Politics in America: Cain’s sex scandal
Bethany Dixon, Staff Writer
November 10, 2011
Filed under News & Features
Three women have come forward and accused GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain of sexual harassment. The women have accused him of making inappropriate sexual comments to them while Cain was the head of the National Restaurant Association.
As the scandal has been given more media attention, Cain has denounced the allegations as being racially charged. Cain has compared his case to the treatment of Justice Clarence Thomas during his Senate confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court. He has also stated that he is the victim of a “high-tech lynching,” a term that was first used by Justice Thomas.
Cain has insisted that he does not recall any of the incidents. He instead said that all questions were to be directed to the National Restaurant Association’s chief counsel, Peter Kilgore. Kilgore was with the National Restaurant Association while Cain was the still the head. Cain’s campaign has stated that these allegations have come from less than credible sources.
Recently one of the accusers has asked that she be released from her nondisclosure agreement. Cain had originally denied remembering any of the accusations of sexual harassment but has changed that statement. He has now admitted that he was indeed aware of one of the accusations. News of a previous settlement has also surfaced, causing more speculation about the incidents.
The way that Cain’s campaign has handled the allegations has caused GOP leaders and the media to question if Cain is prepared for the scrutiny that comes with a presidential race. Politico, the news website that first broke the story, gave Cain’s campaign a 10-day notice of the story. Cain’s campaign was unable to give the site a response and later blamed Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign for spreading the news of the story.
Many are concerned that as the scrutiny increases, Cain’s team will be unable to handle the pressure. The scrutiny may increase sooner than the campaign team is expecting if one of the accusers is released from her nondisclosure agreement.