Trying To Move Past Xenophobic Ad, Hoekstra Decides To Campaign With Herman Cain

Zachary Bernstein/guest blogger for Think Progress

Former Michigan congressman Pete Hoekstra, now campaigning for Senate against Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D), announced a state-wide bus tour yesterday dubbed Patriots For Pete, featuring former presidential candidate Herman Cain, who suspended his campaign after facing multiple allegations of sexual harassment. While Cain’s support is likely intended to rally the Republican base, it could backfire.

Hoekstra, of course, has been in the news recently thanks to a xenophobic campaign ad attacking Stabenow. That ad has been criticized by Democrats and Republicans alike, and the actress who appeared in it has apologized for her role. (The ad and its accompanying website have since been taken down.)

If Hoekstra is trying to move the discussion away from his controversial statements, he probably should have stayed away from a man who had these things to say about minorities during his campaign:

– On whether being gay is a choice: “Well, you show me the science that it’s not and I’ll be persuaded. Right now it’s my opinion against the opinions of others who feel differently.”

– On Americans banning mosques: “Yes. They have a right to do that. That’s not discriminating based upon religion.”

– On an (unconstitutional) loyalty oath for Muslims: “When you interview a person for a job, you look at their work record, you look at their resume, and then you have a one-on-one personal interview. During that personal interview, like in the business world and anywhere else, you are able to get a feeling for how committed that person is to the Constitution.”

– On sharia law and religious freedom: “We have a First Amendment. And I get upset when the Muslims in this country, some of them, try to force their Sharia law onto the rest of us.”

– On his border fence: “It’s going to be 20 feet high. It’s going to have barbed wire on the top. It’s going to be electrified. And there’s going to be a sign on the other side saying, ‘It will kill you — Warning.’”

Hoekstra has his own record to be concerned about, having courted controversy well before the now-infamous ad was released. Seeking support from others who make outlandish statements might not be helpful to his campaign.

Cain Flubs Libya Again, Claims ‘Taliban’ Has Taken Control

By Alex Seitz-Wald/think progress 

At a press conference in Florida today, GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain — whose foreign policy maxim is “peace through strength and clarity” — attempted to clarify his stance on Libya following his epic whiffing of a question on the country this week. Unfortunately for the former pizza executive, he only muddled things further today. First he attempted to blame the interviewer for not being “specific” enough and for supposedly selectively editing Cain’s response. (Over five uncut minutes of his remarks are visible on the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s website.) Then, Cain erroneously claimed that the Taliban has taken control in Libya:

Do I agree with siding with the opposition? Do I agree with saying that Qadhafi should go? Do I agree that they now have a country where you’ve got Taliban and Al Qaeda that’s going to be part of the government? … Do I agree with not knowing the government was going to — which part was he asking me about? I was trying to get him to be specific and he wouldn’t be specific.

Watch it:

Of course, the Taliban exists in Afghanistan and Pakistan, not Libya.

CAIN’S LATEST GAFFE: THINKS ‘CUBAN’ IS A LANGUAGE

By Marie Diamond/Think Progress

Onetime GOP presidential front-runner Herman Cain has been stumbling recently from a series of scandals andforeign policy gaffes. Campaigning today in Miami’s little Havana, Cain asked the crowd, “how do you say delicious in Cuban?” National Confidential points out the obvious: there is no “Cuban” language. Cubans speak Spanish. Perhaps more importantly, Cain was totally unfamiliar with the U.S.’s immigration policy towards Cuba. The so-called “wet foot, dry foot” policy dictates that Cubans can stay in the U.S. if they make it to dry land, while those caught at sea are returned, but he seemed to have no knowledge of it. Watch it:

Tea Party Nation founder blasts Cain after Libya gaffe

By Eric W. Dolan/Raw Story

Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips said Herman Cain should drop out of the presidential race after the candidate appeared to have an extremely difficult time answering a simple question about Libya.

“I was wrong about Herman Cain,” he wrote on Monday. “I said originally that Cain could stay on message better than almost any other candidate. His 9-9-9 plan was all he would talk about and I attributed that to good messaging on his part. I was wrong.”

In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Cain was asked whether he agreed with the president on Libya. He struggled to answer the question, awkwardly pausing for several seconds multiple times.

Cain later blamed his poor performance on his lack of sleep.

