rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the middle of a pandemic spread by airborne droplets. I feel for his loved ones and the grief they must be going through now and pray that they heal.
Shalimar
Reminder that whatever aide or company manages Cain’s twitter account posted an anti-mask message after he was hospitalized, before the news was made public.
Just Chuck
The guy was vocally, actively anti-mask. FUCK HIM. He can get in line after the 153,000+ he had a part in murdering.
taumaturgo
Nine, Nine, Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, and gone.
PPCLI
I’m not myself inclined to celebrate the death of another human being.
That is consistent with noting that that Trump acknowledged that his Tulsa rally could lead to people catching Covid-19, but that it was OK because it was just “a very small percentage”:
Rand Careaga
Have I mentioned recently how disappointed I was to learn that the Jacksonville Götterdämmerung has been called off?
Other MJS
Another Cult-45 victim.
different-church-lady
@Major Major Major Major:
Okay, I will: Fuck that idiot.
bemused
It was reported that Gohmert basically lives and sleeps in his office. Does that mean he will quarantine in his office?
Rep Pramila Jayapal was on Lawrence O’Donnell show last night. They were talking about Nadler repeatedly telling republicans to put on their masks during Barr hearing. Jayapal said in a morning hearing she asked Rep Debbie Lesko to put on her mask and Lesko told Jayapal to shut up.
Worst people in the world, dumb and mean.
E.
I don’t have prayers to send his way, not being of that ilk, but I do have some thoughts. Perhaps, if he could speak from the underworld, he would now even agree with them. But probably not, and they are not particularly gracious.,
Enhanced Voting Techniques
Trump running an administration or a bad horror movie?
Another Scott
@Kay: It would take decades to fix HVAC issues in US buildings. Just as one cannot quickly use the US Army Corps of Engineers to convert motels or bowling alleys into safe COVID wards, one can’t retrofit 50-100 year old office buildings and homes with filtered HVAC systems with 2-5 times the existing airflow.
There are no short-cuts.
The way to quickly beat the ‘rona is masks, distancing, and staying home when possible. Yes, architects need to learn the lessons from COVID-19 and consider what that means for healthy buildings, and HVAC techs and companies need to think about efficient retrofits, but that’s a decades-long process.
My $0.02.
Cheers,
Scott.
Hoppie
@Just Chuck: I lived in Italy in the middle seventies when for months the first item on the evening news was “Generalissimo Franco is still alive”. (Sat night live did not make that up) The Italians had had enough experience with Fascism that Spain was morbidly fascinating to them. I firmly believe that the Spanish medical establishment kept Franco sufferingly clinging to life as long as possible to torture him for his evil deeds.
Slappy Kincaid
Something like this was inevitable. I’m surprised there haven’t been more high-profile deaths like this.
James E Powell
@Major Major Major Major:
Grace & solemnity would be appropriate for an innocent victim. This guy said & did things that promoted inaction and inappropriate reaction to a pandemic. People got sick, some of them died. This guy is evil and I am glad he is dead.
The only good that could come of it is if a few Republicans woke the fuck up and changed their ways with respect to this pandemic.
James E Powell
@Slappy Kincaid:
My impression is that the Republicans promoting reckless behavior do not engage in it themselves and do not allow their children to do so.
jonas
@bemused: I think Pelosi has now made masks mandatory in the House chambers and committee rooms. IOW, the sergeant-at-arms will remove you if you pull any “buht ma preshus rights” bs.
Calouste
@Major Major Major Major: I don’t celebrate it. I think he got what he deserved. I look at it in the same way as a drunk driver crashing their car at 100 mph while not wearing a seatbelt, as in that I’m glad he didn’t take out anyone else. Except with COVID we can’t even be sure of that.
I’m sure not going to show any grace to these Trumpoid Marys.
WereBear
We tried to warn them all. I’m sorry they didn’t listen.
brendancalling
@Calouste: same. How many people did Herman spread it to? How many dipshits who think covid-19 is a hoax did he encourage, and how many people have gotten sick as a result?
My entire life has been upended thanks to people like that asshole. I haven’t seen my kid in person in nearly 6 months, and probably won’t til next year—and that’s if things go well. He’s a dual citizen in Canada, and their border/quarantine restrictions—even for families—make visits a practical impossibility. His mom, stepdad, and I have made so many sacrifices to make our long distance family function, and we have largely succeeded.
