Herman Cain embroiled in harassment allegations

This past week, the US presidential campaign of African-American Republican candidate Herman Cain came under fire as allegations surfaced that Cain had sexually harassed at least four women during his time as chair of the National Restaurant Association. These claims, which are over a decade old, raised questions about who had leaked the information and the validity of the charges.

One of the four women, Sharon Bialek, has come forward publicly. The others were apparently paid up to a year's wages in agreements surrounding the charges, which resulted in their exit from the NRA and their prevention from speaking out. A lawyer for one of the women has filed a written statement with the NRA in a bid to allow his client to tell her story.

Cain had risen to first place in the polls in October, emerging as the leader for the Republican nomination in the 2012 election ahead of Texas governor Rick Perry and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. An ABC News/Washington Post poll taken 4 November still showed Cain continuing to do well in the polls despite the sexual harassment allegations, pulling 23% of the vote, just a single percentage point behind Romney.

Cain's rise in the polls is somewhat surprising considering he has never held political office. In addition to his role as chair of the NRA, he has served on the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and hosted a radio show in Atlanta. However, Cain's business experience, lack of association with traditional politics, and strengths as a speaker appeal to many who are fed up with the current politics-as-usual attitude in America.

On Cain's official website, his beliefs on central political issues are laid out: stop illegal immigration, repeal Obama's healthcare act, and shrink federal interference at all levels in favour of a more business-like running of the country. Yet Cain's website does not mention his own African-American community or what he will do to help the less well-off in society of any race, instead saying he will cut welfare, entitlements, and overall spending.

The sexual harassment allegations against Cain are sure to put a damper on his chances for the Republican nomination and may even result in the destruction of his campaign, depending on the nature and the amount of information that is revealed.

Cain has accused the Perry campaign of leaking the information to the press, which the Perry campaign has flatly denied (as has Romney). Inevitably, the issue of Cain's race has been drawn into the conversation, with Cain himself stating that he believes the accusations to be racist but he does "not have any evidence to support it." Conservative pundit Ann Coulter even compared the surfacing of the harassment cases as a "high-tech lynching."

There is a feeling among some conservatives, then, that the allegations are part of a targeted effort to stop Cain's presidential bid because he is an African-American.
Cain has continued to deny that the sexual harassment allegations are true, even after changing his story last week to indicate that he was aware of the agreements that the NRA made with the women. Instead, he has stated that the allegations are part of a smear campaign to stop his bid for the presidency.

Danny Mucinskas

Picture: Herman Cain