Everything Southern Humboldt and more
Typically when allegations of sexual harassment come out years after the fact, the title question amounts to a mantra intended to impeach the accuser forced to explain her prior silence. Well, Herman Cain, being the gentleman that he is, has already begun to provide the answer.
After all, what woman wouldn’t relish the Anita Hill experience?
Update: Cain just upped the ante – injudiciously if he’s lying.
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42 comments
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November 8, 2011 at 7:14 pm
Bob Packwood
He used to be quirky, but intriguing. Now he’s just getting creepier by the day.
November 8, 2011 at 7:49 pm
Steak n Eggs
Ha,ha…classic.
I have followed the news on this all day. Herman was dodging bullets like a MLB shortstop. I’m not saying he did/didn’t do it, its just that he is really trying to hang in there. The repub race is actually pretty crazy this cycle.
November 8, 2011 at 8:47 pm
printagainstthemachine
If he didn’t do anything, they wouldn’t have paid the women off. Three women? Of course he did it just exactly as they say he did. If he was going to deny it then he would have fought it back then. He didn’t because each of them had an airtight case. That’s why they paid them off. I listened to one of the women today, and she wasn’t lying. Anyone could tell she was telling the truth. Listen to him and you can feel the dishonesty. Typical power-monger. They’re everywhere in our corrupted country.
November 8, 2011 at 9:11 pm
tra
Voters just weighed in on the right-wing agenda in a number of states in today’s elections:
Architect Of Arizona Immigration Law Voted Out In Recall Election
Tues. 8:46 PM — AZ State Senate President Russell Pearce, the chief author of Arizona’s strict immigration law was defeated in a recall election …
AP: Mississippi Rejects ‘Personhood’ Ballot Measure
Tues. 7:36 PM — The AP is reporting that Mississippi voters have rejected a ballot measure that would have defined life as beginning at fertilizat …
AP: Maine Voters Say Yes To Same Day Registration
Tues. 6:44 PM — Voters in Maine have approved a ballot measure on allowing same day voter registration. The state had previously moved to require …
Ohio Voters Overwhelmingly Reject SB-5 Anti-Union Law
Tues. 6:24 PM — In a stinging rebuke to Republican Governor John Kasich, Ohio voters have overwhelmingly rejected SB-5, the anti-collective bargaining…
November 8, 2011 at 9:12 pm
tra
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/
November 8, 2011 at 9:39 pm
Joel Mielke
Anita Hill was treated with shocking disrespect at the time, and the drooling pervert, Clarence Thomas, was elevated to the Supreme Court (we can thank Joe Biden for that).
November 8, 2011 at 10:10 pm
Plain Jane
Considering the filthy gutter that women who accuse powerful men are dragged through, it’s amazing that any come forward at all. Now that Kraushaar has gone public and refuted Cain’s ridiculous description of her complaint against him as him commenting on her height, he groped her like he did Bialek, his race is over except for the book sales and auditioning for Fox and EIB.
November 8, 2011 at 10:58 pm
Mitch
“…his race is over except for the book sales and auditioning for Fox and EIB.”
But PJ, that IS his race. I think he’s definitely got his book and show.
November 9, 2011 at 2:19 am
Terri
ANTE
November 9, 2011 at 10:29 am
ED Denson
I think the accusers have got to do better than what has surfaced so far. One woman says he asked her to set up a dinner date for him with another woman. And??? Another one says he made a crude move on her and stopped when she told him to. No points for suavity certainly, and not the kind of thing you’d like the president to have done, but not sexual harassment either. I think the paid-off women have to come forward if anything real is to happen – they presumably have stories with a bit more to them that might actually justify all the media noise. I’m not saying he didn’t harass someone, I’m saying that so far no one has made detailed allegations that show it.
November 9, 2011 at 10:40 am
Mitch
Are you trying to joke, ED? It went beyond sexual harassment. If the woman’s story is true, it was a clear case of sexual assault.