And now we have THIS avoidable bullshit, which is due entirely to Trump and his cult, including garbage like the late Herman Cain, who belongs in one of those anonymous mass graves. In addition, I hope Screwy Louie is shitting his pants right now. I hope he’s shitting his pants.
Fuck him. Sorry not sorry. Don’t @ me either—my family got hurt by these fuckers and I will NEVER EVER forgive them.
Butthurt Jordan Trombone (fka XTPD)
The nicest thing one can say about Herman Cain is that he was a total waste: twitter.com/byjoelanderson/status/1288847550556979201?s=21
dmbeaster
@Tom Levenson: The John Lewis post was very good. Emmett Till was my George Floyd, and his end of life visit to Black Lives Matter Plaza made my day.
bluefoot
@Kay:
I”m with you on this. Everyone wants to help (well, most people). We need to overhaul HVAC systems, overhaul space in schools and other necessary public buildings. Also factories, meat packing plants, food supply chain (hell, supply chain in general). We could train people to ramp up testing, or production of test kits, start building facilities for the future (I hope!) ongoing need to vaccine supplies (glass vials, packaging, sterilization equipment, cold chain infrastructure). Also child care, non-urgent medical care, elder care, etc etc. We could pay and train people for all this. It’s freaking nuts, there is *so much freaking money* in this country, mostly in the control or pockets of very few, so we don’t/can’t use it to get us out of this damned hole. And for any future pandemics. This need won’t go away even if we had a vaccine tomorrow.
About Herman Cain: it’s a horrible way to die. To slowly have your organs shut down and suffocate to death over days or weeks. Alone, since your family can’t see you, nobody can touch you. He was an odious and destructive person, but he was still a human being and I don’t wish that death on anyone.
LuciaMia
Hmmm,wonder if Trump will pay his respects/go to HIS funeral?
WV Blondie
I wonder how long it will be before Hair Twitler refudiates (deliberate use) Cain for having the temerity to contradict his claims that Covid-19 is no worse than the flu …
LuciaMia
You jest. They will find any way to convince themselves, “That cant happen to me!”
Suzanne
I don’t like to speak I’ll of anyone until they’re in the ground. And I don’t hate the guy. I just hope others see that The Rona Is Real and behave accordingly.
Uncle Cosmo
@jonas: Made mask-wearing mandatory – but nothing in the Speaker’s directive requires that the masks be worn properly to prevent the spread of COVID-19. (Don’t have a link handy, but it can’t be hard to find. Go read it, we’ll wait.)
What’s the over/under on how many Thuglican Congresscritters will show up on the House floor in a mask that barely covers their chins, just to spite her?
germy
Boris Rasputin (the evil twin)
@Major Major Major Major: I’m with Mark Twain on this.
“I did not attend his funeral, but I wrote a very nice letter saying I approved of it.”
And
“I’ve never wished anyone dead, but I have had read some very satisfying obituaries.”
Paraphrased, but they work for me.
Kattails
Herman Cain had some power, and he used that actively, deliberately to promote a very foolish response to a deadly pandemic. This, even though the consequences of his being wrong could be sickness and death for perhaps thousands of people (I mean, what’s the point of using your power if it doesn’t have broad influence?) He paid a hell of a price for being wrong. I hope no innocent people add to that karmic burden, and that some blessings can come from the whole thing. Blessings on his spirit, as much as I can muster. His family has the choice now to work just as actively to mitigate the damage. IF they can’t manage that, then they’re out of my reckoning.
@bemused:
That is just disgusting. I can’t fathom how bloody fucking dense these people are.
Melville
I will always remain fond of Herman Cain for this:
youtube.com/watch?v=pvBmht9caas
trollhattan
@Major Major Major Major:
Yes, “you” will. You puts on the lotion or you gets the hose.
