Herman Cain - Bubba II??

[bhsup]

Herman Cain has been accused of sexual harassment. The accusations are from the 90s when he was head of the National Restaurant Association. Now granted, the accusations certainly don't measure up to Bill Clinton's rather obscene behavior with Paula Jones and others, but if true it looks like something that could totally derail his campaing. He is, after all, running for the GOP nomination, not the Democratic nomination, so an accusation like this actually has the possibility of sinking him.

Interesting, though, that the accusation comes out when he's taken the lead in Iowa. Doesn't really invalidate the allegations, but it's interesting timing.

Herman Cain campaign denies sexual harassment allegations

Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain's campaign has been thrown on the defensive by claims he was accused of sexual harassment in the 1990s.

Politico reported two female employees had complained of sexually suggestive behaviour from Mr Cain when he led a restaurant lobby group.

It said the National Restaurant Association paid the women to leave the group and not speak on the allegations.

Mr Cain's spokesman said the allegations were "unsubstantiated".

...

Mr Cain, who was CEO of Godfather's Pizza before heading the restaurant lobby group, has taken a lead in many opinion polls of Republicans in recent weeks despite never having held public office.

Politico said it had confirmed the identities of two former female employees of the National Restaurant Association who made sexual harassment complaints to colleagues and association officials about Mr Cain, but was not publishing their names out of concerns for their privacy.

The website said the allegations included conversations "filled with innuendo or personal questions of a sexually suggestive nature" at association events.
Mr Cain also allegedly gave "descriptions of physical gestures that were not overtly sexual, but that made women who experienced them or witnessed them uncomfortable".

Politico said its report was based on multiple sources and documentation, including the recollections of close associates of the two women.

When asked by Politico on Sunday about the allegations, Mr Cain said he has "had thousands of people working for me" at different businesses over the years and could not comment "until I see some facts or some concrete evidence".

 

[JerichoHill]

Wait...
I am pretty sure that there are other Republicans who are running who have also done some non-Christian activities, like Newt Gingrich (unless we are going to forget that simultaneous with going after Bubba for Monica, he was boinking someone who wasn't his wife).

I do not think that your comment on "This isn't the Democratic nomination" was needed, it necessarily detracts from the overall point of your post, that Cain has some problems.

 

[Godwynn]

Better Bubba rather than Dubya.

B-jobs instead of no jobs!

 

[Formaldehyde]

He is, after all, running for the GOP nomination, not the Democratic nomination, so an accusation like this actually has the possibility of sinking him.

History has shown just the opposite to be true. Even RM Nixon would have been reelected in South Carolina after it was clear he was just a common criminal who was willing to do literally anything to remain in office. And similar allegations certainly didn't harm Clarence Thomas.

Ever since the 1968 DNC convention in Chicago, the Democratic Party has had far higher ethical and moral standards than their counterparts. This is especially true since that the Dixiecrats became Republicans for the most part.

 

[bhsup]

Wait...
I am pretty sure that there are other Republicans who are running who have also done some non-Christian activities, like Newt Gingrich (unless we are going to forget that simultaneous with going after Bubba for Monica, he was boinking someone who wasn't his wife).

I do not think that your comment on "This isn't the Democratic nomination" was needed, it necessarily detracts from the overall point of your post, that Cain has some problems.

I've made my disdain for Gingrich known in the past. Besides, his massive moral lapses are well known already. This is breaking news.

Regarding the GOP/Democratic nomination, I think it is relevant. The GOP is supposedly the 'moral party' (let's not derail this thread into a discussion about that, though). The people that are going to vote in its primaries and caucuses are going to care more about this than the more liberal people in the Democratic party who tend to be more willing to separate 'personal and professional' conduct.

 

[downtown]

I don't think the harassment is as important as the completely unprofessional manner Cain and his staff are handling the situation. When a reporter asked him if he had ever been accused of sexual harassment, Cain just stared at the guy and asked "have you???"

Amatuer hour.

 

[_random_]

The GOP is supposedly the 'moral party' (let's not derail this thread into a discussion about that, though).

You may have a bit of a point there, but I think something on this level would be detrimental to just about any candidate. If there's any truth to this, I don't see Cain getting much further, especially given his inability to act like a politician.