“Forget the sexual harassment allegations,” Phillips continued. “Forget Mark Block’s gross incompetence. Herman Cain needs to leave the race because he is not qualified to be President. The video is painful to watch. It is obvious Cain is in over his head and simply clueless.”

He said the interview showed “a stunning lack of preparation” and that Cain’s philosophy on foreign policy appeared to be, “I’ll surround my self with people who have a clue because I do not.”

“Newt Gingrich would have had no problem with this,” Phillips added. “Neither would Michele Bachman, or Ron Paul or Rick Santorum or even Mitt Romney or Jon Huntsman.”

“To the Cain supporters, I simply say watch this video and ask yourself, ‘Is this the man you want answering the red phone in the White House at 3 AM?’”

Fox News Reaction Demonstrates Why Harassed Victims Retreat To Silence

by Solange Uwimana/Media Matters

A few weeks ago, allegations of sexual harassment against Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain became public. As two women stepped forward to publicly recount what they allege happened in the 1990s, Fox News rallied to Cain's side. The network launched a vicious smear campaign against his accusers in an attempt to discredit their testimonies and tarnish their characters. In one example typical of the venom at Fox, Dick Morris stated of one Cain accuser: "I look forward to her spread inPlayboy."

In a candid interview today on CNN's Reliable Sources, journalist Lauren Ashburn pointed to Fox's vitriol as an example of why few harassed women break their silence. "That's what women fear the most -- is the character assassination," she told host Howard Kurtz, after CNN aired Morris' statement. Ashburn continued:

ASHBURN: Is that all of a sudden you say something and the camera and the lens turns onto you: you as a person, you -- how you've lived your life, and what kind of money you want, and why are you doing this, and is it political gain, and is it notoriety? And is it worth it? In many women's instances, in cases, it's just not worth it. You don't want to be defined. You don't want to live your life based on the fact that you confronted a harasser.

Ashburn, a 20-year veteran of the newsroom who is now president of a media company and contributes to The Daily Beast and The Huffington Post, recently recounted her own experience with harassment. It was the first time she had done so publicly. She wrote on November 3:

Sexual harassment, suddenly back in the news, is not just something that happens to other people. Thousands of women, old, young, thin, fat, short, and tall, grapple with unwelcome sexual advances perpetrated in the shadows of cubicles and swanky executive offices.

I'm one of them. And I didn't do a thing about it.

[...]

My fellow silent contingent of "victims" does not want to go through life known primarily for speaking up about a horny man's indiscretions. We want to be acknowledged for our brains, our business acumen, and our integrity, not as a "problem" that has to be "dealt with" by a most likely male-dominated corporate hierarchy.

The decision to shut up and handle harassment ourselves often trumps invasion of privacy, loss of valuable time and energy needed to raise a family, and potential humiliation. Getting to that decision was, for me, a very painful process. My anger demanded justice, demanded that that these men be held accountable. But my fervent desire for a tranquil personal life won in the end.

A week later, Ashburn wrote that, following her testimonial, "an onslaught of emails about unwanted workplace advances began pouring into my inbox." She continued:

I knew I wasn't alone when I divulged that a client had put his hand on my knee in a Manhattan taxi, or my boss had told me that his male boss had mentioned I had "quite a rack" as his eyes wandered to my breasts. But I was taken aback, in the wake of the mounting sexual-harassment allegations against Cain, by how many lives have been touched by this sort of gross misconduct, and how much of an exposed nerve it remains.

The consequences of speaking out are clear, as Sharon Bialek learned this week when she accused Cain of reaching for her genitals and trying to force her head toward his crotch in a parked car when she was seeking a job with the trade group he ran in 1997.

The Republican candidate, in flatly denying her allegations, called Bialek a "troubled woman," and referred to the fact that the single mother has twice filed for bankruptcy. New York Post columnist Andrea Peyser called her a gold-digger who "flirted like a tart" with Cain.

Bialek is facing what many precisely women fear: an attack on her character.

Indeed, those who tuned into Fox News the past two weeks were treated to just that: insults about the accusers, mockery, and dismissal of the alleged victims' claims. Sexual harassment "can have a devastating impact" on victims, but Fox News chose to make a joke of it. The network even devolved into blaming the victim, with Sean Hannity blasting one Cain accuser for "staying in the car" with him after the alleged harassment.

