Sharon Bialek accuses Herman Cain of groping her

[August]

Originally Posted by vienna

I also believe in equal digging. But, as you pointed out, there appears to be a pattern emerging. Some troubling aspects have also arisen. One of the women involved in this story actually had to get a waiver on a confidentaility agreement signed as part of her settlement with the Restaurant Association to be able to make a statement about her case. She then made a statement through her attorney affirming the incident, but made the statement anonymously and has stated she has no intention of pursuing the matter either in the media or in the courts. This is a highly unusual occurance and lends credence to her allegations as she appears to merely be affirming the facts as she experienced. She has no known connection to any "enemies" of Cain and it doesn't help Cain that she is also a registered Republican.

Lend credence? If she is anonymous then how do we know if any of her claims are true? How could anyone know who she is connected with, or how she votes? She is a phantom as far as i'm concerned.

Then there is the matter of Cain's handling of the reports. First he denied it ever happened at all. Then he said, well, something happened but no claims were filed. Then he said, yes there were claims but no settlements. Then there was money paid, but it was severance, not a settlement. Then It wasn't really severance, it was a settlement, but for a small amount. Then the amounts were actually substantial. Then he said.... and it goes on and on... Cain's memory seems to switch on and off faster than he can think up his next excuse. The situation has gotten to the point where he is verging into Clinton-esque "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is." parsing of his version of the (no pun intended) affair.

The question that really needs to be asked by anyone thinking of voting for Cain, or any other candidate, for that matter: Is he/she really an outsider and a "breath of fresh air", or is he/she just another political wanna-be carrying the poltical stench of duplicity, opportunism, and business as usual? As the Who song says, "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss"...

I agree. This is the only credible bad mark against Cain so far imo. I think it shows a serious lack of character not to have come clean right away, not to mention extraordinarily bad judgement. Now even if he is getting bad advice, which seems obvious, I expect my president to be better than that.

[vienna]

Lend credence? If she is anonymous then how do we know if any of her claims are true? How could anyone know who she is connected with, or how she votes? She is a phantom as far as i'm concerned.

Well, lets see...the Restaurant Association doesn't dispute the settlement and her lawyer doesn't seem to be the Gloria Allred type so there seems to be some substance to the phantom...but, wait, There's More!!!...


This Just In! The Phantom Speaks!:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_1...bialek-claims/

Bialek is the fourth woman to claim that Cain has acted inappropriately with her -- but the first to do so publicly. The identity of another of Cain's accusers, 55-year-old federal employee and registered Republican Karen Kraushaar, was revealed by iPad newspaper The Daily on Tuesday. A number of media outlets, including CBS News, had previously withheld Kraushaar's name at her request.

Kraushaar's attorney said last week that Kraushaar "stands by the complaint that she made" of "inappropriate behaviors and unwanted advances" by Cain, though he did not get into specifics.

After her name was revealed Tuesday, Kraushaar told CBS News that she is interested in holding a press conference with all of women who claim Cain sexually harassed them.

This sound familiar to anyone?:

"The Democrat machine in America has brought forth a troubled woman to make false accusations," said Cain, who did not offer support for the claim that "the Democrat machine" was behind Bialek's decision to go public. Bialek says she is a Republican and member of the Tea Party.

[Bolding is mine...]

Hmm...
Doesn't this have the faint scent of another phrase, oh... I don't know...maybe something along the lines of "...a vast right-wing conspiracy.."? Seems the GOP mocked her for being alarmist and weak (you know, just like a woman..) at the time she uttered those words. Has Herman Cain abandoned emulating Bill Clinton and has taken up the lead from Hillary? If the wheels haven't fallen off the Cain Cart, they are seriously wobbling...

As Jimbuna noted in a previous post in this topic:

Crap and fan come to mind.

[magicstix]

This will be my get rich quick scheme. A Republican touched me inappropriately. Now can I have gobs of money and attention?

[August]

Who knows. If the phantoms are materializing as vienna reports and they check out then Cain is toast. Bill Clinton proved that the American voter will put up with a sexual predator CiC but not a liar.

[mookiemookie]

Yes Herman, the "Democrat machine" dangled those women in front of you back in the mid-90's because they knew you couldn't resist fondling them. The Democrat machine also kept your hush money under wraps for years until the perfect time to strike.

This is totally the work of the same Democrat machine that faked Obama's birth certificate and birth announcements in the 1960's newspapers and made Larry Craig like to get his jollies in men's rooms.

