Atlanta – Supporting Cain, GOP Base Evokes Thomas Hearings

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    Republican presidential candidate, Herman Cain wipes his forehead before answering questions at the National Press Club in Washington, Monday, Oct., 31, 2011. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)Atlanta – Conservatives rallied around Herman Cain as he battles harassment allegations, likening the attacks on the Republican presidential contender to what they describe as the “high-tech lynching” of another prominent black Republican: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

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    The forceful early reaction to the Cain firestorm — fueled by racially charged rhetoric — suggests the Georgia businessman’s attempt to cast himself as a victim of the media and liberals is, so far, paying dividends among his conservative Republican base, who will hold considerable sway in selecting the party’s nominee. But the accusations against Cain, an untested newcomer on the political scene, may give more moderate GOP voters pause and could cause would-be donors to shy away even as Cain works to capitalize on his rising poll numbers.

    With the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucus less than three months away, the harassment allegations — and Cain’s response to them — have the potential to reshuffle the GOP race.

    So far, the early cry from the right is to support Cain using a race-based defense and familiar targets. Becoming a target of the left and the media could bolster Cain’s support among those who view those groups with disdain.

    “I think the left is totally and completely terrified of a conservative black man coming to power and prominence,” said Debbie Dooley, a leader of Atlanta Tea Party Patriots. “They are trying to do the same thing to him that they did with Clarence Thomas.”

    It was view that echoed loudly across talk radio and the Internet as conservative pundits weighed in.

    “It’s outrageous the way liberals treat a black conservative,” fumed pundit Ann Coulter.

    Radio show host Rush Limbaugh lashed out at the mainstream media for pursuing “the ugliest racial stereotypes they can to attack a black conservative.”

    “This is about blacks and Hispanics getting uppity,” Limbaugh continued. “(Liberals) cannot have a black Republican running for office, can’t have a Hispanic, the Left owns those minorities, those two groups can’t be seen rising on their own.”

    The head of the conservative Media Research Center, Brent Bozell, labeled the story a “high-tech lynching,” evoking Thomas’ divisive Supreme Court confirmation hearings two decades ago, where he was confronted with harassment allegations from a onetime employee, Anita Hill.

    The allegations against Cain came to light Sunday night. Politico reported that at least two women who complained about inappropriate behavior while working for Cain at the National Restaurant Association had signed agreements with the restaurant group that gave them five-figure financial payouts to leave the association and barred them from discussing their departures. Neither woman was identified.

    The report was based on anonymous sources and, in one case, what the publication said was a review of documentation that described the allegations and the resolution. Politico said Cain spokesman J.D. Gordon told their publication that Cain himself had indicated to campaign officials that he was “vaguely familiar” with the charges and that the restaurant association’s general counsel had resolved the matter.

    On Monday, Cain — who completed a round of Washington appearances amid a frenzy of media attention — labeled the charges a witch hunt.

    He said he was aware of the allegations made against him in the 1990s but called them “baseless” and denied he harassed anyone. He said he had no knowledge of whether the association provided any such settlements, and he declined to address specifics of the accusations or the resolution.

    While Cain seemed to benefit from an early burst of support in key quarters, the full impact of the charges is not yet known.

    Women’s rights groups expressed frustration that, 20 years after the Thomas hearings, harassment complaints had again been reduced to a partisan fight.

    Erin Matson, a vice president for the National Organization for Women, said the women in question should be given the benefit of the doubt.

    “It is deeply insulting that this is being called political,” Matson said. “harassment allegations are always about a woman who is simply trying to go to work.”

    Still, for some the desire to oust Obama could trump most anything else.

    Sonia Conte, a 73-year-old retired accountant from Akron, Ohio, said the allegations about Cain don’t change her opinion of him: She is concerned that he has little governing experience and prefers former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

    “But I’d still rather vote for Herman Cain than Barack Obama,” said Conte, a registered Democrat. Obama, she said, mishandled the economy and the end of the Iraq war. “Anybody but Obama.”

    Cain acknowledged the charges could harm his campaign at a critical juncture.