The American Association of University Women reports that "[f]or many victims of sexual harassment, the aftermath may be more damaging than the original harassment." AAUW adds: "Effects can vary from external effects, such as retaliation, backlash, or victim blaming to internal effects, such as depression, anxiety, or feelings of shame and/or betrayal. Depending on the victim's experience, these effects can vary from mild to severe."

During her interview with Kurtz, Ashburn stressed that "we need to drive the national conversation on" sexual harassment, adding that "things need to be changed."

Following the interview, Ashburn posted on her Twitter feed:

Months Before Total Confusion On Libya, Herman Cain Was Totally Sure Obama Was Wrong

By Alex Seitz-Wald and Jeff Spross/Think Progress

Former pizza executive Herman Cain has struggled with foreign policy throughout his campaign to be commander in chief, but never more so than an in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel today in which he muddled through a flailing, nonsensical answer on Libya for five excruciating minutes. Ultimately, Cain lands on being generally supportive of the intervention, but says he perhaps would have a bit more cautious at the outset.

But this seems to contradict with his longstanding strident opposition to the Libyan expedition. “I’ve said many times before that US intervention in Lybia [sic] is inappropriate and wrong. The US does not belong in this war,” he wrote in a Twitter debate in July. That same month, he appeared on John Stossel’s show on Fox Business, where he clearly stated his opposition:

CAIN: Should we be in Libya? The answer is no.

STOSSEL: That’s clear.

CAIN: That’s because U.S. interest was not clearly defined.

It’s worth noting that Cain’s foreign policy slogan is “peace through strength and clarity.”

Watch the flip flop, along with a compilation of Cain’s less-than-clear foreign policy vision, produced by ThinkProgress’ Jeff Spross:

Unlike Rick Perry’s infamous “opps” moment, Cain doesn’t appear to have a momentary brain lapse, but seems to be genuinely befuddled by the substance of the question. Last month, Cain said he had studied up on foreign policy and “challenge[d] anybody who says I wouldn’t know how to address foreign policy.”

While becoming the next commander in chief is looking increasingly unlikely for Cain, he has a backup plan. This weekend, he said he would like to be secretary of defense so he could “kick the you-know-what out of everyone in the world.”

Andrea Tantaros: Herman Cain's Very Own Fox News Crisis Consultant

From Media Matters:

Since sexual harassment allegations against GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain emerged, Fox News contributor Andrea Tantaros has been one of Cain's most vocal defenders. Tantaros has a background in crisis communications, and as recently as May 2011, she was vice president at Sloane & Co., which specializes in "crisis and litigation support."

Tantaros Has Vociferously Defended Cain And Dismissed And Mocked His Accusers

Tantaros: "Bob Threw A Candy Corn Down My Dress Yesterday, And I Didn't Sue." On Fox News'America's Newsroom, Tantaros laughed off the accusations against Cain, saying that her co-host Bob Beckel on Fox News' The Five "threw a candy corn" down her dress, and she "didn't sue." From Talking Points Memo:

"But if you believe Herman Cain, the story that he told Greta last night, it was such a small deal, it wasn't anything that was sexual harassment at all. So he's right on that. I mean Bob [Beckel] threw a candy corn down my dress yesterday, and I didn't sue." [Fox News,America's Newsroom, 11/1/11, via Talking Points Memo]

Tantaros On Cain's Response To Accusations: "Job Well Done. A-Plus" Following Cain's November 8 press conference, at which Cain denied the sexual harassment claims, Tantaros graded Cain's performance "A-plus" during the November 8 broadcast of The Five. From the show:

TANTAROS: Yeah, I would call this an extremely fierce counterpunch. It's something he should have done a while ago but nevertheless, this was the move he needed to make. I think he answered a lot of questions. He stayed with us for a very long time. I think that he hit back really hard.

And, you know, he kept repeating -- these are baseless allegations. He also stayed true to himself, that this is the Herman Cain brand. I'm coming directly to the people. And I thought the ending was one of the best parts, where he says, we have big major issues in this country, let's get back to them.