 

[JollyRoger]

The people that are going to vote in its primaries and caucuses are going to care more about this than the more liberal people in the Democratic party who tend to be more willing to separate 'personal and professional' conduct.

Did you notice that David Vitter was re-elected? Or that John McCain got the party's nomination last time around? Or that Mitt Romney was about the only GOP candidate last time around that had not been caught cheating on a spouse?

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

So maybe it wasn't Glenn Beck after all.

I always get those confused.

 

[asbestos]

anyone else not really that surprised?

 

[Synobun]

I don't think the harassment is as important as the completely unprofessional manner Cain and his staff are handling the situation. When a reporter asked him if he had ever been accused of sexual harassment, Cain just stared at the guy and asked "have you???"

Amatuer hour.

To be honest, we do live in the era where women throw around "sexual harassment" like it's a casual shopping term. It's quite likely that at one point a woman has accused you of sexual harassment, even if came no where close. He may have retorted with that because of how lightly women throw the term around.

 

[Dreadnought]

The women are probably just looking for attention.

Moderator Action: Inappropriate.
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889

 

[JollyRoger]

The women are probably just looking for attention.

The claims were made and settled well before Cain ran for Presidentstarted looking for attention so he could sell some books.

 

[Formaldehyde]

The two women who apparently got monetary settlements from the association long ago were probably asking for it by dressing and acting seductively.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/67194.html#ixzz1cNL4dvLZ

During Herman Cain’s tenure as the head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, at least two female employees complained to colleagues and senior association officials about inappropriate behavior by Cain, ultimately leaving their jobs at the trade group, multiple sources confirm to POLITICO.

The women complained of sexually suggestive behavior by Cain that made them angry and uncomfortable, the sources said, and they signed agreements with the restaurant group that gave them financial payouts to leave the association. The agreements also included language that bars the women from talking about their departures.

In a series of comments over the past 10 days, Cain and his campaign repeatedly declined to respond directly about whether he ever faced allegations of sexual harassment at the restaurant association. They have also declined to address questions about specific reporting confirming that there were financial settlements in two cases in which women leveled complaints.

Cain said he has “had thousands of people working for me” at different businesses over the years and could not comment “until I see some facts or some concrete evidence.” His campaign staff was given the name of one woman who complained last week, and it was repeated to Cain on Sunday. He responded, “I am not going to comment on that.”

And as JerichoHill commented in the duplicate thread about this topic:

He was then asked, “Have you ever been accused, sir, in your life of harassment by a woman?”

He breathed audibly, glared at the reporter and stayed silent for several seconds. After the question was repeated three times, he responded by asking the reporter, “Have you ever been accused of sexual harassment?”

That is no reasonable response.

 

[JollyRoger]

It's pretty mild so far as sex scandals go. No airport restoom, no claims of hiking the Appalachian trail, no diaper fetish, no meth and massage. Cain is going to have to step up his game if he wants to energize the base.

Give us 9 different kinks with 9 different women over 9 hours. That might even get my vote.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

This pales in comparison with "Imagine there's no pizza".

 

[JollyRoger]

Cain shouldn't have reached for a slice that wasn't his.

 

[downtown]

To be honest, we do live in the era where women throw around "sexual harassment" like it's a casual shopping term. It's quite likely that at one point a woman has accused you of sexual harassment, even if came no where close. He may have retorted with that because of how lightly women throw the term around.

We don't really, actual sexual harassment is still pretty underreported (I work in HR). The fact that the women were given substantial buyouts would indicate that the firm thought they might be liable for damages, which they wouldn't do if the accusations were totally frivolous.

Actually getting an HR hearing about sexual harassment requires some evidence.

 

[JollyRoger]

The Cain campaign is claiming that Cain treats men and women alike. So I guess the question is, how many men has Cain sexually harassed?

Anyway, it's possible that these women were just after his dough.

 

[classical_hero]

The fact that the women were given substantial buyouts would indicate that the firm thought they might be liable for damages, which they wouldn't do if the accusations were totally frivolous.

Actually getting an HR hearing about sexual harassment requires some evidence.

That is not always true. Sometimes settlements are reached so that you can put an end to a matter without causing any harm to the accusers or the accused. Most civil trials don't go court, since it gets messy for both parties and no one wins, even if one person wins the trial.