POLITICO Arena: Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said Sunday the racially charged name of Texas Gov. Rick Perry‘s one-time hunting camp is “very insensitive.” A Washington Post story includes various eyewitness accounts of a rock at the Texas property on which the offensive word was painted. The campaign disputes the story, telling POLITICO it contains “incorrect, inconsistent” claims.
But Cain added on “Fox News Sunday”: “That isn’t a more vile, negative word than the N-word and for him to leave it there as long as he did before, I hear, that they finally painted over it, is just plain insensitive to a lot of black people in this country.”

Photo credit - NY Post


How badly does this hurt Perry’s bid for the GOP nomination? Is Cain the most likely beneficiary or another Republican candidate?
BENJAMIN: Frankly, I don’t think GOP primary voters give a damn. Racially offensive place names dot the American landscape, even in the liberal Northeast. Recently, the NYS DEC catalogued racially offensive place names on survey maps. The Wall Street Journal reported that the names were scrubbed from official maps and documents.
Whitewash only covers what was once visible. We cannot whitewash history or what resides in the souls of men (and women). I’ll give Governor Perry and his family the benefit of their statements and actions. The Perrys are not responsible for the thoughts and actions of others.
It’ll be another matter, however, if Governor Perry is shown to use racially offensive or racially disparaging language. For now, the Texas hunting camp’s name is a short-lived news story.
Do you think Gov. Perry will be hurt by his involvement with a property called Niggerhead Camp? Sound off in the comments section below!
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