Monday, November 07, 2011

Fourth woman comes forward to accuse Herman Cain of sexual harassment. And this one does so on camera!

video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player Courtesy of EurWeb:

Sharon Bialek of Chicago became the first woman accusing Herman Cain of sexual harassment to go public Monday, describing an alleged incident in Washington in 1997 in which the presidential contender, then the president of the National Restaurant Association stuck his hand up her skirt and tried to pull her head toward his crotch. 

“I said, ‘What are you doing?’” alleged Bialek, who said she had contacted Cain for help getting a job. “You know I have a boyfriend. This isn’t what I came here for.”

According to Bialek, Cain answered, “You want a job, right?” 

Bialek claims that after the incident she rejoined her boyfriend and told him that Cain had been “sexually inappropriate.” She also said she had confronted Cain recently at a Tea Party event and asked him, “Do you remember me?” and that he had confirmed that he remembered her and “he kind of looked uncomfortable.” 

Cain campaign spokesman J.D. Gordon immediately responded with a statement that said, “All allegations of harassment against Mr. Cain are completely false. Mr. Cain has never harassed anyone.” 

Bialek appeared with attorney Gloria Allred at a press conference at New York’s Friars Club. Two other women filed complaints of sexual harassment against Cain while he helmed the NRA, but neither has spoken publicly. On Friday, Joel Bennett, an attorney for one of the first two accusers said she would decline to come forward and discuss the case further. On Monday, Bennett described Bialek’s story to ABC News as “similar conduct and corroborating evidence.”

I don't see ANY way for Cain to survive this.

It was one thing when these women were faceless, and nameless, accusers who were too terrified to come out in front of reporters and the glare of their cameras, but this woman has dramatically upped the ante.

There she is looking very confident, and presenting her story in a well spoken, and definitive manner.

And perhaps the worst news for Herman Cain's continued support from the Teabaggers is that she is WHITE! I do not see those closet racists letting that one slide.

Somewhere Rick Perry just breathed a huge sigh of relief.


  1. Marleycat1:50 PM

    Ruh-Roh!!!! Hermie is in big trouble - a whole passel of sexually harassed women are stepping up to let the public know what exactly his "Christian Family Values" include.

    Someone should ask the lady if he broke out into singing a Gospel tune, you know, like he does at his press conferences to remind voters how moral he is, while he was sexually harassing her?

    AND, she is WHITE - what are the racist Repub Teabugger Fundies going to think about that? A Black man trying to force a White woman to give him a BJ! Double/Triple RUH-ROH!!!

  2. abo gato1:53 PM

    I find her very believable. Also, the attorney, Bennett, who represents one of the NRA complainants says that this version is very similar to what happened to his client.

    Buh bye Herman. You are a footnote in history now.

    Soon to be divorced as well, if Gloria has any balls.

  3. Looks like Big Daddy Suga Cain is more of a sexual assaulter more than just a simple harasser.

    Damn Herb must be one horny dude.

    He, he...the best part of this is that the teabagfers STILL keep defending him. I hope they give him more money to keep up this farce of a candidate.

  4. I think Herman Cain is a clown. But if his public accuser really wanted to be taken seriously, why could she not have chosen *anyone* other than Gloria Allred.
    Allred pretends to be a feminist, when what she really does is set the sisterhood back every time she publicly presents some woman as the latest version of Our Lady of Perpetual Victimhood.
    Sorry, but I'm not buying the accuser's story that she was "afraid" to come forward. The time to come forward against someone who would do what she is alleging is before they are in a position of greater power that would allow them to do it again. It makes me question her motivation now that she is coming for.
    If we as progressives are serious about being fair-minded, we would be just as suspicious as this woman as we were of Paula Jones when she came forward with her allegations against Bill Clinton.
    As a woman I just HATE these displays. If someone shoves your head down to their crotch, you kick them in the gonads and go straight to a higher authority that minute, not years later when you celebrity lawyer can get your mug on television.
    Jesus, I hate politics....

  5. Pat in MA2:09 PM

    Just when the news cycle was dying down with people sick of covering and listening to this saga, and Cain saying he wasn't going to talk about it - let's move on, I thought that he just might squeak by, but now? The guy is TOASTED black walnut.

  6. I hope the other three women take courage from her example and step forward as well. She has set a great example and hopefully will break the cycle of fear.

  7. Anonymous2:23 PM

    I think the key point she makes is that she is only coming forward because the other women (the ones who were employed by NRA at the time of their run-ins with Cain) cannot or do not want to do so for fear of reprisal.
    I'd be willing to bet this woman is friends with at least one of the other victims, and is coming forward so they don't have to.

