It is standing up to this consistent situation [how women get villified for standing up to powerful men] that is the prime motivator here, from where I sit, and not just a nefarious plot to bring down one man. It’s consistent effort to bring down one liar, because he won’t stop doing it.
And he’ll keep doing it as long as he keeps getting way with it…and he’s been getting away with it for a looong time now. [11-28-11]
You know what makes this even sicker? Look at how he is “going out”…
A defiant and at times angry Cain, 65, made his announcement at what had been scheduled as the festive grand opening of his Atlanta headquarters. Ever the common-sense businessman, Cain told the crowd that his Plan A — becoming president — would have to give way to Plan B, changing Washington from the outside.
“I am not gonna be silenced, and I am not going away,” Cain said. “And therefore as of today, Plan B.”
Cain said he would soon endorse one of his Republican rivals. By suspending his campaign, rather than ending it, he can still raise money to pay off debts.
I’ve been following this one for a while now…as it turn out to have been a pretty nice b-day present for yours truly…
But soon after he caught fire in early debates with his outsider persona and “9-9-9” tax-simplification plan, Cain’s campaign started to unravel this fall. On Oct. 31, Politico reported that at least two women had received confidential financial settlements after accusing Cain of sexual harassment when he ran the National Restaurant Assn. in the late 1990s.
And so it was then that we knew that Cain was, in fact, just a flavor of the month.
Now he retreats to the “liberal media” where he’l find a lucrative deal spouting conservative talking points for the next…12 years or so.
It is hypocritical in the extreme for those members of the media who didn’t take the charges and allegations against Bill Clinton seriously to be taking the allegations against Herman Cain that we now have as seriously as they are. Hypocritical is probably too soft a word, frankly
Is it also hypocritical for folks that slammed Clinton repeatedly for years to now attack Cain’s accuser? Which is to say….why don’t you take this “Clinton got a pass” b.s. to Fox where they actually *thrive* on blatant hypocrisy, and consider it a virtue.
For those under 30 or so, who don’t remember what the Clinton/Lewinsky thing was like…it was 24/7 media coverage for years. It was what *made cable news a viable business*.
If Herman Cain wants to be taken seriously as a public advocate for anything, never mind running for the chief executive and commander in chief of the most powerful and important and blessed country in the world, he needs to give a full press conference dedicated exclusively to this issue and these allegations.
If, however, Cain is pulling a Palin and simply using a completely non-critical right-wing media to build a cult of personality and never intends to actual serve the public in any official capacity…you do exactly what he’s done, and play the victim card, the race card, the sexist card, and pretty much any card you can find.
“Just admit what you did. Admit you were inappropriate to people. And then move forward. America is in a horrible turmoil as we all know. We need a leader who can set an example which exemplifies the standards of a good person and moral character. Mr. Cain, I implore you, make this right. So that you and the country can move forward and focus on the real issues at hand,” Bialek said. She said she was let go from the National Restaurant Association’s Educational Foundation in the summer of 1997 and asked to meet him for coffee a month or so later in Washington, to ask for his assistance with her job search. She said she booked herself a room at a hotel two blocks from the White House and when she checked in, it was upgraded to a suite by Cain. They went to dinner at an Italian restaurant and after dinner Cain made unwanted advances toward Bialek in the car. When she asked what he was doing, she said he responded by rhetorically asking her: “You want a job, right?”
I’m not sure that’s the kind of “job” she had in mind.
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A fourth woman to accuse Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain of sexual harassment planned to detail allegations against him in New York on Monday in what could be a fresh blow to Cain’s 2012 White House bid.
The woman alleges she was sexually harassed by Cain “when she sought his help with an employment issue” when he was head of the National Restaurant Association in the mid-1990s, her lawyer, Gloria Allred, said in a statement.
As Cain was pressed to disclose more about his past, a picture emerged of the former chief executive of Godfather’s Pizza operating in a free-wheeling, free-spending culture during his 1996-99 tenure as chief executive officer of the restaurant association.
Former employees of the association told Bloomberg News that work-related outings frequently featured heavy drinking as lobbyists entertained board members and lawmakers.