That Democrat machine thought that his followers would say, "You know, I agree with Cain that Planned Parenthood exists in order to kill black babies, but his asking 'personal questions of a sexually suggestive nature' to his employees is just too crazy for me."

Puuuuuhhhhhleeeze.

[vienna]

Wow, that Democrat Machine really works hard! Hope they got overtime...

[Gerald]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15641636


Note: Update record,8 November 2011 Last updated at 23:19 GMT

[CaptainHaplo]

Originally Posted by Tribesman

Now you sound like Glenn Beck

So expecting real data - aka facts - makes someone a loon. Accusation is enough for you then. Got it.

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

Yes Herman, the "Democrat machine" dangled those women in front of you back in the mid-90's because they knew you couldn't resist fondling them. The Democrat machine also kept your hush money under wraps for years until the perfect time to strike.

So with the reality that the first public accuser has a history of job and financial trouble, lives beside a well known democratic operative, is represented by a pure political hack, the fact that the second public accuser filed a complaint that was investigated and found to be without merit (which Cain had nothing to do with the investigation), and 2 anonymous sources - you have already decided that he "couldn't resist fondling them." So in other words, you have already condemned the man as guilty - without a shred of evidence to support the allegations.

Oh - and lets not forget - how come none of this came up 7 years ago when Cain was running for the Senate in 2004? Its not like politics got dirty in that time frame....

This is a fabricated character assassination of the worst kind. What is worse, those with a political axe to grind don't care - as long as the conservative black guy gets put back down where he belongs.

Absolutely disgusting.

[mookiemookie]

Where there's smoke, there's fire, Hap. If bringing about random unfounded accusations of sexual harassment were an effective means of taking out your political opponents, then it would be standard practice. It's not, so reason says there's gotta be something to it.

Originally Posted by CaptainHaplo

as long as the conservative black guy gets put back down where he belongs.

You know how much the right rolls their eyes when those on the left play the race card? Yeah, you're straying into that territory here.

[Bilge_Rat]

The theory that the Democrats are behind this makes no sense. If they were behind this, they would wait until Cain was nominated and would divulge it next september, just in time to put the final nail in.

Using it now just discredits Cain and makes it more likely that Romney will be nominated, a candidate who has a much better chance of actually beating Obama.

[Dread Knot]

As much as I like his unconventional style, I think Cain is finished as a serious presidential candidate. At this point you have to assume that there are other women ready to come forward, but who have been told by someone inside either the Romney or Obama camps to hold off until the appropriate moment. Politics is war and Cain is a mortally wounded animal. However he's useful to Romney right now, as he sucks oxygen out of the room and prevents Paul or Perry from getting any press. Newt is a distraction, at best.

[Takeda Shingen]

Originally Posted by August

Who knows. If the phantoms are materializing as vienna reports and they check out then Cain is toast. Bill Clinton proved that the American voter will put up with a sexual predator CiC but not a liar.

'Predator' implies that the women that Clinton had sexual relationships with were underage. I was not aware that this was the case, so either I am misinformed or you are taking a political cheap shot. I'd say the likelyhood of either is about 50-50.

Directly relating to the subject at hand, I believe that the arc of Cain's run has passed it's zenith; not due as much to the controversy but rather to his choleric response to it. Politics is a horrible and ugly profession; one that I cannot understand the appeal of. People are going to say nasty things about you and your family. Some will be true. Some will not be true. However, from what I have observed, success at the highest level this profession is largely due to one's ability to handle this sort of thing. LBJ had it. Nixon had it. So did, Clinton, Reagan, Carter and both Bushes. Even Obama is able to do it. Cain, like Palin, does not seem able to cope with it. Perhaps he is too undisciplined. Perhaps he is too decent a person to stand for it. Whatever the reason, it is proving to be his political undoing.

Politics hates good men, and that is what I hate about politics.

[AVGWarhawk]

'Predator' implies that the women that Clinton had sexual relationships with were underage

I don't believe predator implies underage. Predator hunts down what he/'she likes.

[Takeda Shingen]

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

I don't believe predator implies underage. Predator hunts down what he/'she likes.

When prefaced with 'sexual' it implies that the object of the 'affection' is underage, yes.

[August]

Originally Posted by Takeda Shingen

'Predator' implies that the women that Clinton had sexual relationships with were underage. I was not aware that this was the case, so either I am misinformed or you are taking a political cheap shot. I'd say the likelyhood of either is about 50-50.

I'd say you were misinformed as "Predator" implies no such thing. You're saying that a serial rapist is not a sexual predator?

Bill Clinton was a much milder version but he was a sexual predator nonetheless.