The end of Herman Cain's campaign

[RecycleMichael]

The other Herman Cain thread started as a discussion of his economic plan and then spiraled into discussion that I thought needed it's own thread.

He is a opinion from the Washington Post this morning...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-herman-cain-crack-up/2011/11/02/gIQAfyuAgM_story.html


The Hermanator is now the hunted.

Herman Cain, the long-shot Republican presidential candidate turned frontrunner, has done just about everything wrong since news broke Sunday night that his former employer had paid two women to settle sexual harassment complaints against him.

Cain denied it. He said the women didn't understand his humor. He said his accusers fabricated the charges. He said he couldn't remember the details, then suddenly he could. He said he had no knowledge of the settlement, then suddenly recalled some details, which turned out to be vastly understated. He publicly predicted more allegations would surface. He blamed his opponents, he howled about racism, and he accused the media and the entire city of Washington of trying to do him in.

On Wednesday morning, he raised the paranoia dial another notch. "There are factions trying to destroy me personally, and this campaign," he announced, revealing this conspiracy to a group of technology executives at the Ritz-Carlton in Tyson's Corner. At his next stop, a Hilton hotel in Alexandria, the amiable candidate finally blew his stack – and the scene quickly escalated into violence. It began when a reporter asked Cain if he would release his accusers from their confidentiality agreements.

""Don't even bother asking me all of these other questions that y'all are curious about," Cain snapped. "Okay? Don't even bother."

"It's a good question," the reporter pointed out. "Are you concerned?" asked another.

Evidently, Cain was. "What did I say?" he hissed at the reporters, then attempted to break through the pack, shouting: "Excuse me. Excuse me! EXCUSE ME!" At that, his bodyguards began throwing elbows and shoving the reporters and photographers. "Stand back! . . . Do not push me! . . . Pushing is against the law!. . . Watch out!. . . Get a grip on yourself!" In the melee, a young boy and his father were shoved up against a wall. "What part of 'no' don't some people understand?" Cain grumbled. His campaign's fisticuffs with Washington journalists probably won't do Cain any harm among his supporters in Iowa; in fact, it will probably help. But Cain's loss of control is a reminder of why he's never going to be president, no matter how high he rises in GOP primary polls.

His presidential bid was meant to be a lark, likely a gambit to increase speaking fees and book sales, perhaps to gain him a gig on cable news. At first, he was in on the joke, gaming the primary process and making up policies as he went along. He drank alcohol during public appearances, even in the morning. He allowed the release of a bizarre ad showing his chief of staff blowing smoke. He greeted female interviewers as "sweetheart" and occasionally gave them hugs. His staff celebrated his quirks in a don't-feed-the-animals memo to those aides traveling in a car with the candidate: "Do not speak to him unless you are spoken to."

It was, at its very core, a preposterous premise: That a man who, as the former head of a big Washington trade group, was at the very heart of this town's lobbying culture, would run a campaign as the ultimate political outsider. He would claim that running for president "didn't start as a consideration until after President Obama took office" – even though Cain ran for president once before, in 2000.

But like the Duchy of Grand Fenwick in the Peter Sellers film "The Mouse that Roared," Cain found himself triumphant against all odds. "We are surprised we're doing so well so fast," he acknowledged to the business leaders in Tyson's Corner. But now, under the scrutiny that comes with being a top-tier candidate, Cain's lark has become hard labor. The sunny candidate is now snarling and shouting, and obviously not enjoying himself in the least.

He arrived about 45 minutes after he was expected for his breakfast speech at the Ritz, and aides made sure to clear the hallway so that reporters couldn't get within 30 yards of him. He wasted little time getting to his persecution complaints. "There is a force at work here that is much greater than those who would try to destroy me," he said, "and that force is called the voice of the people. That's why we're doing as well as we are in the campaign thus far."

There was silence in the room. "Y'all were supposed to applaud," the candidate said. At the Hilton, his campaign called off the "news conference" it had scheduled with reporters. Instead, Cain gave a few perfunctory words about health care while surrounded by people in white coats; they said they were doctors opposed to Obamacare, but there was no need to wear their white coats to the Hilton ballroom unless they were concerned about coffee spills.

To give the reporters the slip, Cain left the room through a service door, then used a service elevator to escape from the hotel. His chief of staff, the cigarette aficionado, was chased by reporters until he slammed the door of his chauffeur-driven Cadillac, which peeled out.

Next stop: a meeting to discuss health care with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, where a media mob of more than 50 was waiting for him. "Can you tell us why you lost your temper this morning?" Fox News's Chad Pergram asked, as Cain and his entourage walked through the hall. "Should a man whose company paid $35,000 for a woman to keep quiet be president?" asked NBC's Luke Russert.

This time, Cain ignored them. As the party got to the meeting room, his bodyguard resumed his shoving and elbowing, blocking congressional staff and reporters from getting into the meeting. When challenged, the bodyguard explained himself: "I make the rules."

Not anymore.

[Teatownclown]

I'd like to respond to this but could you furnish me a CYA confidentiality agreement for me to sign first......


I love how Cain't is going after Perry now....all's fair in love and politics. So much for the "high tech lynching" escape hatch....

[Teatownclown]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/45171907#45171907


nobody get's it....

how is this pizza man so far along? He has Koch....

[David]

The Republican Party is an absolute mess.

[jacobi]

Agreed.  I'm a pretty liberal guy, but it would be nice to see an evenheaded (i.e. not religious weirdo or yosemite sam cartoon) Conservative willing to make some consessions to get things done.  It would be interesting to watch someone like Michelle Bachmann try the shuffle to the middle in a general election.  I hope for their sake they can produce a candidate that democrats wouldn't cringe at saying their name preceeded by the word President.  Romney looks like the only one that can keep his head above water, even though he seems like the ugly girl that no one wants to dance with but all the other girls at the dance are crazy...

[Hoss]

Agreed.  I'm a pretty liberal guy, but it would be nice to see an evenheaded (i.e. not religious weirdo or yosemite sam cartoon) Conservative willing to make some consessions to get things done.  It would be interesting to watch someone like Michelle Bachmann try the shuffle to the middle in a general election.  I hope for their sake they can produce a candidate that democrats wouldn't cringe at saying their name preceeded by the word President.  Romney looks like the only one that can keep his head above water, even though he seems like the ugly girl that no one wants to dance with but all the other girls at the dance are crazy...

More likely would be large earthquakes in middle of the coun....wait, what?

[cannon_fodder]

The woman/women is suing to have the confidentiality agreement deemed null, arguing that Cain has violated its terms. I'm inclined to think it will be lifted as he has clearly commented and downplayed the event repeatedly, giving a few details - IF he was a party to the agreement. A former aid from the pizza days has stated that if the agreement is lifted his bid is flat out over.

He was a refreshing candidate anyway, kind of flippant and willing to comment as he saw fit.  But probably could not survive.  It will, as it was destined from the start, be Romney.  He will struggle to win because while running in Massachusetts he had largely the same agenda as Obama - his biggest hurdle is the record he is is relying on to prove he can do the job.  Than and too many conservative Christians won't vote for a Mormon.

[Breadburner]

CjC...In full effect....!!!!!

[we vs us]

Yep, Cain's done, though it may take quite awhile for the corpse of his campaign to finally stop kicking.  It may also take awhile for the Tea Party to figure out he's a nonstarter.  The really interesting thing will be to see where they throw their support next.  Assuming Romney and Huntsman will never get that support, will it go to a new candidate (Gingrich, Santorum) or back to a known quantity (Perry, Bachmann).

[Conan71]

Yep, Cain's done, though it may take quite awhile for the corpse of his campaign to finally stop kicking.  It may also take awhile for the Tea Party to figure out he's a nonstarter.  The really interesting thing will be to see where they throw their support next.  Assuming Romney and Huntsman will never get that support, will it go to a new candidate (Gingrich, Santorum) or back to a known quantity (Perry, Bachmann).

That's funny new CBS/WaPo poll has him trailing Romney by one point and they are saying it has not affected his bid significantly.  7 in 10 are saying the allegations aren't affecting their opinion of him.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7387407n

BTW- Anyone know where to get one of the "Honkies For Herman" bumper stickers?  I saw one Friday and nearly ran up a curb I started laughing so hard.

[Townsend]

7 in 10 are saying the allegations aren't affecting their opinion of him.

Well if 7 in 10 opinions starts off negative...

[we vs us]

That's funny new CBS/WaPo poll has him trailing Romney by one point and they are saying it has not affected his bid significantly.  7 in 10 are saying the allegations aren't affecting their opinion of him.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7387407n

BTW- Anyone know where to get one of the "Honkies For Herman" bumper stickers?  I saw one Friday and nearly ran up a curb I started laughing so hard.

He's been the favorite anti-Romney for awhile now and like I said, it will be awhile before people can see how dead the campaign really is.  But I think there're more allegations coming, and we're just beginning the discovery portion of this, IMO (supposedly one of the women will be going public today).  His management of this has been awful . . . and the fact that it's still growing is the A #1 sign of that. 

BTW, I think the harassment allegations will be the biggest blow to the campaign, but his "rapidly evolving" 999 taxation platform, a lot of his ignorance about foreign policy, and his willingness to cozy up to the most controversial of the Tea Party folks (he's the Koch Bros' brother from another mother, natch) might make him a Tea Party favorite but IMO unable to win even the nominating contest much less the general election.

Here's how I see the general shaping up:  The GOP will run Romney whose big problem -- possibly fatal -- will be trying to find a way to appeal to both the rightie base and the restive independents.  Obama's big problem is that he's saddled with an awful economy and he's increasingly being seen as having sold out his base.  At this point those are the two animating conflicts.  It remains to be seen, IMO, whether the GOP gets tarred with shutting Congress down, or it becomes something that both parties get blamed for.  If the GOP gets the blame, I see that as spilling over more into Romney's candidacy a lot; if both parties get the blame, then I see it spilling over only a little onto Obama's re-election.  In general, I don't believe the Democrats solely will get the blame for Congress malfunctioning. I also don't know about the Occupy movement, and whether it fades away, turns violent or obscure, or starts to organize itself to effect the 2012 general.  I've read rumors that some of the Occupy folks want to convene in Philadelphia for a General Congress of sorts to hash out a specific agenda, but that's still only rumor at this point.  Their numbers are still slight nationwide compared with their impact to-date, so I'm not sure  to what extent they will/can influence the general.

[heironymouspasparagus]

You all realize that the Republicontins are putting up all thes clowns and jokers to do two things; use up energy from the other side going after them, and paving a path that will try to make Newt look good comparatively he and his current whore/wife can sneak back in and try again.  Or maybe even Mitt.

[Townsend]

You all realize that the Republicontins are putting up all this clowns and jokers to do two things; use up energy from the other side going after them, and paving a path that will try to make Newt look good comparatively he and his current whore/wife can sneak back in and try again.  Or maybe even Mitt.

So you're hypothesizing the "well at least it's not that" campaign strategy.

[heironymouspasparagus]

So you're hypothesizing the "well at least it's not that" campaign strategy.

Just like "anybody but Bush" in 2008.  So we end up with Obama.  I would much prefer to have had McCain with Lieberman as VP, but John was just too 'scared' to do what I think he knew was the right thing, and went with one of the clowns to appease the ignorance and stupidstition side of his party.

I would even rather have had Hillary.  But it is what it is.