Cain was known for lavish spending, they said, racking up cell phone and travel bills that drew accountants’ attention and angered some board members. He won over employees by giving generous raises to many, said three people who worked for or with the group and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Update: The story changes once again…
Politico reported Thursday that one of the women who accused Cain of sexual harassment during his time at the National Restaurant Association received a payout of $45,000 to settle the matter and keep quiet.
Previously, the New York Times reported that a second woman received a severance of $35,000—which for her was a year’s salary.
The Politico report would seem to again put Cain’s credibility at issue. He has said the woman’s complaint is one that he recalls, but has described it as “baseless” and first said she received a negligible “termination” settlement of perhaps two or three months’ salary.
He later shifted his account, saying the amount could have been larger, up to six months.
I don’t know if shunned remembers American Beauty and/or Fight Club, but it usually takes something fairly significant to get a year’s wages as severance.
But Cain found himself confronted with the fallout from the disclosure that at least two female employees got financial payouts from the National Restaurant Association after complaining that Cain, who led the trade group at the time, had engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior. Joel P. Bennett, the lawyer for one of two women, said in media interviews Tuesday that he had asked the trade group to waive an agreement and allow her to talk openly about her allegations and to respond to Cain’s claims that the complaints were “totally baseless and totally false.”
Here’s the problem Cain has now, he’s playing “he said, she got paid not to say.” And he’s claiming that she’s still lying about the whole thing.
This is literally adding insult to injury, and it becomes apparent that the lesson on abuse of power was lost on Cain.
He got away with it the first two times, but doing a victory lap now is just poor form.
Even the most partisan observer would have to allow the women in question to defend their honor. And should call on Cain to allow it.
I’m not sure which is more ridiculous, that he was President of an organization and had no knowledge of these payments, or that he actually thinks people will believe him when he claims that.
Update: it should be noted that Cain has re-clarified his stance, and thinks his government should control women’s reproductive rights, even in cases of forcible sexual harassment ending in pregnancy.
As a side note…is Al Sharpton really *that bad* at reading? Painful to watch. And how did he get a show? No real worries, since I don’t pay for cable (and thus his salary, like *everyone* who has cable), but I was surprised to see that one. Looks like he’s lost some weight too. Good for him.
First up a is a quick video I made the other day. It’s got a couple of those “gotcha” basic, simple questions that illustrate the fundamental issues with the Republican worldview in the 21st century. That’s here…
NEVER, EVER, HIRE SOMEONE FOR A JOB THAT HATES THE JOB.
You wouldn’t hire a dogcatcher that hates dogs, why elect a President that hates government? A window washer afraid of heights? No.
I’m watching this “who can hate government the most contest”…and then I’m thinking…all of these people are running for a government job…and they hate government…this is insane. It does explain most of their positions, though.
RobotPirateNinja: Hermain Cain is going to put 13,000,000 people to work…by not spending a dime. He’ll tell you how right after he’s elected.
RobotPirateNinja: Why do these folks want to keep sending money to the private sector, when private profits have never been higher, and public debt is the same (never higher)?
My god, Romney just said we need to return money to the private sector…THEN TALKED ABOUT THE DEBT. These people don’t even get the basics…or maybe it’s the people they are trying to appeal to that don’t understand.
RobotPirateNinja: oooh, fun, the Ryan Plan….Pawlenty…we’re just screwing over your kid, it’s all right.
RobotPirateNinja: Check that, Pawlenty has his OWN plan…the rush from Ryan begins.
RobotPirateNinja: John King is pathetic…”uh…uh….uh…..uh…….uh…….uh.” Just cut their dang mic.
RobotPirateNinja: Newt points out that the Ryan Plan is toxic….oh…but he’s killing Medicaid. (which largely goes to poor…old people).
RobotPirateNinja: Santorum jumps in with two feet. Ryan Plan all the way. This is why he’s not a serious candidate.
RobotPirateNinja: Herman Cain, the reason we have problems is because they haven’t been solved yet. Yes…Herman…the Ryan Plan *does* throw that grandkid out the chair…ummm…you just railed against your own idea.
