The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Let Her Speak: Cain Accuser Seeks Release from Confidentiality Agreeement

Posted on | November 2, 2011 | 47 Comments

While I was at the American Spectator gala Tuesday night at the Capital Hilton in D.C., I learned that one of the women who accused Herman Cain of sexual harassment has been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal:

A woman who complained about Herman Cain’s behavior when he was president of the National Restaurant Association wants to be released from a confidentiality restriction so she can respond to his statements on the matter, her lawyer said Tuesday.
Washington lawyer Joel P. Bennett said the woman disagreed with Mr. Cain’s public comments about reports that two female employees of the restaurant trade group had accused him of sexual harassment in the late 1990s. Mr. Cain said this week that he had been “falsely accused” and that the complaints were “baseless.”
“My client disputes Mr. Cain’s claims that he never sexually harassed anyone, and that the claims had no merit,” Mr. Bennett said.
A second person, who had knowledge of the woman’s complaint about Mr. Cain, said it entailed more than one incident “and continued over some period of time.”

And I say, let’s hear the whole story — the sooner, the better — directly from the accuser. No more “sources say.” No more anonymity.

No more vague second-hand descriptions that can neither be wholly believed nor entirely refuted. That the accused is a man very much in the public eye, while the accuser is concealed behind a rampart of anonymity, is grossly unfair both to Cain and to the American people. Until the identity of the accusers is made public, and the full account of their accusations can be heard and evaluated, we have no way of judging the credibility of the charges or severity of the alleged offenses.

I predicted from the outset that the press corps would swiftly identity the accusers, that their names would become public and their stories would be heard. Reporters are now staking out the home of one accuser, who is staying with relatives to avoid media scrutiny.

The path down which this story must now go is not a path any decent person would wish to see a political campaign have to travel. But news organizations which are currently protecting the anonymity of Cain’s accusers are merely delaying the inevitable. They will be named, and every fact of their lives that can be learned by reporters (or by private detectives) will be known, most of it probably within a matter of days. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a damned fool, and those editors and reporters who now refuse to name these women will find themselves scooped by someone. Bloggers, the British tabloid press, the National Enquirer, MSNBC — it makes no difference, somebody is going to put their names out there, and PDQ.

It is absolutely impermissible for a leading candidate for the presidency to be publicly accused of sexual misconduct by anonymous accusers. We have been told that the women themselves did not push this story to the press, and they would have preferred that the matter remain confidential. But now that the accusation is public, how can the accusers remain anonymous?

And to hell with a confidentiality agreement at this point. Anyone who thinks it possible to enforce a confidentiality agreement now, when descriptions of these cases have already become front-page news everywhere, needs to wake up to reality.

If you believe Herman Cain’s denial of these accusations, you should demand nothing less than complete disclosure of the entire story, in confidence that he will be vindicated. Whatever the truth is, no one can pretend that there is anything to be gained for anyone by continued secrecy and anonymity.

Meanwhile: A blogger is reporting that the man who followed Herman Cain as CEO of the National Restaurant Associations is — wait for it — a Mitt Romney donor.

Personally, I’d still bet money it was the Rick Perry campaign that pushed this story to the media. A couple of reporters I was talking to at the Spectator gala last night pointed out that Politico‘s Jonathan Martin obviously has very good sources with the Perry campaign.

But I don’t think we’ll know for sure where this story came from until after the GOP convention next summer, and then only if (a) it was Romney whose campaign pushed the story, and (b) Romney wins the nomination. If it was Perry’s campaign that pushed the story, we’ll only find out the truth if the scandal destroys Cain. Then the liberal media will blame Perry for the “racist” destruction of Cain, so that Perry is destroyed in turn, thus ensuring Romney’s nomination. On the other hand, if Cain survives the scandal and wins the nomination, we’ll never know where the story came from.

Category: Election 2012, Herman Cain

LIVE AT FIVE – 11.02.11

Posted on | November 2, 2011 | 3 Comments

— compiled by Wombat-socho


TOP NEWS
Israel Takes Punitive Measures After UNESCO Vote

Delegates applaud the vote admitting the Palestinian Authority to full membership in UNESCO

Settlement construction to be accelerated, VAT and customs fee transfers cut off; Netanyahu signs off on wide range of retaliatory measures against PA.