    “Obviously, some people are going to be turned off by this cloud that someone wanted to put over my campaign,” he said. “But a lot of people aren’t going to be turned off. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”


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    16 Comments
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    12 years ago

    I’ll settle for a “low tech” political lynching if that gets him out of the way so we can focus on some intelligent candidates. His lies yesterday just went from bad to worse when within an hour he first denied the whole story, than denied there were any financial settlements, and then went on Fox and described in great detail exactly what he was accused of and noted there was a cash settlement to the woman who brought the allegations. We had enough with Bill Clinton parsing words. Watching this guy on Fox looking straight into the camera saying “I did NOT sexually harrass these women”, was just too familiar.

    shredready
    shredready
    12 years ago

    hey you want to go for the presidency

    you live will be scrutinized

    whether right or wrong that is the way it is going to be

    they will do it to you if you are white or black

    rush is am idiot like he would not jump on such a report if the guy was a liberal

    TheRealJoe123
    TheRealJoe123
    12 years ago

    The fact that this came out now and not closer to the campaign tell’s me that its not such a big deal he’s married to the same women for 43 years providing that he never touched a women inappropriately then all is good saying a wrong comment on a few occasions shouldn’t be the end of the someones political campaign

    Sam23
    Sam23
    12 years ago

    So far the most serious of these so called “sexual harrasment” is telling a woman co worker she’s the same height as his wife. It looks like this story will actually help Cain big time. Watch his poll numbers rise in the next few days. Cain online campaign donations doubled yesterday.

    Buchwalter
    Buchwalter
    12 years ago

    The Koch brothers betted on the wrong horse

    12 years ago

    Btw all the liberal left wing media negative coverage about Perry for the 2 months was also designed to tear him up,after no harassment allegations were found on him,they tried all kind of other stuff.

    SherryTheNoahide
    SherryTheNoahide
    12 years ago

    I enjoyed the 1990’s and the Clinton’s presidency for many different reasons, but his infamous “Monica-Gate” situation did damage to us internationally! Not just because of it’s content (Bill Clinton’s fault), but ALSO the way the whole process was handled & etc. (Newt Gingrich & his cronies’s faults)

    The whole situation was a fiasco & I don’t think even your most conservative voter is willing to put yet ANOTHER man into the White House who could potentially embarrass the nation with his stupid philandering!

    Say what you want about President Obama (or Presidents Bush for that matter too)…

    They at least don’t (or didn’t) put us through the humiliation of having other countries see what a perverted creep even our most powerful Head of State can be! We have enough problems in politics… we do NOT need another perv in the White House who the female staffers can’t feel comfortable around!

    When are the GOP going to wake up? When a Democrat does something like this, it’s a HUGE scandal & the person steps down. But the GOP makes EXCUSES for it’s own!

    GOP officials are notorious for their sexual immorality on a scale that cannot be compared! No one can deny their list is longer!

    SherryTheNoahide
    SherryTheNoahide
    12 years ago

    Where do I begin?!

    John Ensign, Mark “Appalacian Trail” Sanford, Larry “bathroom stall” Craig, Thomas “I’m just FRIENDS w\teenage pages” Foley & on & on!

    I never said Democrats don’t get into trouble over such matters! I ALSO said that Bill Clinton’s “Monica-Gate” situation was a huge embarrassment!

    But if you want to compare lists… it really doesn’t even come close! (lol)

    The GOP establishment is KNOWN for being openly hostile & hypocritical when it comes to things like gay marriage & “family values”!

    LOTS of them are on their 2nd or 3rd wives….or have had gay affairs of their own! You’d be surprised how many!

    *shaking my head*

    See, this is what I’m talking about! (lol)

    I CAN admit that Bill Clinton, etc. were an embarrassment!

    But when will any of YOU admit it’s time to stop voting for the GOP BECAUSE OF “family values” issues…. when you KNOW most of them are total liars?!

    When will you stop voting for these hypocrites JUST BECAUSE they say they’re against gay-marriage, etc! What phonies they are!

    Telling you one thing… while carrying on a secret affairs with people of the same sex themselves! *hmph*

    Watch the documentary “Outrage” & then comment.

    Buchwalter
    Buchwalter
    12 years ago

    In the gas chambers of Birkenau, Treblinka and Majdanek religious affiliations and ethnic origina ceased to exist the Ungarische, the Poilishe and Yekkes including those who ate treife and those who observed kashrus all inhaled Zyklon B ,prussic acid. Here I gave you a list of brethrens who certainly made an unpleasant high profile. Fuld head of Lehmann brothers, CEO of AIG, Madoff, and finally Corzine, of course a democrat. Why does this matter because you and unfortunately I too will be painted with the brush of the above-mentioned and Cain regardless of his lack of qualifications will be excluded from any allegations.