So, a job well done. A-plus. [Fox News, The Five, 11/8/11, via Media Matters]

Tantaros On Alleged Victim: "Two Words: Scam Artist." After one of Cain's media addresses about the allegations, Tantaros attacked one of his accusers as a "scam artist" with an "illegitimate child":

TANTAROS: I agree with Bob specifically to come out and name the Democratic Party, like naming Rick Perry, without any proof is not a wise move.

However, the way that the mainstream, left-leaning media has gone off with the same kind of - they're doing the same thing -- baseless accusations, that they have nothing to back up. Again, he's been shadowboxing from day one. Now, you have a woman, who if you look at her rap sheet, 14 years later, she all of a sudden cares about the country? Double bankruptcy, legal troubles --

KIMBERLY GUILFOYLE (co-host): This is Sharon Bialek.

TANTAROS: Yes. And illegitimate child. You know what that says to me? Two words: scam artist. [Fox News, The Five, 11/8/11, via Media Matters]

Tantaros: "At What Point Do Women Need To Take Some Responsibility? ... Why Have Dinner And Drinks With A Married Man In The First Place?" In her November 10 New York Daily Newscolumn, Tantaros wrote:

There are three sides to every story: his, hers and the truth. In the case of Herman Cain and the women making accusations against him, it's time we had an honest conversation about what constitutes harassment.

Let me be clear: I'm not saying that Cain isn't guilty of sexual misconduct that took place when he was the head of the National Restaurant Association in the late 1990s. But this scandal should have every woman asking: At what point do women need to take some responsibility?

[...]

One accuser, Sharon Bialek, said Cain allegedly groped her after she came to him for job advice 14 years ago. At a press conference with famed attorney Gloria Allred, who has made a career out of victimized women, Bialek claims she met Cain for dinner and drinks for career counseling. Then she allegedly rode with him in a car, where he tried to put his hand up her skirt, then moved her head toward his groin.

If it's true, it's horrible. And while the timing of her decision to go public does raise questions about her motivation, the real question is: Why have dinner and drinks with a married man in the first place? Why not meet him in his office if your purpose is strictly professional? [New York Daily News, 11/10/11]

Tantaros Is A Crisis Communications Expert

Tantaros Was Vice President At PR Firm Sloane & Co., Where She Specialized In "Crisis Communications." According to her FoxNews.com profile, Tantaros serves as vice president with Sloane & Co., where she specializes in "crisis communications, healthcare, and public affairs clients." Sloane & Co. describes itself as "an industry-leading strategic communications firm specializing in corporate and financial public relations" and "crisis and litigation support." A Nexis biographical search shows that Tantaros was listed as vice president at Sloane as recently as May 2011. [FoxNews.com, accessed 11/11/11; Sloane & Co., accessed 11/11/11; LexisNexis, accessed 11/11/11]

Tantaros Founded Media Company That "Provided Crisis Management And Media Strategy" To "Fortune 500 Companies And Political Campaigns." According to her bio on FoxNews.com, previous to working at Sloane, Tantaros "started Andrea Tantaros Media which provided crisis management and media strategy consulting Fortune 500 companies and political campaigns." [FoxNews.com, accessed 11/11/11]

Tantaros Previously Failed To Disclose Sloane & Co. Ties When Attacking Health Care Reform.In 2009, Tantaros repeatedly attacked the health care reform bill on Fox News, but failed to disclose her position at Sloane & Co., which listed Pfizer and Take Care Health Systems clinic among its clients at the time. [Media Matters, 2/3/10]

Herman Cain — Ready To Be Commander-In-Chief?

By Jeff Spross/Think Progress

Tomorrow, CBS will be hosting a debate between the candidates for the GOP presidential nomination on the subjects of national security and foreign policy. Given that Herman Cain remains the field’s putative front-runner, a review of his decidedly unconventional foreign policy positions seems in order. ThinkProgress has the video compilation of Cain’s foreign policy lowlights. Watch it:

With Cain, Right-Wing Media Fail First Test Of 2012 Campaign

by Eric Boehlert/Media Matters

During campaign seasons members of the partisan opinion press can provide invaluable services to their side by debunking stories with original reporting, supplying unique analysis, and offering up substantive media critiques in hopes of changing the trajectory of big stories.

