And the Cain Train just derailed all over the Monday morning headlines as claims of sexual harassment are coming forward from Cain’s days as head of the National Restaurant Association lobbyist outfit in the 90’s.
Politico reports “at least two” women working at the NRA when Cain ran it “complained to colleagues and senior association officials about inappropriate behavior” by the man who is now the national frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination.
More:
The women complained of sexually suggestive behavior by Cain that made them angry and uncomfortable, the sources said, and they signed agreements with the restaurant group that gave them financial payouts to leave the association. The agreements also included language that bars the women from talking about their departures.
Details on the incidents described in Politico include “conversations allegedly filled with innuendo or personal questions of a sexually suggestive nature” and “descriptions of 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.”
Ever notice that anybody who gets close to/ahead of Mittens in the primary polling suddenly gets a “bombshell revelation” dropped on them that reveals the clearly obvious fact that they are a grifter lunatic that couldn’t operate a paper bag correctly, a trenchant observation apparent to anyone who isn’t a Tea Party mouth-breather and has a functioning frontal lobe?
First it was Ron Paul, then Shelly Bachmann, then Rick Perry, now Herman Cain. The Tea Party wants anybody other than Mitt to win this thing so badly it hurts, but the real people in charge of the GOP won’t let that happen.
So when the Clown Car Cavalcade runs out of steam outlets for the Tea Party to put pressure on Mitt with, when will it all blow up in their faces? I mean literally the only people left at this point are Huntsman and Buddy Roemer. Eventually there’s not going to be anyone left to actually run against President Obama at this rate.
Now, will I defend Herman Cain against his detractors who will eventually play the race card against him for this? Yes, in the same fashion that I find attacking Chris Christie on his weight or Michelle Bachmann’s gender as awful as well: there are so many policy reasons that disqualify all of these folks for higher office that attacks on them for their race, gender, or waistline are utter nonsense (as they should always be.)
Having said that, Herman Cain’s about to find out the hard way about the true nature of the GOP, and I don’t exactly feel sorry for him. Having said that, expect to hear “BUBBA CLINTON DID IT TOO LOL HYPOCRITES!” all week.
Joy Ann Reid has more on the Cain Train Pain here and wonders who threw the switch on the tracks to cause this little “accident”. Great minds think alike.
Expect the media to press him, and his wife, to respond. And watch as the right lines up for and against — with some on the right surely accusing Politico of left wing “jounnolist” tactics (which is funny, since Politico is an adjunct of the Reagan Foundation.)
And another question I have: where did this scoop come from? Did the Politico reporters discover it just randomly digging around in Cain’s files form his National Restaurant Association days? Or was it tipped to them, by someone who wants Cain out of the way? Which leads to more questions: out of the way of “who?” Could this be a Karl Rovian-type attempt to sideline Cain to help Mitt Romney, or something from the world that wants Rick Perry to be the anti-Romney candidate? Lots of juicy stuff here. Let’s see where this goes.
Like I said, everyone who has gotten uncomfortably close to/intolerably in front of Mittens in the primary polls has mysteriously had their past dredged up for the political campaign equivalent of falling down an elevator shaft onto 37 bullets (although both Bachmann with her comments on vaccination and Ron Paul with his no foreign aid to Israel and rigged straw poll idiocy were largely victims of self-inflicted meltdowns.) But with Rick Perry’s Unfortunate Hunting Ranch Name Incident being rather timely and now this Cain Train Pain, well, let’s just say that I don’t believe either of these stories becoming public just when Mitt Romney needed them most was entirely accidental.
For their part, Camp Hermanator is using page 3 from the Palin playbook: making loud noises that aren’t a denial and blaming the liberal media.
“Fearing the message of Herman Cain who is shaking up the political landscape in Washington, Inside the Beltway media have begun to launch unsubstantiated personal attacks on Cain,” J.D. Gordon said in an e-mail message Sunday night. “Dredging up thinly sourced allegations stemming from Mr. Cain’s tenure as the Chief Executive Officer at the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, political trade press are now casting aspersions on his character and spreading rumors that never stood up to the facts.”
Translation: “Please pay no attention to uncomfortable questions about Herman Cain’s past.” Over/under on the race card being played is Wednesday.
Nevgu
lol….this has Rove written all over it. Anyone who thinks this coming out now is some coincidence is a moron.
Gin & Tonic
This is like that fastball just under your chin that says “hey, welcome to the big leagues.”
