Just in case anyone ever had any doubts where the campaign of Herman Cain would go with his defense against allegations of past sexual harassment, there was little doubt left when they began to attack the accusers. Last Tuesday when Cain "lawyered up" he did so with one of the most well-known anti-defamation lawyers in the country. L. Lin Wood though let slip their strategy going forward, in a not so veiled threat against anyone else making these kind of charges.
Rachel had an extended piece the other night (of nearly 15 minutes straight) on this subject, saying she was "shocked" by the comment and the attitude on display by the Cain campaign. She lets them have it with both barrels in a devastating segment. The video above is 5 minutes of that.
via The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Standing at Cain’s side at a news conference Tuesday in Phoenix, Wood said his newest client has been “falsely accused, first by anonymous sources, and then yesterday by Sharon Bialek, who chose to come forward for whatever reason after 14 years, when recollections have faded and witnesses cannot be located.”
Wood, in an interview from Arizona, was hired this week after rumors of a fourth woman bringing sexual accusations against Cain emerged. The lawyer said the campaign hadn’t necessarily thought about bringing legal action against anyone -- at least yet.
“I’m not here to scare anyone off,” Wood said, referring to the prospect of more allegations. “[However] they should think twice, anyway.”
And the strategy going forward from here on in will be character assassination, as noted in the NY Times:
Ms. Allred, who represents Ms. Bialek and has her own national reputation for representing women in high-profile sexual harassment cases, said she had prepared her client for criticism, but accused the Cain campaign of taking a “scorched-earth” approach.
“He’s got millions of dollars to spend on investigators, high priced attorneys, P.R. people, political operatives, you name it, he can spend it to get what he needs to basically get the high-priced weapons of war ready and aimed at our clients,” Ms. Allred said. “The women we represent don’t have those kinds of resources, and that makes their willingness to speak out all the more heroic.”
And while Herman Cain looks out for his own interests, it does appear that Republicans --specifically moderate Republican women-- are looking elsewhere, Herman Cain having slipped to #3 in a recent McClatchy-Marist poll, ironically enough behind another man with a checkered past in Newt Gingrich.
Republicans, who already have problems attracting minority voters such as Blacks and Hispanics, would be well-advised to steer clear of Herman Cain, lest they antagonize any further the largest "minority" group of all: Women.
