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“If you don’t have a job and you’re not rich, blame yourself!“

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain adds to his growing list of gaffes.

By James Maxwell

 

Herman Cain, surprise front-runner in the race to become the Republican candidate in next year’s presidential election, has said he believes the Occupy Wall Street protests were “planned and orchestrated to distract from the failed policies of the Obama administration”.

Cain made the comments — which he admitted he couldn’t “back-up” with “facts” — in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, broadcast yesterday. He went on to say that individuals, rather than Wall Street or the major banks, were to blame for poverty and unemployment in the United States: “if you don’t have a job and you’re not rich, blame yourself.”

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In response to the interviewer’s suggestion that the financial services industry was partly responsible for the 2008 economic crash, Cain said:

But we’re not in 2008, we’re in 2011. Yes they had a big part to do with it, and obviously you could go back and say ‘what did the banks do to do this’, but these demonstrations, I honestly don’t understand what they are looking for. To me they come across more as anti-capitalism.

This is the latest in a series of gaffes by Cain, the former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza. In a discussion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Fox News earlier in the year, he appeared not to understand the issue of the Palestinian right of return — a crucial sticking point in negotiations between the two sides. He has also said he would not be “comfortable” having a Muslim in his cabinet.

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Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
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