Morzer
@Nevgu:
So you picked “coincidence” on the list of possible choices?
different-church-lady
TPM cross-reporting something from Politico? I’ll believe it will be a big deal when it’s a big deal.
b-psycho
Since when does figuring that Israel doesn’t need its overwhelmingly lopsided turf war subsidized from our pockets amount to “grifter” behavior?
MikeJ
Of course they can’t prove they’re better than Dems without doing what Dems wouldn’t do, that is, throwing him under the bus. To prove their purity, the republicans will have to ditch Cain. Or they never get to complain about Clinton again.
Xecky Gilchrist
expect to hear “BUBBA CLINTON DID IT TOO LOL HYPOCRITES!” all week.
And/or “It didn’t stop Clarence Thomas!”
EIGRP
Zander – was the bullets/elevator part an intentional Mystery Men reference?
RareSanity
Here we go again, lie-bruls are trying to “Bork” Hermain Cain…
/teabagger
Vixen Strangely
This story could get ugly–that said, it’s Politico and it’s Herman Cain. I really wouldn’t be altogether to shocked if this was put out there by another Republican. But on the other hand, I was never sure Cain’s campaign was meant seriously, so this would be a splashy denouement, if anything.
soonergrunt
@MikeJ:
You’re new here, aren’t you?
Hypocrisy and cognitive dissonance aren’t bugs of Republican/Conservative behavior. They’re features.
MikeJ
@soonergrunt: Touché.
RareSanity
@MikeJ:
You seem to think that they won’t be able to successfully do both…
ETA: soonergrunt beat me to it…carry on then.
Chuck Derperton
The true believer ‘baggers really, really want one of their own to get the nom.
They are so f-ing clueless and arrogant they don’t realize that the only reason they get positive press (or anyone pays attention to them at all) is that they this billion dollar machine that literally runs 24/7 interference for them.
Keith
Ann Coulter has already started with it, claiming this whole blowup is because liberals treat black conservatives badly.
Morzer
@Keith:
Give it five minutes and Michelle Malkin will be informing a horrified world that liberal women forced themselves on Innocent And Trusting Herman.
Suffern ACE
@different-church-lady: CBS news asked him questions about it this morning. So the MSM is “story curious.”
That said, I’d rather let the conservative smear mongers carry their own water on this. I want his supporters to realize that it is their own party members who are derailing this campaign, not some liberals who are faux outraged.
Nevgu
@Morzer: I certainly don’t see ‘coincidence’ within miles of this….but a moron like Wrong Again Cole or Mister 24/7 Cain Mix would. As would most of Coles other typing monkeys, lemmings, suck asses, and hangers on around here.
Suffern ACE
@Keith: I would have gone with “liberals and their stupid job destroying workplace thought police regulations and ambulance chasing attorneys ruin great men. Tort reform means freedom. What’s happening to Cain is why liberals have sent your job to China.” Come on Ann. You used to be better than that.
Cacti
This is the first proof that GOP Inc. is concerned about the Cain-mentum.
If nobody was worried about him, nobody would bother trying to torpedo him.
3 to 1 odds that it will turn into a “Cain can’t keep his hands off the white women” story.
Uncle Clarence Thomas
.
.
Some white devil is behind this, I guarantee it. Pay no attention to these scurrilous rumors. SUPER COKE!s on the house, for everyone, over at my place! Who’s with me?
.
.
The Dangerman
Why in the hell would Liberals want Cain’s campaign to implode? Shit, he’s flat out unelectable in the General; Romney at least has a fighting chance.
So, it’s now Mr. Nein, Nein, Nein?
Villago Delenda Est
Yup, this is Rove ratfucking Cain. I have no doubt of it.
Keith
@Suffern ACE: Blaming liberals for this is pretty weak sauce (no pun re: Godfather’s) anyway, given that a) this came from Politico, b) liberals should want Cain over Romney anyway, and c) the primary candidates would be doing the damage themselves via infighting, so it makes more sense to hold on to any ammo until there is a definitive candidate.
lacp
Of course, this is all a cunning plan by…SARAH PALIN!
Villago Delenda Est
@Keith:
Coulter will of course claim this for the true believers, but this entire thing has Rove’s fingerprints all over it.
Nothing to do but pass the popcorn as two execrable groups fight amongst themselves for the right to get their asses kicked by the near sheriff.
Morzer
@Keith:
Maybe it’s time to suggest that the source is one of Mitt Romney’s wives….
General Stuck
Cain still unable
I saw what you did there
AxelFoley
NOOO! Wait until he has the GOP nomination.
But, yeah, then again, that’s the point. Knew it was only a matter of time before they tried to shut down Cain. Not that I feel empathy for the guy, but we knew the GOP powers that be wouldn’t let dude get the nod.
Tom Hilton
I hate to have to ask this, but: were the women white? Or do we know?
Because that’s what determines whether this is a liability or an asset with Republican primary voters. We know from the example of Clarence Thomas that Republicans have no objection to harassment of African-American women.
Warren Terra
Obviously this is the fault of the trial lawyers. No Sexual Harrasment Lawsuits, no time bombs waiting to blow up Republican campaigns. See also Jack Ryan (the Illinois senatorial candidate whose dishy divorce proceedings got leaked, not the Tom Clancy Ubermensch played by Harrison Ford).
piratedan
as cleek said in a previous thread… there’s a whole lotta wind being thrown about considering we haven’t had a binding vote for anyone as of yet. We all know that the IOKIYAR is steadfastly in effect, I mean cripes, if electrocuting hispanics on the border fence doesn’t raise an eyebrow, why in the hell should this? If Rick Perry can still have people predicting his imminent comeback after his derpfest performance over the last few debates and John Huntsman still can’t get credit for stringing together coherent thoughts why should any of us get uptight over who the failfest candidate is gonna be?
C.J.
@Keith:
I was gonna say, Wednesday was way too generous. Give it Monday afternoon before one of them bleats it from the mountaintops.
Jennifer
Ummmm…who really believes that charges of sexual harrassment, even if proven on videotape, would be a detriment for a GOP politician? I don’t doubt someone is trying to ratfuck Hermie, but why would they expect the party that believes women’s bodies belong to everyone but women to care?
Villago Delenda Est
@The Dangerman:
I don’t want Cain’s campaign to implode.
But OvenMitt and the GOP establishment sure do. They’ll sabotage anyone who threatens OvenMitt’s “turn” as the GOP nominee. They rightly think that he has the best shot against Obama, even if it is a long one.
Elroy Dipthshod
If Cain wins, I will strip nekkid and do cartwheels down main street.
Warren Terra
I gues the question is, if this is Romney, is his deployment of Cain’s Kryptonite this early, long before the caucuses and primaries, a sign of fear? Or us it just that the New Hampshire ballot registration dealdine is fast upon us, and he wants everyone to know there are no other candidates?
kdaug
Meh. I’m with the O-Team on this. Let them fight it out amongst themselves – if Mitt’s their man, there’s a man-sized safe of oppo.
Anyone else is even easier.
Joseph Nobles
I’d think this would help Rick Perry more than Mitt. He becomes the Anti-
MormonRomney in the absence of Cain.kdaug
@Nevgu: @Nevgu:
Project much?
Shade Tail
@Jennifer
What she said, by far. Sexual harassment? Seriously? That’s a “liberal” accusation. It could hurt him in the general, but I really can’t believe that GOP primary voters would care.
Morzer
@kdaug:
Also too – morons.
kdaug
@Uncle Clarence Thomas:
Pubes included?
Nevgu
@kdaug: Please explain? I’m all ears.
Can’t wait to see what sort of pretzel you form trying to do it.
soonergrunt
@Tom Hilton: True dat. If Anita Hill had been white, people today would be like “who’s Clarence Thomas?”
Villago Delenda Est
@Shade Tail:
What it will do, though, is create a diversion the utter idiots of The Village find irresistible, because it involves sex, always good for ratings/newsstand sales/page hits.
The Village and sex scandals like a junkie looking for the next score. They simply cannot resist a sex scandal. Remember that it turned gross dereliction of duty on the part of Mark Sanford (ho hum, boring!) into a media sensation. The story did not get legs until there was an Argentine bombshell involved.
Spaghetti Lee
Rooting for injuries on all sides? Is that an appropriate response?
I think it’s true that no amount of bad behavior will bring down someone the GOP has sworn to protect, but it’s also not like they haven’t pulled the rug out from Republicans involved in sex scandals, and there’s obviously powerful people who want Cain gone. Maybe more than anything this will be a test of how loyal the nutroots really is to Herman Cain, or if they’ll go chasing after the next shiny object.
Anonymous At Work
Re: the outlet for the Tea Party’s hot water…two words…Draft. Palin.