But over the last ten days as the Herman Cain sexual harassment story has unfolded and gained momentum, the partisan conservative press hasn't been able to  uncover one salient fact or change the arc of the narrative in any substantial way. (And it certainly hasn't poked any meaningful holes inPolitico's Cain reporting.) Instead, key portions of the GOP Noise Machine have spent their days playing victim, engaging in offensive name-calling, race-baiting, and making sweeping pronouncements, many of which turned out to be entirely inaccurate.

Faced with the first real campaign crisis of the 2012 season, the conservative media marched into a dead end behind its Fox News generals, displayed a casual disregard for common sense, and managed to embarrass itself on an epic scale. At times the media collective behaved more like a confused mob than it did a group of wannabe journalists.  

Just as candidate Cain has to deal with the long-term ramifications of the sexual harassment controversy, the right-wing press will emerge from the saga in a much weaker and  (even) less trustworthy state. Because rather than waiting for the all facts to emerge, shortsighted partisans immediately began their knee-jerk, blame-game ritual:

-Cain was the victim!

-Conservatives were the real victims!

-Black conservatives were the real, real victims!

But the sustained outbursts had almost nothing to do with the facts that Politico originally reported and which were never in dispute: While CEO of the National Restaurant Association, the trade group paid out tens of thousands of dollars in cash settlements to a pair of female employees who complained about Cain's inappropriate behavior.

None of that is in question. Yet on his Clear Channel radio show, Limbaugh immediately denounced the story as an "unconscionable racially charged attack." (It's a genre he's quite familiar with.)   Andrew Breitbart blogger Jim Hoft condemned as "racist" journalists who simply covered the breaking news story. And Ann Coulter manufactured her annual quota of headlines by labeling the Politico story part of a liberal "high-tech lynching." (Coulter was definitely not alone on that talking point.)

Brent Bozell also seemed oddly obsessed with slavery rhetoric, writing that, "In the eyes of the liberal media, Herman Cain is just another uppity black American who has had the audacity to leave the liberal plantation." (The race-obsessed rhetoric was odd considering there was nothing in the original Politico story that even mentioned race.) 

A confused Bozell, always on the hunt for mythical liberal media bias,  also claimed that ABC, CBS, and NBC were covering the Cain story too much considering how during the `90's they "ignored" Paula Jones's allegations of sexual harassment against Bill Clinton. (The more than 600 Paula Jones news reports that ABC, CBS and NBC aired while Clinton was in office would seem to undercut Bozell's excited claim.)

More purposeful confusion? At RedState, editor (and CNN analyst) Erick Erickson promoted on the homepage a reader diary that suggested the media was covering this week's blockbuster news story about child sex abuse at Penn State University because journalists "think it will hurt Herman Cain." (As Salon's Alex Preene put it, "wow.")

Blogging at Instapundit, Glenn Reynolds dismissed the Politico article as a "hit" job (and a "failure" at that), predicted it wouldn't hurt Cain's standing, and hinted a cabal of liberal journalists were secretly behind the plot to take Cain down. 

During the first week of the scandal, many right-wing commentators wondered why Cain's accusers refused to come forward. Fox News answered that question succinctly with a nasty smear campaign, led by contributor Andrea Tantaros who attacked Bialek for being a  "scam artist" with a "rap sheet." 

Rush Limbaugh, when not making slurping sounds while mocking  Bialek's name and hinting at oral sex, was taking aim at her 13-year-old son and ridiculing him on the host's nationally syndicated program.  And far-right talker Mark Levin demanded to know why elevator gossip about Bialek's sex life wasn't being reported as news.

At his Tuesday press conference, Cain claimed he did "not remember knowing" Bialek, and also conceded additional women may be coming forward with harassment allegations. Despite the equivocating performance, Fox News crew rushed to reassure viewers that the candidate had done a wonderful job ("A+").

According to many Republican operatives (i.e. campaign professionals), Cain has suffered through an awful two-week period and has severely damaged his standing.

The same could be said for the amateurish efforts of the conservative press.

Mike Tyson as Cain: Tea party loves crazy more than they hate blacks

By Eric W. Dolan/Raw Story

Herman Cain — as impersonated by Mike Tyson — unveiled his plans to win the Republican nomination for president in a recently released video. “I’m running for president and leading in the Republican polls,” he said. “Why? Because the tea party loves crazy more than they hate blacks, and I’m crazier than a shithouse rat.”

Watch the video, courtesy of Funny or Die, below: