The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Cain Spokesman: ‘Smear Campaign Meant to Discredit a True Patriot’
UPDATE: Former Campaign Aide Says Cain’s Behavior ‘Never Even Bordered on Inappropriate in the Slightest’

Posted on | October 30, 2011 | 140 Comments

You have to read pretty far down into the Politico story before you find that response from Herman Cain spokesman J.D. Gordon, and the article sticks all the exculpatory material at the end:

Ron Magruder, Denise Marie Fugo and Joseph Fassler, the chair, vice chair and immediate past chairman of the National Restaurant Association board of directors at the time of Cain’s departure, said they hadn’t heard about any complaints regarding Cain making unwanted advances.
“I have never heard that. It would be news to me,” said Fugo, who runs a Cleveland, Ohio, catering company, adding such behavior would be totally out of character for the Cain she knew. “He’s very gracious.”
Fassler, who helped bring Cain on board as CEO of the restaurant association, said that any inappropriate behavior was not brought to his attention and that he would be upset to learn it had gone on and he was not made aware of it.
“That’s a shock to me,” Fassler said. “As an officer during all of Herman’s years there as a paid executive… none of that stuff ever surfaced to me. Nobody ever called me, complained about this, nor did I ever hear that from Peter Kilgore, nor did I ever hear that from Herman Cain.”
Fassler — who ran a Phoenix food-service company and finished his term as chairman the month before Cain’s June 1999 departure but remained on the board’s executive committee — described Cain as treating men and women identically and asserted it was “not within his character” to make unwanted advances. “It’s not what I know of him,” Fassler said.
Much like Fassler, almost all board members remember Cain fondly and say he left on good terms.
Cain was “extremely professional” and “fair” to female staffers at the restaurant association, recalled Lee Ellen Hayes, who said she “worked fairly closely with” Cain in the late 1990s, when she was an executive at the National Restaurant Association Education Fund, a Chicago-based offshoot of the group.
Cain’s treatment of women was “the same as his treatment of men. Herman treated everyone great,” said Mary Ann Cricchio, who was elected to the board of the restaurant group in 1998. She said Cain left such a good impression on the organization that when he spoke at a group event in January of this year, as he was considering a presidential bid, “he had unanimous support in the room.”

We know nothing about the accusers and the specifics of the accusations from a dozen years ago are reported rather vaguely by Politico: “episodes that left the women upset and offended” and “physical gestures that were not overtly sexual but that made women who experienced or witnessed them uncomfortable and that they regarded as improper in a professional relationship.”

All in all, it’s a long run for a short slide. Unless and until we have some specifics — including names, dates and places — my instinct is to agree with Gordon that this is “part of a smear campaign.”

Why are Cain’s enemies firing the thermonuclear component of their oppo-research arsenal so early? Generally speaking in such matters, you save your big stuff for later in the campaign.

UPDATE: A commenter reminds us of the Inept Elevator Nerd incident, which prompted Rebecca Watson to lecture her fellow atheists about how it “creeps me out and makes me uncomfortable when men sexualize me in that manner.” The basic problem is that, absent a court proceeding, “harassment” is an accusation impossible to refute. And if you can get tens of thousands of dollars in “go-away” money by making such an accusation, hell, why not?

UPDATE II: A female Republican operative who worked on Herman Cain’s 2004 Georgia Senate campaign scoffs at the accusations against him. “I don’t believe story that Cain behaved inappropriately,” wrote the woman, who uses the Twitter handle @KarolNYC. “He never even bordered on inappropriate in the slightest,” she Tweeted, and added that she “just can’t believe there’s anything to the charges.”

Cain’s supporters are furious and there is widespread suspicion that the Politico story was the result of opposition-research by Cain’s GOP rivals.

UPDATE III: Linked by Andrea Shea King, The Lonely Conservative, Maggie’s Notebook and Fire Andrea Mitchell — thanks!

Many women who know Cain are prepared to vouch for his character.

UPDATE IV: J.D. Gordon’s call-in to Geraldo didn’t go well:

UPDATE V: Thanks to the commenter who pointed out that on Friday, the Arizona state coordinator for the Rick Perry campaign Tweeted this:

This is (a) intriguing, but (b) not actually proof that the Perry campaign was dishing “oppo” on Cain. It so happens that I spoke by phone with Mrs. Bolick last year during a visit to Arizona with my blog buddy Barbara Espinosa. Mrs. Bolick is a nice lady, but we are left to wonder where she he might have heard about this “not pretty” opposition research.

UPDATE VI (Smitty): Linked by Ed Driscoll. Does it count as ‘First Blood’, though?

UPDATE VII (Smitty): More thoughts at ResCon1.

 

Category: Election 2012, Herman Cain

Comments

140 Responses to “Cain Spokesman: ‘Smear Campaign Meant to Discredit a True Patriot’
UPDATE: Former Campaign Aide Says Cain’s Behavior ‘Never Even Bordered on Inappropriate in the Slightest’”

  1. Bob Belvedere
    October 31st, 2011 @ 8:44 am

    That’s why this whole ‘sexual harassment’ thing is insidious.

  2. Bob Belvedere
    October 31st, 2011 @ 8:45 am

    Yeah and they’ll continue to do so until Mom calls them upstairs for dinner.

  3. And here comes the smear machine on Cain
    October 31st, 2011 @ 8:48 am

    […] will go on record making any of these claims, of […]

  4. William Jefferson Cain? « Don Surber
    October 31st, 2011 @ 9:14 am

    […] From Robert Stacy McCain: […]

  5. Religio-Political Talk (RPT) Herman Cain Muck Being Drudged Up-Ann Coulter Responds
    October 31st, 2011 @ 9:21 am

    […] The Other McCain is following this in-depth. The Other McCain is honest in his posting the latest update: Herman Cain’s spokesman J.D. […]

  6. Rebecca Watson
    October 31st, 2011 @ 9:44 am

    I hope you are right, that this is coming from the left that is, I much prefer dirty unsubstantiated attacks coming from the left.  I would hope the GOP field is above that (unfortunately though they often are not). 

  7. Rebecca Watson
    October 31st, 2011 @ 9:45 am

    Maybe one of them could make a pass at me. 

  8. Rebecca Watson
    October 31st, 2011 @ 9:49 am

    I just wish the rumors about Herman Cain (or any man) were true when it came to me. 

  9. Second Verse, Same As The First « Obi's Sister
    October 31st, 2011 @ 9:53 am

    […] Herman Cain smears have started, right on […]

  10. Tamiller_75
    October 31st, 2011 @ 9:54 am

    Politico – left-wing propaganda machine.  Need I say more!

  11. Anonymous
    October 31st, 2011 @ 9:56 am

    Well, politico is an obama supporting attack group, but the piece undoubtably came from the national republican party and willing cohorts in the media.

    The republicans working with the opposition?  Colorado has a democrat governor because the republican party HATES any candidate the PEOPLE chose over their anointed…. 
    I think Herman should go ahead, win ALL the primaries, garner the nomination, then do an expose on the party corruption naming names, places and faces of both parties.
    With the corruption exposed and verifiable, he will win in a LANDSLIDE from both sides and the spineless middle.

  12. Anonymous
    October 31st, 2011 @ 10:19 am

    Politics and logic in the same sentence?

    Isn’t that like a double negative of something?  I know that the two are incompatible.

  13. Soopermexican
    October 31st, 2011 @ 10:44 am

    gah. doesn’t look good if they can’t deny the payoff. Also, did Geraldo say “mate”?! Weirdo.

  14. Politico Runs Hit Piece On Herman Cain Based On Vague Allegations Of Two Anonymous Sources « Nice Deb
    October 31st, 2011 @ 11:18 am

    […] RS McCain updates his post on the Politico Hit piece: UPDATE II: A female Republican operative who worked on Herman Cain’s 2004 Georgia Senate campaign scoffs at the accusations against him. “I don’t believe story that Cain behaved inappropriately,” wrote the woman, who uses the Twitter handle @KarolNYC. “He never even bordered on inappropriate in the slightest,” she Tweeted, and added that she ”just can’t believe there’s anything to the charges.” Time will tell if there is any substance to this story. As Hayward notes: Cain is supposed to make a Fox News appearance at 11:15 this morning, and will also speak at the American Enterprise Institute today.  He should throw every card he has on the table, and relate every scrap of knowledge he personally possesses about whatever took place, subject to any legal obligations he might have to the National Restaurant Association.  If this story has even the tiniest bit of meat on its bones, a misleading report will become the story by the end of the week, and nobody in the press will care about how shoddy Politico’s rollout was. […]

  15. Christy Waters
    October 31st, 2011 @ 11:19 am

    Statement from Mark Block.

    http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/10/31/block_cain_has_never_sexually_harassed_anybody_period_end_of_story.html

  16. Vayer101
    October 31st, 2011 @ 11:22 am

    Thank you!!