Watch it. Watch for Bachmann to exit and Palin to enter before the crazy eyes fade from your retinas…
soonergrunt
@Jennifer:
@Shade Tail: And if this were an election for RNC chair, I’d agree, but this is about the Presidency. Some of them do understand that you have to keep up appearances for that particular role.
MeDrewNotYou
Am I the first to notice this meshes nicely with the good old “hyper-sexed black man” stereotype? Bonus points if the women were white.
Seriously, though, I can see Cain getting past this. His supporters are all brain dead anyways, so why can’t they shrug off something minor (to them) like harassment? It doesn’t help out dirty immigrants, it doesn’t affect our BFF Apocalypse Buddy Israel. I think this is imminently shrug-off-able unless the subtle racial angle I mentioned takes hold in the racist’s lizard brains.
ETA- Damn! Cacti had it at 20.
cbear
I guess the question of the night is who put the pubic hair on Herman’s hand-tossed pizza?
Anya
I don’t know, but I think Perry has the most to gain from Cain’s fall. Plus, Perry has a history of being a tough campaigner and fighting dirty. Cain’s most ardent supporters will never support Romney (grudgingly against President Obama). Maybe camp Perry thought if they got Cain out of the way, then they’ll have their comeback or a fighting chance.
suzanne
@Suffern ACE:
Word. Anything that cracks their unity armor is a good thing.
McCain laid back and took it when Rove did this shit to him in South Carolina, and he was rewarded thusly. I doubt Herman Cain is truly that interested in winning. We’ll see.
kdaug
@soonergrunt: Some of them. And the rest of the world. 5K+ nukes and the world’s largest military tends to put things in perspective.
PeakVT
I’d rather see this blow back on Politico somehow than take down Cain.
Carl Nyberg
I’m curious how this plays with GOP primary voters.
I’m not convinced it will hurt Cain.
I’m not going to say it will definitely help him, but I wouldn’t be shocked.
Here’s how I suspect the wing nut crowd will see this. These women were overly sensitive. The lawyers were too quick to settle. And a nefarious cabal of media people are bringing this to light to derail the “true conservative”.
This story can be blamed on women (working women and feminists), trial lawyers and media people.
Martin
Meh. The big leagues always have their gauntlets to run. What matters here isn’t so much what the allegation is but how he handles it. Obama could have easily gotten wiped out over the Wright allegations, but he handled it well.
Everyone’s got to stand at the plate and take those fastballs high and inside and not come unglued. This is probably his first real heater. It’s only going to get worse from here on out if he’s serious about winning this job.
Martin
@PeakVT:
Well, yeah, that’s win-win.
Jay in Oregon
In other words, “We’re not claiming any kind of journalistic impartiality; we carrying water for the GOP.”
(Also, too, Saint Ronaldus Magnus would probably be polling somewhere near Jon Huntsman in today’s GOP.)
The Dangerman
@Anya:
The only way this flaming bag of dogshit helps Perry is if somehow they have video of Romney holding the match. Now, if Camp Perry lit it AND can have it blamed on Romney, well, that’s some mighty fine shootin’ (said in my finest Ricky Ricardo).
MeDrewNotYou
@Jay in Oregon:
Nah. He would have left the GOP and come back to the Democrats. He’d probably feel right at home. But that’s too damn depressing to think about any longer.
JGabriel
Zander:
And those guys impeached Clinton over it. Seems like they should hold Cain to to a similar standard of investigation, criminalization, and reproach.
Oh, wait, we’re talking about a party who applauds one of their own for frequenting brothels and hoes.
Never mind.
.
JGabriel
He’p Me! I’ve been modereratered!
.
priscianusjr
I think Rove’s about to find he’s out of his league with the TP.
Folks, this is not a fight about who’s going to be the next president of the United States or even the next Republican nominee. It’ a fight over future control of the GOP. If Romney is nominated (likely) and if he loses (also likely), the GOP will come under the complete control of the Koch Bros and Karl Rove will be history. Cain is not a viable national candidate, but he may well have already won the Tea Party sweepstakes, and that’s all he needs to do.
Djur
The Democrats shouldn’t touch this with a 51-foot pole. First, they don’t need to. Second, it risks SLICK WILLY CIGAR etc. responses. Third, Politico is extremely terrible. Let the Republicans drown themselves in innuendo and shit.
bob_is_boring
“Cain Train Pain”
This would make a great screen name, but only short-term; in six months no one will get the reference.
(edit: Djur, I see from your own interweblog that I was right: you DO sound like Ray.)
Joseph Nobles
A Team Perry motive works just as well for Team Bachmann.
As long as I’m CTing, there’s a Team Cain motive as well. They know it’s there — get it out there now and let Cain get busy with his best “high-tech lynching” umbrage. IDing with Tea Party fave Clarence Thomas wouldn’t hurt Cain at all with his base.
Mark S.
You know what would help Perry? Not being drunk during his speeches.
Spaghetti Lee
@priscianusjr:
I see this sentiment a lot, and sometimes I’m inclined to agree, but other times I wonder…why? What political successes has the Tea Party had? Honestly, their biggest political accomplishment so far has been losing the GOP control of the senate with Christine O’Donnell and Sharron Angle. If they carry the day for the GOP in 2012, that’s a different story, but they haven’t done that yet. To paraphrase Doghouse Riley, do you really think replacing Jim Bunning with Rand Paul or Bob Bennett with Mike Lee is a political sea change?
numfar
I don’t know. How much stupid shit has he said so far and yet his popularity continues to grow. What was it Einstein said…”There only 2 things which are infinite, the universe and human stupidity and I’m not sure about the universe.”
Hopefully, I paraphrased that correctly.
jl
How did the Politico reporters find out?
Those are deep waters, indeed. And those waters cover the hard home truths we liberals want to know, but in reality can’t handle.
I am sure that a few super ace Politico reporters are designated to do dive into the kind of hard, slogging, tedious, live by your wits, intellectually demanding investigative reporting that corporate news reporters do these days: they waited for the phone to ring.
Those who watch and wait, they also serve!
Spaghetti Lee
@Joseph Nobles:
Normally I’d say that’s a bit too through-the-looking-glass for me, but then I started thinking-Sunday night? If you’re Rove and you’re trying to blast Cain, why put this out on Sunday Night? And Cain obviously wasn’t caught flat-footed on this-he’s already responded. And it is the sort of thing he’s sleazy and self-obsessed enough to do…
Bondirotta
Race Card on Wednesday? Try Sunday evening:
http://spectator.org/blog/2011/10/30/high-tech-lynching-the-sequel
It’s all there – lynching, Clinton references, obsessive focus on racial themes.
It’s a completely racial defense of Cain – achieved through directly comparing liberals to Jim Crow era rackets.
Imagine if Democrats had reacted to attacks on Obama with this kind of language.
This is beyond screwed up.
Johnny Gentle (famous crooner)
Please. This isn’t a bombshell, it’s a plus for republicans. It shows that the hated lesbian N.O.W. feminazis are against their man.
Don’t think that women republicans will be taken aback by the allegations. If there’s anyone they hate, it’s other women who don’t know their place. That’s what you get for tryin’ to look all pretty at work. If you don’t want people commenting about your body, don’t wear that skirt, you slut!
Jenny
@lacp:
There’s no need to call Palin a cuñt.
Suffern ACE
@Bondirotta: Again, 51 foot pole, attached to 39 1/2 foot pole. Although, by the end of the week, Brooks will have a column blaming Obama for being too partisan and mention this episode as an example of something Obama is doing to his enemies.
Yutsano
@Johnny Gentle (famous crooner): Clarence Thomas, we hardly knew ye.
piratedan
http://www.stonekettle.com/2011/10/victory-in-iraq-and-real-questions-we.html
more good stuff from Stonekettle…. questions that should be asked of those that want to continue to wage war
Djur
@Bondirotta: Politico is apparently a “liberal media outlet”. I knew Steve Doocy likes to say that, but I’m vaguely surprised to see it from — oh, it’s Jeffrey Lord. The man so dumb and callous that even his co-movementarians think he sucks.
Bago
Cain unable has a better cadence.
jayackroyd
@Shade Tail:
Scrolled until I found someone who agreed with me. Yep. The right thing for Cain to do is blow the smoke into the camera, shout “political correctness is killing this country!” and as we said in high school debate, move on down the flow.
This story is not a negative for the people who despise Mittens, and are seeking an alternative.
jayackroyd
@Shade Tail:
Scrolled until I found someone who agreed with me. Yep. The right thing for Cain to do is blow the smoke into the camera, shout “political correctness is killing this country!” and as we said in high school debate, move on down the flow.
This story is not a negative for the people who despise Mittens, and are seeking an alternative.
Joseph Nobles
@Spaghetti Lee: Heeheehee. CTing is fun!