Debt Limit question…lady asked it wrong (we’ve already hit it, did a month ago, we are currently smashing piggy banks to pay bills)
Romney…we won’t raise it unless Obama stops being all socialisty….but not leading like his hair would. … Romney goes on to bash the U.S. economy and our debt….never mentions the word Taxes…or how the budget was balanced 10 years ago. I wish a questioner would mention how Bush said his tax cuts in 2001 would wipe out the deficit by 2009. [or how his 2005 Budget would “cut it in half” by 2009].
RobotPirateNinja: Bachmann on debt ceiling – I voted to default…and will again.
RobotPirateNinja: Bachmann: “Pay the interest first, the soldiers and seniors later.”
RobotPirateNinja: Wow…Pawlenty…first amendment says nothing about keeping religion out of Government. Really…wow…
[Pawlenty quote: “Well, the protections between the separation of church and state were designed to protect people of faith from government, not government from people of faith.”
This statement says a great deal about the current state of the Republican party. They really do think imposing religion on government is o.k., it’s just the opposite that is bad (oh, and Muslims are bad).]
RobotPirateNinja: Pawlenty – Founders were all the same religion as me.
RobotPirateNinja: Frothy Mixture – I use faith and reason…when reason backs up my faith, otherwise, faith all the way.
RobotPirateNinja: Frothy Mixture was going for a standing ovation…he got silence.
RobotPirateNinja: Ron Paul – People can’t learn to be moral. Jeez, you can’t make this stuff up.
[Note: I missed Ron Paul’s other stunning revelation about the Constitution of Paultard land…there is no separation of Church and state, and the first amendment was written specifically to protect Christians:
Ron Paul: “But the Constitution addresses this by saying — literally, it says no theocracy. But it doesn’t talk about church and state. The most important thing is the First Amendment. Congress shall write no laws — which means Congress should never prohibit the expression of your Christian faith in a public place.“]
RobotPirateNinja: Herman Cain informs there are two types of Muslims, peaceful and THOSE THAT WANT TO KILL US. He doesn’t like the second one. He will NOT IMPOSE SHARIAH LAW. Jeez…
[Actual exchange:
“Q:Are American-Muslims as a group less committed to the Constitution than, say, Christian or Jews?
CAIN: First, the statement was would I be comfortable with a Muslim in my administration, not that I wouldn’t appoint one. That’s the exact transcript.
And I would not be comfortable because you have peaceful Muslims and then you have militant Muslims, those that are trying to kill us.
And so, when I said I wouldn’t be comfortable, I was thinking about the ones that are trying to kill us, number one.”]
RobotPirateNinja: Romney – Rational one about Muslims…comes from being in a cult, and knowing how it feels to be looked down on for that.
RobotPirateNinja: Woah…Newt goes out on a “limb” and would require loyalty oaths…cause, you know…Muslims lie.
[Actual derp: GINGRICH: “I just want to comment for a second. The Pakistani who emigrated to the U.S. became a citizen, built a car bomb which luckily failed to go off in Times Square was asked by the federal judge, how could he have done that when he signed — when he swore an oath to the United States. And he looked at the judge and said, “You’re my enemy. I lied.”
Now, I just want to go out on a limb here. I’m in favor of saying to people, if you’re not prepared to be loyal to the United States, you will not serve in my administration, period.”
It should be noted that lying on loyalty oaths is totally not cool in a time of war, which is why they work so good.]
RobotPirateNinja: Herman Cain on pizza preference – “Deep Dish”…first thing he’s said tonight that was a clear answer.
RobotPirateNinja: Bachman – I would support an Amendment banning state marriage, but I’m not going to mess with states. She was able to contradict herself in a single question.
[BACHMANN: John, I do support a constitutional amendment on — on marriage between a man and a woman, but I would not be going into the states to overturn their state law.]
Herman Cain – I wouldn’t have let gays die openly for our country, but I wouldn’t change it.
Pawlenty – As CinC I would let me generals tell me what do to.
Paul – We shouldn’t have an army.
Romney – DADT should be kept until we “win” the War on Terror.
Newt – Blah, blah, blah, no answer.
Bachmann – I would go back to DADT, and Newt’s answer.
[Note: Bachmann “would want to confer with our commanders-in-chief and with — also with the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” Note for the non-idiots: Bachmann is actually running to *become* Commander-in-Chief (hint: there’s only one).]
Can we vote her off this show?