Bank Of America Rescinds Debit Card Fee After Customer Revolt
Follows lead of Chase, Wells Fargo


Greek Vote Sets Off “Pandemonium”, Engulfs Italy
Papandreou’s Socialists may lose vote on Friday; outcome of referendum extremely uncertain



POLITICS
Amid Accusation Furor, Cain Visits Capitol Hill

Herman Cain speaks at the National Press Club

Cain meets with Congressmen to discuss health care, get to know potential allies in his fight for the nomination

California Math, Reading Scores Come Up Short
Only Mississippi, DC worse

Military Policeman Arrested On Suspicion Of Espionage

Oakland Mayor Jean Quan Under Fire Over #OWS Protests

Perry Pushes End To Energy Subsidies As He Attacks Romney In Iowa

Crack Penalties Eased, Inmates Freed

Colorado Voters Snub Tax Increase For Schools, Colleges By 2:1 Margin

California Bullet Train’s $98 Billion Price Tag Could Be Biggest Obstacle



THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Euro Up On Short Covering But Outlook Bleak
Asian Stocks Decline For Third Day As Greece Upsets Euro Plan
Corzine Brokerage’s Collapse Draws FBI Attention
Foreclosure Review Process Affecting 4.5 Million Begins
Sony Slashes Forecast To Fourth Straight Loss
Daily Circulation Falls For All Three Chicago Papers
Gates’ Hand In The Death Of Microsoft’s Courier Tablet
HP Plans Low-Power Servers Using Calxeda ARM Chips
Yahoo To Buy Ad Services Provider Interclick For $270 Million
HTC Takes Lead In US Smartphones As Apple, RIM Decline



SPORTS
Frank McCourt’s Selling The Dodgers?

Frank McCourt, soo-to-be-ex-owner of the LA Dodgers

McCourt to seek Bankruptcy Court permission to sell team
Mark Cuban: Billion Dollars Too Much For Franchise

Six Schools Get Big East Invitations


Inside The NBA Lockout

Phillies’ Polanco Wins Third Gold Glove

Tigers Stay Loose Before Showdown With Tide

Bruins End Skid With Win Over Ottawa



FAMOUS FOR BEING FAMOUS
California Woman Files Paternity Suit Against Justin Bieber

Teenage (barely) pop star Justin Bieber

Woman claims three-month-old child is Bieber’s from backstage bang

Zooey, Ben Gibbard Separate

Scarlett Johansson Talks About Nude Pix She Sent To Ryan Reynolds

Hugh Grant Welcomes Daughter



“Glee” Star’s Father Stabbed To Death In Philippines

Amanda Seyfried To Play Linda Lovelace

Michelle Trachtenberg Returning To “Gossip Girl”

David Arquette Voted Off DWTS



FOREIGNERS
Thai Flood Death Toll Reaches 381
Libya’s New PM Low-key Technocrat
Afghanistan A Proxy War Between Pakistan, India
UK, US Reject Calls From PRC & Russia For Tighter Controls On Internet
Iranian Economy Minister Survives Impeachment Over Banking Fraud Allegations
Saudi Crown Prince Nayef: No Compromise With Iran
French Satirical Newspaper Firebombed After Prophet Mohammed Announcement
US Military Extends Curfew In ROK After Soldier’s Rape Conviction



BLOGS & STUFF
NRO Corner: Cain Has Biggest Fundraising Day Yet
Ed Morrissey: Iowans Strangely Unmoved By Vague, 12-year-old Allegations About Cain
Pat Dollard: Cain Accuser Demands Waiver Of Settlement Agreement
Lonely Conservative: Bloomberg Tells #OWS Don’t Blame Banks For Mortgage Crisis, Blame Congress
Ed Driscoll: OWS – When The Bridge Collapses
Weasel Zippers: OWS Leads To Layoffs Among the 99%; 21 Restaurant Workers Lose Their Jobs After Protests Kill Business
Michelle Malkin: Occupy Oakland’s Dangerous “Strike” Follies
Esquire: The Case Against David Brooks, Man Of The Privileged Few
Gateway Pundit: Sex Offender Arrested For Raping 14-year-old At Occupy Dallas
Marginal Revolution: Why Greece Is Turning Down The “Bailout”
Jonah Goldberg: Tim Pawlenty’s Lost Chance
Matt Welch: The Only Thing Missing From “The New Declaration Of Independence”


SOTD: Tonight’s The Night

Category: Live at Five

Did Politico Stop By The National Restaurant Association For A Herman Cain Bite, And Wind Up With Botulism?