  17. A High tech lynching of Herman Cain
    October 31st, 2011 @ 11:25 am

    […] years later and it is the same song and dance —- except for one thing, it is coming from right and not the left, as it is being reported in some quarters. // Share:DiggRedditStumbleUponPrintFacebookEmail […]

  18. Daily Pundit
    October 31st, 2011 @ 11:41 am

    Summon the High-Tech Lynch Mobs Immediately! Tar, Pitchforks, Burning Crosses and Nooses Required!…

    Cain Spokesman: ‘Smear Campaign Meant to Discredit a True Patriot’UPDATE: Former Campaign Aide Says Cain’s Behavior ‘Never Even Bordered on Inappropriate in the Slightest’ : The Other McCain This is (a) intriguing, but (b) not actually proof ……

  19. richard mcenroe
    October 31st, 2011 @ 11:59 am

    Concerned Women for America (A DC-based conservative Christian Group whose convictions include prohibitionism and the belief that gays can be cured) say they have questions for Herman Cain.  

    Interesting.  According to their posted history they never had any questions for Kennedy, Dodd, Packwood, Gingrich, Clinton or Edwards… but Cain they have questions for.

    The involvement of a Beltway operation like CWFA and their lightning response (Sunday night?  Good Christians working on the Sabbath, yikes!) seems to point to Romney more than Perry, FWIW…

  20. Herman Cain: Campaign Law Violation? | Maggie's Notebook
    October 31st, 2011 @ 12:03 pm

    […] Herman Cain and details of the “sexual harrassment” claims, The Other McCain is quoting a woman who worked on Cain’s 2004 Georgia Senate campaign. She doesn’t believe the story and says Cain “never even bordered on inappropriated in […]

  21. Herman Cain At The National Press Club : The Other McCain
    October 31st, 2011 @ 12:12 pm

    […] to the campaign who said that the campaign had known for some time that Politico was pursuing the allegations of sexual harassment that are in circulation. During a conference call of Cain operatives on Sunday, the Politico story […]

  22. Maybe it’s because I’m such a feminist at Haemet
    October 31st, 2011 @ 12:57 pm

    […] if 100% of what these chickies are alleging is true (which they most likely are not), it’s still not a sexual harassment claim: being a weak little darling whose virgin ears […]

  23. Herman Cain Falsely Accused of Sexual Harassment
    October 31st, 2011 @ 12:59 pm

    […] I’m not going to spend a lot of time on this non-story story here at the Trail today. For those who might have missed it, Politico dropped a hit piece on Herman Cain last night. The story had all kinds of holes and left the most important details on page 4. […]

  24. Anonymous
    October 31st, 2011 @ 2:27 pm

    I’d make an exception for the Wicked Witch of the West.

  25. Anonymous
    October 31st, 2011 @ 2:40 pm

    And plenty of cheap bic pens.

  26. AngelaTC
    October 31st, 2011 @ 6:07 pm

    Rove-like?  I think there’s a significant chance that Rove is behind both the release and the “Perry / Romney” whispers.  That sets Gingrich up as the candidate most likely to benefit, doesn’t it? 

  27. ThePaganTemple
    October 31st, 2011 @ 6:35 pm

    I hate to say it, but if it’s a conservative Christian group that would tend to point more toward my candidate, Michelle Bachmann, than anybody else, but it could also point to Perry. I can see conservative Christians voting for Romney if they had to, but I can’t see them working for him, at least not to this extent.

    For what its worth, anybody that promotes prohibitionism is not worth taking seriously, in my honest opinion.