November 9, 2011 at 10:49 am
Eric Kirk
Ed – I think putting a hand under her dress without her permission qualifies as harassment, not to mention sexual assault and battery – but he did stop as you say.
I don’t know that the accusers have to do with anything. At least one of them settled out of court for just under $50,000. That’s about 10 times the amount of any “nuisance settlement.”
But I have no idea. Maybe it’s just coincidence that 3 women made formal complaints and two more have come forward, or maybe it’s a Perry/DNC conspiracy. Maybe they were all misunderstandings, or some of them. But to me the story is his response as well as that of the right wing noise machine which has dug up all the dirt they could find on the one woman (I guess she filed for bankruptcy or something) and some are arguing that there is no such thing as sexual harassment outside of an actual assault (which is what the one woman is alleging).
If I was falsely accused, or actually, even if I was a slimeball pol who was guilty of everything alleged, I wouldn’t attack the women. I wouldn’t spend much time on it. I would hold one press conference saying that I wouldn’t comment on the legal cases and that I settled on advice of attorneys, and as for the woman who is out, I would simply deny the allegations and then say that I don’t understand where the woman is coming from and then make some reference to Kafka and the whole thing being surreal. Then I would call it a distraction, and change the subject to my economic plan or whatever. Then I wouldn’t respond further.
It wouldn’t fix everything, but it might allow me to weather the storm. And if I came up with actual evidence of a grand conspiracy, I would bring it out then, or leak it to a carefully selected media source.
His whole response, and the attacks on the women – that’s a story in itself.
November 9, 2011 at 11:44 am
tra
Looks like Cain may be getting ready to dump his campaign manager, Mark Block:
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/192645-calls-grow-for-cain-to-ax-block-
November 9, 2011 at 11:46 am
tra
Ed said the women who got the settlements would need to come forward. Well, it looks like that may happen soon:
Sharon Bialek, the first woman to publicly accuse presidential contender Herman Cain of sexual harassment during his time as president of the National Restaurant Association, said Wednesday that while she had not yet had contact with any of the other accusers, she would be open to holding a joint press conference to detail their alleged experiences.
The idea was first floated by the lawyer for Karen Kraushaar, a spokeswoman for the Treasury Department who came forward Tuesday after her identity as one of the women who received a settlement from the trade group was revealed.
http://thehill.com/video/in-the-news/192647-cain-accuser-open-to-joint-press-conference-with-other-women
November 9, 2011 at 12:02 pm
Plain Jane
Of COURSE! It was Cain’s campaign manager who groped all those women.
November 9, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Fred Mangels
And if it was Bill Clinton being accused, I’m sure you’d all downplay it, or ignore it completely. Nothing hated more by the progressive Left than a black Republican.
November 9, 2011 at 1:07 pm
Anne on a Mouse
What steams me nearly as much as the groping and physical assault is his response to her asking him to stop: well, you want a job don’t you?. I’ve seen way too much of that, and very close to home.
November 9, 2011 at 1:59 pm
tra
According to a recent poll, about 10% of women say that at least once in their careers, they’ve been told that a job, a promotion or a raise was contingent on whether they would accept the sexual advances of the person making the offer/threat.
Just to be clear, the fact that this kind of repulsive behavior is apparently still quite prevalent obviously does not prove that Cain is guilty of this behavior… nor does the prevalence excuse his behvior if he IS guilty of it.
November 9, 2011 at 2:07 pm
tra
Fred, Clinton’s “extracurricular” activities with an intern were appparently consensual, unlike what Cain is accused of. This distinction may not matter to you, but it does matter to many people.
November 9, 2011 at 2:59 pm
Eric Kirk
Fred – are five women lying? Is it a grand conspiracy? I don’t know.
In any case, I slammed Clinton at the time, not for the affair which was his business, but for lying about it. That was a big deal.
And Cain is accused of assault and battery. Clinton harassed Paula Jones, but he did not reach up her dress against her will.
But more to the point, which pertains to the point of my thread – Clinton did not publicly slam Paula Jones by portraying her as a money-grubbing slut. I had pretty much ignored the issue until Cain pulled that stunt.