Posted on | November 1, 2011 | 36 Comments

by Smitty

Northern Virginia Lawyer links Virginia Virtucon and:

Based on a suggestion from a local blogger to look into political donors on the Board of Directors of the National Restaurant Association for potential ties to presidential campaigns, I have attempted to identify anyone privy to inside information about the National Restaurant Association who also has recent ties to any presidential campaign.

A certain Steven C. Anderson appears to have been a Romney donor.

Steven C. Anderson is the same gentlemen who took over the helm as Chief Executive Officer at the National Restaurant Association (after a brief intermission) upon Herman Cain’s departure in 1999. As CEO it is highly likely he would have been privy to details of litigation and threats about litigation from the immediately previous tenure of Herman Cain.

Now, if you were the dot-connecting sort:

There is little more than a coincidence between the support for Mitt Romney and the likelihood that Mr. Anderson knows the background of the sexual harassment threats.

As with the allegations against Mr. Cain, it would be way too early to go connecting the dots. For example, I don’t even Google “Chris Smith”, lest my browser ‘splode. There could well be multiple Steven C. Andersons in circulation who have made political contributions.

Furthermore, connecting Romney’s campaign as such to Politico on information that flimsy would be as outlandish as saying John Edwards would fall for some videographer. Who could believe such a tale? Certainly not our trustworthy media, honing in on the important stories of the day, like jobs Fast and Furious Solyndra Pigford Greece settled allegations against Herman Cain, with laser-like focus.

Update: via Allahpundit:

Update II: Trifecta does their standard great work on the Cain allegation story.

Update III: Linked at Mark America.

 

Category: Herman Cain

Saw Brian Williams On CNNNBC Say That Herman Cain Should Unseal The Settlement For The Alleged Harassment

Posted on | November 1, 2011 | 25 Comments

by Smitty

If I was Mr. Cain, I’d be all:

“Yeah, we’ll unseal them. . .right after the good President unseals his academic records. Heyooo!”


UPDATE: thanks to the commenter who helped me with my title problem. Workin’ hard, tryin’ to tell the difference between the Judean Peoples’ Front and the Peoples’ Front of Judea.

Category: Barack Obama, Herman Cain

President Obama’s Re-election Hope: Divide And Conquer

Posted on | November 1, 2011 | 24 Comments

by Smitty

BHO has little hope against Generic Republican. Therefore, the Axelrod strategy has to include running BHO against Divided Republican. Dondero at Libertarian Republican quotes CNN’s Wolf Blitzer:

Earlier in the month, I asked Paul whether he could support Romney if he won the nomination.
He replied that none of the Republican candidates was advocating his positions. “So I would have to find out exactly what their positions are and what the platform is that they would be running on,” he said.
I pressed and asked whether it were possible that he would run as a third-party candidate – which he did in 1988, when he was the Libertarian Party presidential candidate. “I haven’t thought about it, and I have no plans to do that,” he said. “So, no, that wouldn’t be in the cards for me.”

This is a Good Thing. As bloggers, as citizens, as leaders, as followers, we are always in tension. Liberty and ideals are subjective, and have to bend a bit before we can get along in the family, on the job, and with the rest of the country.

Having it your way in the long run may mean eating humble pie in the short to middle run. In fact, there are no guarantees of ‘your way’ ever prevailing.

Shifting from the intellectual to the theological, it was never about ‘your way’ in any case. 🙂

For Ron Paul to maximize the good he can do for the country, letting go of any remaining Presidential ambition may be worth considering. It seems he’s hanging on in the debates to ensure that the crucial issues where he has some expertise are heard. Can’t fault the man for that.