RobotPirateNinja: Santorum – I hate gays, and we should go back and punish everyone who came out under the new, fair, policy.
RobotPirateNinja: Look at Santorum’s record….you lost your last election by 18%. You are off the island.
RobotPirateNinja: Bachmann – I’m so pro-life I think woman who are raped and get pregnant should be thankful God blessed them with that LIFE.
RobotPirateNinja: Legal vs. Illegation softball question….here comes the derpfest…
RobotPirateNinja: Santorum – Jesus said to love and care for everyone, except illegal immigrants, who we should kick out of hospitals.
[Santorum: A lot of folks run for president as pro-life and then that issue gets shoved to the back burner. I will tell you that the issue of pro-life, the sanctity and dignity of every human life, not just at birth, not just on the issue of abortion, but with respect to the entire life, which I mentioned welfare reform and — and the dignity of people at the end of life, those issues will be top priority issues for me to make sure that all life is respected and held with dignity.
vs.
SANTORUM: Well, I’m the son of a legal immigrant in this country and — and believe in legal immigration. That is a great wellspring of — of strength for our country.
But we cannot continue to provide — the federal government should not require states to provide government services. [note: like HOSPITALS]
RobotPirateNinja: 5-year old kid walks into a hospital…should the priority be to check his green card…Ron Paul…Yes, he should not get healthcare if he’s not American.
RobotPirateNinja: ”Freedom has SOLVED these problems before!?!” – Ron Paul
[Actual derp:
KING: A 5-year-old child of an illegal immigrant walks into an emergency room. Does the child get care?
PAUL: [Random derp about what Paul calls “freedom”.]
KING: But should they get care? Should they get care? Should taxpayers have to pay for that care?
PAUL: No, they should not be forced to, but we wouldn’t — we shouldn’t be penalizing the Catholic Church, because they’re trying to fulfill a role. And some of the anti-immigrants want to come down hard on the Catholic Church, and that is wrong.
PAUL: (making it absolutely clear that Doctors should first check greencards) “But, no, if you have an understanding and — and you want to believe in freedom, freedom has solved these kind of problems before. You don’t have to say, oh, you’re not going to have care or there won’t be any care and everybody is going to starve to death and — and die on the streets without medical care. That’s the implication of the question. That’s just not true, and you shouldn’t accept it.”
See folks?! Who need medical care when you have FREEDOM from medical care?]
RobotPirateNinja: Birthright Citizenship…should be change the entire nature of this country and what it means to be American?
Cain – Immediately.
Pawlenty – Supports Alabama and Arizona law. No more birthrights for citizens.
RobotPirateNinja: Newt – Blames America’s problems on the hyperbole of partisans. Really, he does this with a straight face.
RobotPirateNinja: Newt – Put DHS people…I guess the BSA…like the TSA (i.e. created “small government Republicans”) on the Border.
RobotPirateNinja: Paul – Right now we don’t own our land, get off my yard, really, get off my yard!
RobotPirateNinja: Romney – Drill, drill, clean coal….clean coal? Has that been invented yet? No…then why did he…oh…
RobotPirateNinja: Sanatorum – 5 more years of ethanol subsidies (Hi Iowa!) but then no more…just enough to get him elected twice…
Question from soldiers dad: Bin Laden is Dead…should we leave Afghanistan…(guessing no one will slam Obama for killing him.)
Romney – Gives effuse praise to…the guy asking the question. Wants the Afghanistanis to fight against the Ta…liban by themselves, I wonder if he knows where the Taliban is from.
[Actual Derp: ROMNEY: Let me — let me continue. That is I think we’ve learned some important lessons in our experience in Afghanistan. I want those troops to come home based upon not politics, not based upon economics, but instead based upon the conditions on the ground determined by the generals.
But I also think we’ve learned that our troops shouldn’t go off and try and fight a war of independence for another nation. Only the Afghanis can win Afghanistan’s independence from the Taliban. Thank you. ]
Paul – Actually says, and probably doesn’t realize it because he’s on a rant…that he would “spend that money” here. (No he wouldn’t, he’s against spending money here, or there or anywhere there might be green eggs and ham)
Bachmann – We should have watched Quadaffi slaughter them. She wouldn’t “lead from behind” by not even being involved. FRANCE! That’s all we need to know. “I deal with the nation’s classified secrets…which I will now casually reveal to you…oh…um…Al Qeada was there, which is why I wouldn’t have not led from behind.”