Actually I’m back to Team Romney on this. I think the real audience here is Romney’s establishment backers. Cain isn’t an option they can jump ship to, says this rumor drop, because it’s Clarence Thomas all over again. Do they want a candidate whose scandals remind liberals about the Supreme Court all the way through the general?
I had resisted this also because I thought Cain was at the top of Romney’s veep list, but if it’s just a shot across the bow getting everybody back in line (released on a Sunday, thanks!), then he’s still good enough for veep. Or not. Romney will have his pick if/when he gets the nomination.
Jenny
All this discussion has only made me hungry for pizza.
Triassic Sands
I don’t know, in the GOP aren’t accusations of sexual harassment just badges of honor for the macho men of the Right?
AxelFoley
@Spaghetti Lee:
It’s the only appropriate response.
Karen
So…this is the Hail Mary Operation Clarence Thomas the “adults” in the GOP are leaking because they’re terrified he’d actually win and they’d rather be fucked with a broken glass dildo than let that happen?
As much as I hate Herman Cain, the timing is really convenient, we don’t know if the accusations are true and if the women were white, it reeks of what they used to do in the Jim Crow South. Get him for his ridiculous 999. This just doesn’t smell kosher.
Jenny
Tomorrow’s feeding frenzy is gonna be delicious.
Tweety will go nutz, Blitzer will pass out on the fainting couch, and Colbert will split a gut.
That said, I think the wingers will only rally around Cain. After all, the knuckle draggers will identify with the accusations of sexual harassment, which they view as unfair (ie “I was only complimenting her when I said said she had a nice tits”).
Samara Morgan
Why? Christie’s anti-telegenic obesity renders him unelectable. Why is is evuul to point that out?
I havent seen anyone attack Bachman’s sex…she is uniformly attacked because she’s nuttier than a fruitcake. Some people attacked Palin on sex…im thinking of the CUNT t-shirts…but she’s history now.
And as for Mitt– anti-mormon sentiment in a good chunk of the GOP base renders him mathematically unelectable (in my hypothesis). The GOP base is nearly purely white voters and approx 20% of them SAY they are not voting for Mitt.
That is part of the GOP BASE. Democrats are not vote for Romney– they are going to vote Obama. There will be no Romney-dems like there were Obamacans in 2008.
Why is evuul to even discuss that?
Here is someone else discussing it.
Breakpoint.
If white conservative christians can discuss it, why cant Balloon Juice?
JGabriel
@numfar:
Probably not Einstein. If I remember correctly, Einstein was of the opinion that the universe was finite but unbounded.
That’s not as bizarre as it sounds — any sphere, for instance, is finite but unbounded.
.
Samara Morgan
@Joseph Nobles: Cain is a sideshow.
Rubio is the real VP candidate the corporatists are backing.
Samara Morgan
Mitt is just a stalking horse for whatever candidate the GOP is running in 2016.
He cant win.
Amir Khalid
@Samara Morgan:
In my recollection, those were directed at Hillary Clinton, not at Sarah Palin.
Yutsano
@Samara Morgan:
Uhh..no. No one is backing a VP candidate this early in the race. No one does until the nominee is determined.
@Amir Khalid: Remember: the child cannot fail. She can only be failed.
Arclite
Shit, thanks Zandy. This is a rockin’ post.
BTW, don’t think this necessarily disqualifies Cain. See:
– Thomas, Clarence
– O’Reilly, William
– Burton, Dan
– Armey, Dick
Etc, etc.
Samara Morgan
@Amir Khalid: there may have been Hillary ones too, but i wouldnt remember them.
:)
heres the ones i remember.
Apparently there was a settlement, so there will be a paper trail on Cain.
OF COURSE we can talk about it. And the Pursed Lips Prune Patrol (but we are better than that!) can stfu.
JUST like we can talk about Christies anti-telegenic, unelectable obesity and Romney’s mormonism and WEC (white evangelical christian) persistent anti-mormon sentiment and how that might affect the election. WECs are FIFTY PERCENT OF THE GOP BASE.
if some percentage of them will stay home or vote other, Romney is screwed in the general.
Warren Terra
@Amir Khalid:
That acronym was used by Roger Stone, noted member of Nixon’s CREEP, for an anti-Hillary-Clinton group, back when the Republicans thought Hillary Clinton was the inevitable nominee in 2008. Once Obama became the threat to Republican rule in 2008, the Republican Ratfnckers started allegedly pro-Hillary groups protesting the idea that the Democratic party should come together around its nominee. They had a cute acronym for that idea too, but it was “PUMA”, not “C*NT”.