But the country is under attack from Lefty ideologues. Thus, while I remain unbowed over the 1992 choice to vote for Ross Perot, the likelihood of placing principle pre-pragmatism has gone down to zero.

Category: Barack Obama

Strictly Business

Posted on | November 1, 2011 | 142 Comments

“The Pagan Right is a vigorous defender of conservative values and classical liberalism in an arena that few other conservatives have access to. It is time the movements were linked together so that both are strengthened.”
— Rob Taylor, Jan. 22, 2001

In January 2008, I interviewed Roger L. Simon, CEO of PJM, for a feature article in The Washington Times, in which I wrote, “In this Wild West online frontier, Mr. Simon might as well be John Wayne.”

Between the time I interviewed Roger and the time that interview was published, I tendered my resignation at the Times, so that this feature profile was actually my last bylined article for the paper.

Though entirely a coincidence, this was perhaps fitting, as I subsequently have made my career as a gunslinger in that “Wild West online frontier.” And for a while, I was an occasional contributor to PJM, for example reporting on a July 2008 campaign appearance by John McCain in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and reporting from the Democratic National Convention in August.

That friendly relationship continued until Sept. 12, 2009, when my PJM coverage of the 9/12 March on Washington — the biggest rally of the Tea Party movement — proved to be the spark that lit the fuse of Charles Johnson’s final meltdown at Little Green Footballs. Although Roger professed continued friendship toward me, my future offers to contribute at PJM were rebuffed by the editors (not Roger himself) and, with the exception of an April 2010 article specially solicited by my friend Charlie Martin, I ceased to be a contributor. Read more

Category: Blogging

Front Page Video-Fisks James Livingston

Posted on | November 1, 2011 | 6 Comments

by Smitty

Livingston’s thesis:

AS an economic historian who has been studying American capitalism for 35 years, I’m going to let you in on the best-kept secret of the last century: private investment — that is, using business profits to increase productivity and output — doesn’t actually drive economic growth. Consumer debt and government spending do. Private investment isn’t even necessary to promote growth.

Is so gob-smackingly stupid that I don’t even remember anybody bothering with it. Click to view:
About the only thing I have to add to the fisk is that Livingston here–

We don’t need the traders and the C.E.O.’s and the analysts — the 1 percent — to collect and manage our savings. Instead, we consumers need to save less and spend more in the name of a better future. We don’t need to silence the ant, but we’d better start listening to the grasshopper.

–seems to be refuting The Man is Hiding the Stash Fallacy.

However, I don’t think that trading covetousness for surreality is what I’d call a big win.

Category: Economics

BHO And The Medicine Cabinet: Workin’ Hard, Tryin’ To Understand That There ‘Economics’ Stuff

Posted on | November 1, 2011 | 27 Comments

by Smitty

The WaPoo:

This morning [31 October, 2011] President Obama signed an executive order intended to combat a wave of prescription-drug shortages in the United States.

How can there be a wave of something not being there? But I quibble. The whole point of the article is to excite some feeling of unexpected calamity. That calamity is being met by decisive action from a firm leader. So it’s snarky to compare the lede to the sound of one hand clapping to a chorus of dogs that don’t bark, and we shouldn’t do that.

Drug shortages have tripled since 2006.

No telling from what orifice that fact emerged.

“I’ve been tracking these issues for a decade now, so to see the president bring it up is important to us,” says Kasey Thompson, vice president for policy at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. “The fact that multiple agencies are on task and working on this is very encouraging to me.”
An even bigger challenge is figuring out why, exactly, drug shortages are happening. The number of shortages has surged in recent years, and although a number of possible explanations have been floated, there’s little consensus on why.

Do any thinking readers in the audience, who have maybe had an inkling of Sowell somewhere, doubt that the lion’s share of the problem is the government itself? Does anyone doubt that further government queering of the market via executive order will only worsen the problem?

The only question in my mind about this whether these people in the administration are stupid, or diabolical.  In either case, the only remedy is a free market enema.

Update: linked at The Rio Norte Line.

Update II: linked at The Daily Pundit.

Category: Barack Obama, Health Care
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