Poe Larity
We should all live by his example and give him all the grace and solemnity he gave his former “Kenyan” President.
trollhattan
@Kattails:
Can Nancy SMASH sanction house members who do not follow the rules? Have them thrown from the chambers?
danielx
germy
Role in the defeat of 1993 Clinton health care plan
In 1994, as president-elect of the National Restaurant Association, Herman Cain challenged President Bill Clinton on the costs of the employer mandate contained within the Health Security Act and criticized the effect on small businesses. Bob Cohn of Newsweek described Cain as one of the primary opponents of the plan:
Because Kemp was impressed with Cain’s performance, he chartered a plane to Nebraska to meet Cain after the debate. As a result, Cain was appointed to the Kemp Commission in 1995.
Joshua Green of The Atlantic called Cain’s exchange with President Clinton his “auspicious debut on the national political stage.”
(wikipedia)
trollhattan
Herman Caie is my name and I drove on the Trumpville train…
et cetera
Ken
@Uncle Cosmo: @trollhattan: “Sergeant-at-Arms, you will use the staple gun to show Mr. Gaetz the proper way to wear a mask.”
Patricia Kayden
@Major Major Major Major: I wouldn’t ignore science and gleefully tweet about not socially distancing and wearing a mask at a hate rally. But that’s just me. I’ll save my sympathy for the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have died of COVID-19 through no fault of their own.
Major Major Major Major
@Another Scott: you can also just open the windows and use fans, climate permitting.
The Moar You Know
@Major Major Major Major: If I were a virus denier who went without a mask to a Hitler rally just to prove that I was on the winning team, I’d expect exactly this and no more:
FUCK THAT GUY
9-9-9 MOTHERFUCKER
The Pale Scot
To quote the awesome B. Davis, I was told to never say ill of the dead, so lets just say s/he’s dead
Can’t believe I’m the first Tom
Major Major Major Major
Cacti
Zero interest in taking any sort of high road.
Herman Cain encouraged people to behave in a way that spread disease and death. The country is a safer place with him gone.
Calouste
@Major Major Major Major: Putting yourself at greater risk of catching a deadly disease, and then taking no precautions to make sure you don’t spread it to others, is a moral failing.
LeftCoastYankee
I wonder how long before Trump starts blaming the Cains and Gohmerts, etc. for making him look bad….
Yeah, someone dying is no cause for celebration. But I’m not sad for him either, given he loudly and publicly chose the straight line between being stupid and being dead. The people around him who cared for him I feel empathy for.
He was no John Lewis. There’s a man to mourn losing, and celebrate his life.
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
As a 74 year old man, and a 14 year survivor of Stage 4 colon cancer that had metastasized to his liver, Herman Cain was taking his life in his hands to go to a rally in Tulsa, much less with no mask and sitting directly next to, walking around with , hundreds of people. His luck didn’t just run out he shot it in the chest… my much beloved father- in-law did not survive colon cancer, but I would like to think he would not have thrown away a second chance with both hands…
HalfAssedHomesteader
Condolences to his family and friends. Perhaps this will spark some sobriety and humility in Gomer.
Slappy Kincaid
@James E Powell: Given the reports about how Louis Gohmert and other congressional Republicans have been treating staff–insisting on no masks, making them come to the office–I don’t think it is true that they abide by public health measures for themselves while downplaying them for others. Fellow travelers, many of them.
Sean Bray
@CaseyL: You are thinking of Ben Carson.
Sasha
May his memory be a warning.
Morzer
“like a father to so many of us”
I guess that’s one way to call him a mother-fucker.
The Lodger
@Uncle Cosmo:What’s the over/under on how many Thuglican Congresscritters even have chins?
Gigi
@Major Major Major Major:
“That’s sad, but no moral failing.”
Encouraging people to ignore science and put themselves and everyone they come into contact with at great risk is absolutely, undeniably a moral failing. To say otherwise is not high-minded, it’s repulsive.
ballerat
@Slappy Kincaid:
Fuck Herman Cain. He collaborated in a negligently homicidal response to this pandemic, and bears responsibility for the sickening and killing of many people.
Very little is now capable of penetrating the hostile anti-mask mindset of their followers, thanks in no small part to the words and actions of GOP death-cult thought leaders like Herman Cain.
Perhaps if there are more high profile deaths of Trump anti-science propaganda-catapulting fools like Herman Cain, their followers might take this pandemic seriously, and more of the innocent might be spared.