Lastly Fred, nobody else raised race. Why is it important to you?
November 9, 2011 at 3:02 pm
Eric Kirk
tra – I think one of them is under a gag order.
November 9, 2011 at 3:05 pm
Fred Mangels
I don’t know.
I don’t know, either, but there’s no doubt in my mind the tone here would be decidedly different if it was a Democrat was being accused of of sexual stuff, forced or not.
And, yes, it wouldn’t surprise me if some or all of the women are lying about, or embellishing, their recollections.
And I’m one who didn’t care about Zippergate and didn’t blame Clinton for lying about it.
November 9, 2011 at 3:08 pm
Fred Mangels
Oh, and to be fair, I do think that had Clinton been a Republican, the Republicans would have tried to downplay the whole thing and maybe started their own Moveon.org type web site.
You notice the partisan attacks and mentality a lot more when you watch it from the outsider’s (3rd party) perspective.
November 9, 2011 at 3:09 pm
Eric Kirk
Maybe Fred. But I don’t think the left rallies around its gropers the way the right does. Nor does it mirror the right wing noise machine’s really repulsive attacks on the women. If you want to know why women sit on these allegations, watch Fox News for a half hour tonight. Or tomorrow night.
November 9, 2011 at 3:52 pm
tra
Now Cain’s in real trouble:
http://www.americanmustacheinstitute.org/blog/2011/11/ami-rescinds-cain-endorsement-amidst-allegations/
November 9, 2011 at 4:00 pm
Plain Jane
We didn’t nominate Gary Hart who was infinitely better qualified than Cain and was only caught cheating on his wife, not sexually harassing subordinates. If Clinton’s sexcapades had been widely known, he wouldn’t have gotten the nomination either.
November 9, 2011 at 4:04 pm
Eric Kirk
And we pretty much hung Anthony Weiner out to dry, as well as others. But Larry Craig?
November 9, 2011 at 4:15 pm
ED Denson
I agree, Eric, that whoever got $50,000, especially back then, probably had some real issues to raise, and if that woman comes forward it could very well sink Cain and show his denials to be false. But having a lawyer come forward, and claim that if we only knew the facts we’d be upset, doesn’t count for much, much as I hate to say it,
As for what is harassment, I think it takes more than one incident, to estabilsh. Sexual assault, on the other hand, can be a one-time event. Harassment is more an issue of communications than touchings, altho “friendly” embraces could be part of it too. I think of sexual harassment as constant hitting on someone one, or making sexual statements aimed at them, or commenting on their body parts sexually – stuff like that. Also making statements about their sexual choices, of course. But just grabbing someone once, while wrong, and possibly serious, is not harassment. This is a technical point, not a excuse for boorish behavior – and Cain’s “Want and job” comment could change boorishness into something worse.
So lets see if the women with the serious charges against Cain step forth. A recitation of “facts” by someone else will fall short, in my opinion and for those who wish to support Cain, give them room to do it. And remember that Swartzenegger actually admitted similar behavior with no ill consequences at all while he was gov.
I’ll bet that within a week or so, things will resolve. Too bad that Cain has this background. Having the two major parties both run black candidates would have been quite astounding.
November 9, 2011 at 4:18 pm
Anonymous
You pukes are just trying to keep a black man down! A conservative black man.
November 9, 2011 at 5:49 pm
Fred Mangels
So lets see if the women with the serious charges against Cain step forth.
I don’t know if Cain is still sticking with it, but he suggested all those involved take a polygraph (lie detector) test. I happen to think polygraphs are bs, but I’m game for that.
The main problem I have with polygraphs being that I feel habitual liars and those who might not remember things the way they actually happen (most of us) might be able to pass one, or fail one if they feel they might have done something wrong.
November 9, 2011 at 5:51 pm
Eric Kirk
There are all sorts of problems with polygraph tests.
Listening to the debate, Cain just provided the quote of the night: “For every woman who says I harassed here there are thousands who say I didn’t.”
I mean, how do you parody that?!
