Herman Cain’s meteoric rise through the Tea-publican Party may soon pale by comparison to the speed of his fall from grace. A funny thing has happened along Herman Cain’s march to the White House – his past.
It’s been reported by POLITICO that two women charged that he sexually harassed them during his tenure as the head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s. They each complained to colleagues and senior association officials about sexually suggestive behavior by Cain. They each signed agreements with the restaurant group that gave them financial payouts to leave the association and never again speak of the incidents or the reasons for their departures. Both women received separation packages that were in the five-figure range. So it wasn’t just about hush money; it was hush-hush money. Sources have said that the incidents of Cain’s transgressions were not isolated. In one case, a woman said that Cain made sexual advances at a hotel where an event involving the group was taking place.
Of course, in the midst of his campaign, Cain has refused to address questions about the specific reporting. It’s only a matter of time before Cain pulls a Clarence Thomas. I suspect it will come complete with accusations of high tech lynching, which seems to be the black conservative Tea-publican version of playing The Race Card. It’s amusing how black they can get when it suits them.
Karma can be a bitch. Herman Cain told the Occupy Wall Street protesters that they should blame themselves not Wall Street. Apparently, it’s time for Mr. Cain to take his own advice.
The people handling Cain’s campaign have said that drudging up these old allegations now is part of a smear campaign, launched because his opponents haven’t had any luck attacking his ideas. His people have tried in every way they can to deflect this story, but it won’t go away. This is not a can of worms; it’s a hornet’s nest. It’s not about attacking Cain’s character. It’s about the discovery of an empty character folder in a 10-year old file cabinet. Cain has been married to his wife Gloria for over 43 years, and that alone will provide the media with a lot of ground to cover for the next few months. The question is how many Anita Hills exist in Herman Cain’s life? If they are already dropping from the clouds two at a time, this could get uncomfortable.
Reportedly, Cain warned a campaign staffer early in 2011 of the possibility that claims of sexual harassment could pop up, but even then he lied about it, saying that he fired a woman who later charged him with sexual misconduct or harassment. He said he had won the case and the woman had paid his legal fees. I’m beginning to think he’s just stupid. Hasn’t he heard about The Litigation Paper Trail? Perhaps as CEO of Godfather Pizza he was exposed to too much bad sauce. Already, the people responsible for moving Cain up the corporate ladder are beginning to bail out. Many of them are now doing what they used to do on Mission Impossible – disavowing any knowledge of his actions. Did I say this could get uncomfortable? Scratch that; this could get downright nasty.
Already Cain’s supporters are making comparisons to President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, though it’s an unlikely paring since no one coerced Monica under the desk for a presidential oral exam. Clearly, the Herman Cain incidents (plural) stand alone. Actually it’s early, and we can’t be sure at this point that they are alone. Within the course of one week this man has crumbled from Herman Cain to Herman Munster. And after all the fanfare, he turns out to be just another pathetic loser – a power-hungry womanizer; the old guy at the club.
One thing is certain – the Tea-publicans were so desperate for a win next November that they didn’t even vet Herman Cain. Apparently no one spoke with the senior people at the National Restaurant Association to find out what kind of man they were dealing with. The Tea-publicans went all the way back to Barack Obama’s birth in their efforts to discredit him. And they couldn’t go back 12 years in the life of Herman Cain? And how do guys like Clarence Thomas and Herman Cain make it all the way up the ladder without being discovered for the perverts they are? How many white asses of the Republican power structure must be kissed in the ascension upwards before the black person kissing those asses is exposed as one who cannot be trusted behind your back?
Herman Cain - who reminds us of his early days of poverty, "I was 'po' before I was 'poor'." Well, his estimated net worth is now somewhere between $2.9 million and $6.8 million. But as his personal life is now examined, we’re finding that his net worth is all dollars, and no sense. In other words, he may not be po’ anymo’… but his judgment sure is.