[Actual Derp: KING: Congresswoman Bachmann, should the president have supported and jointed more U.S. presence, but now a NATO operation? Was that the right thing to do? Is that in the vital national interest of the United States of America?
BACHMANN: No, I don’t believe so it is. That isn’t just my opinion. That was the opinion of our defense secretary, Gates, when he came before the United States Congress. He could not identify a vital national American interest in Libya.
Our policy in Libya is substantially flawed. It’s interesting. President Obama’s own people said that he was leading from behind. The United States doesn’t lead from behind. As commander in chief, I would not lead from behind.
We are the head. We are not the tail. The president was wrong. All we have to know is the president deferred leadership in Libya to France. That’s all we need to know. The president was not leading when it came to Libya. ”
She goes on to imply that Quadaffi is fighting Al Qaeda…I’m not sure at this point if she thinks we should be on *his* side.]
RobotPirateNinja: Newt – 10 years from 9/11 our intelligence is so innaccurate…we got Bin Laden you jackass.
[Actual Derp: “But I think what Congresswoman Bachmann just said ought to really sober everybody about how much trouble we’re in. Ten years after 9/11, our intelligence is so inadequate that we have no idea what percent of the Libyan rebels are, in fact, al Qaeda. Libya was the second largest producer of people who wanted to kill Americans in Iraq.”
Looks like Newt is warming up to Quadaffi as well. Truly, this is bizarro world.]
RobotPirateNinja: Newt – would cut and run as quickly as possible from everywhere. Then he’d gather intelligence.
Cain – Again says we didn’t understand the problem. We don’t know. Grandma says “they are are not simple situations, it’s an absolute mess. And we can’t make a decision until we learn from the commanders in the field whether or not to deploy commanders to the field.”
[Actual derp: KING: Mr. Cain, take 30 seconds, please. People might say he’s a businessman. He has no experience in government. How would you look at your responsibilities, draw that line, vital U.S. national interests as commander in chief?
CAIN: It starts with making sure we understand the problem, which I don’t think we did. We didn’t have the intelligence. Number two, is it in the vital interest of the United States of America? If the answer is no, then we don’t go any further. If it’s not in the vital interest of America, To paraphrase my grandmother, with the situation in Libya and many of these other situations, they’re not simple situations. It’s a mess. It’s just an absolute mess.
And there’s more that we don’t know than we do know, so it will be very difficult to know exactly what we do until, like others have said, we learn from the commanders in the field. [NOTE: Q: When you don’t have commanders in the field, like we didn’t in Libya…what do you do? A: Derp!]]
Santorum – Clinton did that…but anyway…we need a strategy, to, uh, asymmetric terrorism, so we need that base, and attack, anywhere and everywhere. The Soviets might attack at any time.
RobotPirateNinja: Santorum – Everybody in the world hates us, which is why we had to go it alone in Libya.
RobotPirateNinja: Missed the weak field question…kinda been pointing that out all along.
Pawlenty – Laughs, slams Biden, repeatedly…some something that isn’t happening. Palin is qualified to be President. And we’re done there…
Romney – We’d all be better than Obama. Obama doesn’t have a foreign policy…nice sarcastic contratulations on getting Bin Laden…that will be a headline tomorrow.
RobotPirateNinja: Ron Paul – Can you stomach any of these people? No. FEDERAL RESERVE!!
RobotPirateNinja: Frothy Mixture impressed. Bachmann learned more in two hours about the goodness of the American people (she never finished the “than” part of that butt-kissing).
Paul – We can be civil slamming the President for everything he’s done and hasn’t done.
RobotPirateNinja: Hermain Cain – It’s about the children and grandchildren…which is why I want to get rid of Medicare for them. …..
And we’re done here…it’s spin time.
PREDICTION: Romney’s sarcastic praise of Obama for killing Bin Laden will be the lede.
UPDATE: I was wrong…seems lot of other media folks don’t like pointing out obvious logical contradictions and think Bachmann did well. Wild.
Robot Pirate Ninja 