Amir Khalid
@Samara Morgan:
You don’t remember the right-wing group that called itself Citizens United Not Timid, founded by this man, just so it could put its acronym on a T-shirt under her picture? That was a big deal during the 2008 primary season.
THE
@Samara Morgan: OT
Whadyaknow. I just had my first trick or treaters. Looked like 3 munchkins. (It is evening in my tz). Naturally I cannot allow Samhain to pass without recognizing it. ;)
Also. did you see my Ghibli link?
Yutsano
@THE: I squeed. I admit it. :)
Karen
Unless there’s a dead girl or live boy in Cain’s past, this will be a blip.
THE
@Yutsano:
More seriously, I have also lit the candle at the shrine to my ancestors.
In honor of Sacred DNA I guess.
hamletta
@Johnny Gentle (famous crooner):
Johnny Gentle (famous crooner)? The ladies’-man-man’s-man-man-about-town? Eeeeeeeeeeeeeek!
Lovely to see you, sir.
Kane
If you can’t get any action and inappropriately hit on women at work, blame yourself!
Samara Morgan
@Amir Khalid: no i do not.
i was still nominally a republican then. that got zero coverage on the right, and the right was incensed by the Palin-c#nt shirts, so they got a lot of coverage.
that was about the time i switched horses.
i was an obamican, i worked on Obamas campaign and voted for him while i was still a registered republican.
Schiavo drove Cole out. ToE and Glenn Beck drove CJ out.
Sarah Palin drove me out.
Samara Morgan
@THE: saw it, ty, i read the Borrowers in elementary school.
ill bittorrent a japanese version, to avoid The Horror exemplified by elle fanning seiyo’ing Totoro.
euwwwwwwwwww.
THE
Speaking of toons, I am currently watching Clone Wars Blu Ray after having OD’d on all 6 Blu Ray Star Wars movies + extras.
I am really impressed with CW. It is much better than the earlier Cartoon Network series and IMHO better than the series Pilot. Although I do find the graphics a little irritating. I would have preferred a less arty more realistic style — comparable to the SW video games maybe.
I always thought the video games added a huge amount to the the SW experience since it actually allowed you a personal immersion in the SW universe. Particularly the FPS games.
Joseph Nobles
@Samara Morgan: Nah, Rubio’s staying as far away from 2012 as he can. He’s looking at 2016 like every other serious Republican candidate.
A Humble Lurker
@Samara Morgan:
Or you could buy/rent it, watch the subbed version, and give Ghibli some well deserved money in the process. And this is from someone who frequently steals crap.
Samara Morgan
@A Humble Lurker: domo arigato gozaimasu.
i am humbly corrected. i will buy japanese. :)
im just used to getting bittorrents for things that arent available in the States yet.
moushiwake arimasen.
/bows low
do you know what i RELLY want to see? the basu-neko video in the Miyazaki Museum.
but you have to go there.
Chris
@THE:
Oh, you too? I agree. I refused to see the pilot movie in theaters and thought the entire thing looked ridiculous until a friend gave me his copies (movie + every episode), and I’ve been hooked on it since.
Never played the video games, though.
THE
@Chris:
Some of my happiest memories of SW are memories of adventures in games. They had their own unique characters, etc. The Jedi Knight series stands out. Sadly many of these FPS games are now difficult to run on modern Win-7 computers. If you are very computer literate you may be able to figure out work-arounds. I got the later games to play on HiDef WS on WinXP and they still looked awesome.
Zandar, I apologize for hijacking your Cain thread with OT SW fanboidom. Please return to Herman Cain everyone.
Chris
@THE:
Everyone but me, that is –
I am not at all computer literate, and hardly even played video games as a kid. My equivalent for happy Star Wars memories other than movies would probably be the books (was THRILLED to find out earlier this year that a new X-wing book was coming out in 2012 for the first time in thirteen years. Yes, the fanboi is strong with this one).
I’ll take your word for it that the video games were awesome and am glad you liked them. I do remember playing Rogue Squadron a couple times at a friend’s house and enjoying it thoroughly.
chopper
“@cbear:
dammit, that was going to be my gag.
Ken
What, 100+ comments and no one’s quoted Blackadder: Dish and Dishonesty? Blackadder is filling out the forms so his servant Baldrick can run for Parliament:
Blackadder: Now then; criminal record…
Baldrick: Absolutely not.