  28. What Is Politico Hiding? « Sago
    October 31st, 2011 @ 7:36 pm

    […] R. Stacy McCain notes: The basic problem is that, absent a court proceeding, “harassment” is an accusation impossible […]

  29. Politico’s High-Tech Lynching of Herman Cain
    October 31st, 2011 @ 11:09 pm

    […] hatchet job than meets the eye. “We know nothing about the accusers,” Stacy writes, and the specifics of the accusations from a dozen years ago are reported rather vaguely by […]

  30. Typical Gossip From J-Mart and the Gang at Politico; Update: Politico Won’t Reveal Source of Gossip; Update II: Mark Levin Comments | Congress Arizona
    November 1st, 2011 @ 5:31 am

    […] debatable, of course, and the points Limbaugh made on his show today were echoed by many others, Stacy McCain and Erick Erickson among them. Another theory about Politico’s hit-piece, about which McCain […]

  31. The Soft Totalitarianism That Is Sexual Harassment « The Camp Of The Saints
    November 1st, 2011 @ 8:40 am

    […] notice when Karol Markowicz, who worked closely with Cain on his 2004 Senate campaign in Georgia, strongly defended him in a series of Twitter messages Sunday evening. "I don’t believe…that Cain behaved […]

  32. All Republican Camps Deny Pushing Cain Allegations + Cain Rakes In Record Amounts of Campaign $$$ « Nice Deb
    November 1st, 2011 @ 3:52 pm

    […] Top Clicks bigjournalism.com/dloesch…theothermccain.com/2011/1…kapiolani.org/women-and-c…humanevents.com/article.p…theothermccain.com/2011/1…minx.cc/?post=275813bloomberg.com/news/2011-1…pajamasmedia.com/zombie/2…therightscoop.com/cain-if…bloomberg.com/news/2011-1… […]

  33. What about “decimated” does Eric Boehlert not understand? at Haemet
    November 2nd, 2011 @ 8:28 am

    […] then directs us to @KarolNYC, who worked on Cain’s 2004 Senate race.  Karol said that Herman Cain never bordered on inappropriate in the slightest; yet, Politico […]

  34. Datechguy's Blog » Blog Archive » What about ‘decimated’ does Eric Boehlert not understand?
    November 2nd, 2011 @ 9:26 am

    […] then directs us to @KarolNYC, who worked on Cain’s 2004 Senate race.  Karol said that Herman Cain never bordered on inappropriate in the slightest; yet, Politico […]

  35. Good-Bye, Vanuatu? Perry-Linked Witness Predicts: If Cain Accuser Speaks, ‘Probably Be the End of His Campaign” : The Other McCain
    November 2nd, 2011 @ 6:30 pm

    […] Release from Confidentiality AgreeementOct. 31: Herman Cain At The National Press ClubOct. 30: Cain Spokesman: ‘Smear Campaign Meant to Discredit a True Patriot’ UPDATE: Former Campaign Aide … Category: Election 2012, Herman Cain, VanuatuComments […]

  36. Anonymous
    November 2nd, 2011 @ 7:36 pm

    It could be Perry’s payback for Herman Cain’s criticism of Perry over the racist rock incident.

  37. Anonymous
    November 2nd, 2011 @ 7:37 pm

    It’s quite logical to blame Perry!

  38. Cain Says Perry Camp Behind Sex Harassment Leak - Page 2
    November 3rd, 2011 @ 11:21 pm

    […] Re: Cain Says Perry Camp Behind Sex Harassment Leak If Perry is not behind this, then explain this tweet. BolickTwitter.JPG Cain Spokesman: ‘Smear Campaign Meant to Discredit a True Patriot’UPDATE: Former Campaig… […]

  39. FMJRA 2.0: Cowboy : The Other McCain
    November 5th, 2011 @ 3:06 pm

    […] (typeof(addthis_share) == "undefined"){ addthis_share = [];}– compiled by Wombat-sochoCain Spokesman: ‘Smear Campaign Meant to Discredit a True Patriot’ UPDATE: Former Campai…Fire Andrea MitchellThe (Perhaps Slightly Less) Lonely ConservativeMaggie’s NotebookRadio […]

  40. It’s Morning in Vanuatu Again : The Other McCain
    November 10th, 2011 @ 1:54 pm

    […] conference in Annapolis, expecting to return it afterwards. But then Politico broke the sexual harassment story on Oct. 30, which made Herman Cain’s Oct. 31 appearance at the National Press Club a major event I […]