November 9, 2011 at 5:52 pm
Plain Jane
It makes more sense for him to take one, Fred, but if he is the sociopath he appears to be, he could possibly pass it.
November 9, 2011 at 6:05 pm
Plain Jane
What brilliant logic. “I didn’t murder that person because there are billions of people I didn’t murder.”
November 9, 2011 at 6:12 pm
Sally
Eric said: “There are all sorts of problems with polygraph tests.
Listening to the debate, Cain just provided the quote of the night: “For every woman who says I harassed here there are thousands who say I didn’t.”
I mean, how do you parody that?!”
Trust me, Jon Stewart will find a way. And / or Stephen Colbert!
November 9, 2011 at 8:31 pm
Sally
PS: I still believe Anita Hill.
November 9, 2011 at 9:50 pm
Unk John
We had elections here in Washington State like most of the country last night. I’m somewhat bemused, if not depressed by the reactions of some people regarding the outcomes.
One candidate who lost in one of the King County council elections simply congratulated his opponent for running a great campaign. He said nothing about the issues, at least that’s all they showed on the news broadcast. When a candidate for the Seattle City council was trounced by the incumbent, the commentator simply mentioned that the guy was up against someone who was able to outspend him to a huge degree. Again, not much was said about issues facing the city.
Of course, I understand “political reality”, but it is nonetheless depressing. We don’t seem capable of cutting to the chase.
The same is true here of the situation with Cain. These allegations are obviously a serious matter. His response is disgusting. Yet, we have people here and on other blogs who, in classic “tu quoque” defense imply that “The Other Side” does the same thing. That has nothing to do with anything.
My favorite response to this unfunny situation was something I saw in a forum on TPM, where someone jokingly imagined that Cain made advances on a German girl who repelled him by shouting, “Nein, nein, nein!”
Maybe he took it to heart.
November 10, 2011 at 6:51 am
moviedad
He’s the poster-boy for American executives….
November 10, 2011 at 8:46 am
Mitch
“He said nothing about the issues, at least that’s all they showed on the news broadcast.”
Ahhh. Such different things. If a speech falls on a room, but the media cuts it from its reporting, did it make any sound? In modern day America, the answer doesn’t require any courses in philosophy.
November 10, 2011 at 12:05 pm
tra
Two of Cain’s accusers, including one of those who got a settlement from the National Restauraunt Association, are going to hold a joint press conference.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/herman-cains-accusers-agree-to-joint-news-conference/2011/11/09/gIQAEGnm6M_story.html
November 10, 2011 at 12:56 pm
Eric Kirk
Rush on synchronizing the accusers’ menstrual periods. Yuck, yuck.
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/11/limbaugh-jokingly-asks-if-cain-accusers-want-to-synchronize-their-menstrual-periods.php?ref=fpb
Meanwhile, Cain should probably fire his new campaign manager. They’ve started a website dedicated to proving his innocence. I think that George Lakoff’s theories on political rhetoric are a bit overblown, but it’s hard to see what good can come of this effort. The most recent post as of this posting involves some private investigator using his software to analyze the speeches of both Cain and Bialek, and is convinced that Cain is telling the truth and that Bialek is lying. Case closed I guess.
Again, you can’t parody this. It’s like when SNL finally gave up on Palin and just had Tina Fey recite her actual words. You have to leave it alone.
http://www.caintruth.com/
November 11, 2011 at 8:36 am
Sally
And now, Cain is cracking jokes about Anita Hill.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/11/herman-cain-anita-hill_n_1087767.html
November 11, 2011 at 8:44 am
Plain Jane
That such a pig could even be considered presidential material by a fringe third party is sickening. That he is a serious contender for the GOP is insanity. Despite the embarrassment of having such a clown on the ballot, it should insure not only an Obama victory in 2012, but drive all sane people to vote for Democrats in every other election.
I’m getting the feeling that today’s GOP holds the very idea of a federal govt in such disdain that they are deliberately insulting us with their offerings of such ridiculous caricatures of candidates.