Blackadder: Oh, come on, Baldrick, you’re going to be an MP, for God’s sake! I’ll just put “fraud and sexual deviancy”.
SteveAR
I can understand why people might think the Romney camp would be behind it. From a GOP point of view, he does have the most to gain.
However, this has Obama’s footprints all over it. During his 2004 Senate run, both Obama’s Democrat primary opponent and his first GOP opponent were smeared over various sex-related allegations. In 2008, the NYT ran a hit piece against McCain that was so utterly ridiculous, claiming he had had an affair with a lobbyist, it was debunked in short order. Just as in 2004 and at the time the McCain “story” came out (McCain was the GOP nominee at that point), the only person these stories could benefit was Obama.
Obama may think Cain would be a pushover, but he still doesn’t want to face someone who could deprive Obama from using the race card in 2012 just as he did in 2008 (and he did use it). Obama has made it a point during his entire political career to resort to dirty tricks and outright lies and deception when he believes it will be of benefit only to himself.
Robin G.
@Ken: Dear God. Unforgivable. (And now I have the theme song stuck in my head, thanks for that.) Isn’t there a few “Yes, Minister” quotes that are relevant as well?
On the subject of Cain, it’ll all come down to whether the women are white, mark my words. Also, with these new fraud allegations this morning, it’s pretty clear the long knives are out.
I almost wonder if Cain is relieved. He was getting perilously close to being a serious candidate, when he’s obviously been running a con the whole time. I seriously doubt he’s ever been interested in winning.
Robin G.
@SteveAR: If that were true, I think Obama would be smart enough to save his ammo for the general.
soonergrunt
@SteveAR: what’s that smell? Oh, yeah. It’s the subtle hint of conservatroll with just the slightest whiff of concerntroll.
Lockewasright
@b-psycho: I don’t know that I’d call it grifter behavior, but it is politically ill advised on the right.
Villago Delenda Est
@Robin G.:
I’m afraid SteveAR does not want to consider that there are plenty of Republicans who want Cain gone. First among them: OvenMitt Romney.
SBJules
I cannot believe I’m the first to say…Bimbo alert! Am I the only one who remembers that?
Catsy
@Samara Morgan:
Now, I know for a fact that I and a number of others have explained this to you in numerous prior threads. In detail, with you responding. So at this point I have to assume that you are either as stupid as the day is long or back to trolling.
But for the benefit of anyone who did not participate in those prior threads, here is the problem: you are responding to a moral argument with a counter-argument based on expediency.
Zandar and others keep pointing out that (for example) mocking Christie’s weight is shitty behavior and that he has more than enough legitimately awful policies and attitudes that can be attacked without resorting to calling him a “fattie”. The same with mocking Romney’s religion.
Your consistent response to these arguments has been to “counter” that these attributes make these men unelectable and reassert that it’s not wrong to point that out.
You’re missing the point. Entirely. No one–none at all, not in this thread or in any other–is disputing that some voters will be turned off by Christie being overweight or Romney being Mormon. Nor is anyone saying that it’s wrong to point out the fact that some voters will be turned off by this.
We are saying that it is wrong to exploit and pander to those prejudices ourselves. When we use bigoted arguments against conservative opponents, we validate those arguments and give them undeserved legitimacy. We undercut our own moral standing.
Either you’re incapable of comprehending the difference between these two arguments, or you’re using the “I’m just pointing out how GOP voters are bigoted” argument as cover because you’re too much of a coward to just admit, when confronted, that you don’t think there are any moral lines we shouldn’t cross in defeating the GOP.
This hobby horse that you keep beating is not a “hypothesis”, and calling it one is an affront to science. It is rank speculation and tea-leaf reading in order to rationalize shitty behavior.
Bart
Shelly Bachmann! I love it.
Is that what Herr Bachmann calls her?
Ken
@Robin G.:
The fans of eleven-dimensional chess will appreciate this hypothesis: It was Cain who went to Rove and said, “Torpedo my campaign, but in a way that polishes my credibility with my future Fox audience.” And Rove said, “One Clarence Thomas, coming up.”
(Of course then it would be necessary for them to borrow Obama’s time machine – the one he used to plant all those birth notices in the Hawaiian newspapers – in order to get the harassment complaints into the record. Any true master of eleven-dimensional chess will find this quite plausible – Obama obviously would prefer to run against Romney, so would be glad to loan his Tardis to Rove.)