  8. Irishgirl2:24 PM

    She is a very brave woman. That must have been so hard to stand up there and recount the incident. I applaud her but I don't understand how she can be a Tea Party member...she sounds intelligent.

  9. Anonymous2:33 PM

    At this point I'm entirely convinced that Rachel Maddow nailed it. Herb Cain is doing "political Borat" satirical performance art and this woman is a prop.

    Cain makes so much more sense when you start thinking about him the same way you think about Spinal Tap.

    The documentary is going to be hilarious!

  10. Anonymous2:35 PM

    @Lynne: "I hope the other three women take courage from her example and step forward as well."

    If legal settlements were reached you can expect that these women are legally bound to not talk about the issue, unfortunately. It is unlikely we'll be hearing from them.

  11. Morgan said...
    2:07 PM
    Respectfully, I disagree with this reasoning. At the time, he probably seemed to be (and was) in a very powerful position regarding her employment. Who would have thought that maybe someday he might be in a position to run for President of the entire United States?

    Why bring it up now? Because you realize now, that your silence then, contributed to him now being in a position where he could wield even more power.

  12. Here ya go...

    You want a job?

  13. Anonymous2:57 PM

    This is what Alaskans should have done. Instead they are all scared of their Queen, Except Gryphen.

    Though This lady sounds like a plant from Cain's rivals, running for the same ticket.

  14. Anonymous2:58 PM

    I think that this woman being WHITE is very significant. I do believe the Teabaggers would have forgiven Pimp Sugga Daddy Cain if he had harassed black women. Remember what they did to Anita Hill.Black women are not valued by teabaggers but a WHITE woman being harassed by a black man is just unforgiving. LOL! More will come forward just watch and see.

  15. Anonymous3:03 PM

    It proves my theory that if someone wears their "values" or their "Christianity" as a badge, then they are hiding something behind that badge.

    These Tea Party Christians are proving themselves to be rather despicable and lacking basic family values.

    If you have to talk about how righteous you are, then you are probably not.

    The most religious people I know, whatever their faith may be, don't talk about it. They live their faith. They are so busy trying to do the right thing that they don't have time to talk about it.

    Isn't that the way it should be? Religious faith is a personal matter, not a badge of honor or a bludgeon to use against others.

  16. Anonymous3:04 PM

    Aw, she shoulda just let "Herman be Herman." After all, he offered her a job, sort of. A blow job, apparently. What a creep.

  17. Anonymous3:06 PM

    I think Virginia Voter brought out a valid point: Cain's alleged behavior is both sexual harassment ("you want a job, don't you?") and sexual assault (grabbing her hair and head and pushing it to his groin).

    He is very lucky he hasn't been prosecuted for assault.

    This woman comes across as more believable than Cain. He has switched his story one too many times.

  18. Anonymous3:07 PM

    So wouldn't it also be sexual harassment for a female politician to "put on her biggest padded bra and go to the meeting to get her way"??

  19. Love her or hate her, Allred is an excellent attorney. She NEVER SHUTS UP.
    Attorneys aren't supposed to be lovable, they should be tenacious. And Ms. Allred certainly fits that bill.

    And this accuser won't take money---and Gloria isn't making anything either. She facilitated the accuser's statement today because the publicity brings her more clients. It's the same reason p.i. lawyers advertise on buses---more public awareness = more clients = more money.

    Call her shameless, soulless, or just a media whore---what Gloria Allred is is an EXCELLENT attorney. Exactly the kind of attorney you would want in a civil case. She works hard & she WINS.

    This is about Ms. Bialek, though, NOT her attorney.Cain's spokesmen want to make this about the un-likable uppity woman Gloria Allred, to obscure the allegations.
    As a woman who's been sexually harassed more times than I can count (I spent 20 years in the restaurant industry), Ms. Bialek is completely credible to me.
    (Except her politics. lol)

  20. Anonymous3:12 PM

    Morgan - more than decade has passed since the alleged incident occurred. Public sentiment and acceptance has evolved towards women being treated like this. In the 90's it was quite a different social climate than it is now.

    Women are still afraid to come forward, but for women coming of age back then, they had more to lose and less credibility than they do now.

    If you put it into context then her story is more credible. She was young, society was harsher towards women and, remember, he was in a position of power.

    I seem to recall the GOP used that position of authority argument to impeach President Clinton.

    Even though Cain was not this woman's boss, he was in a position to grant her employment or blackball from her industry. He may have felt he could use his position to get whatever he wanted from women.

    I applaud this woman for coming forward. May the others gain strength to do so as well.

  21. Anonymous3:14 PM

    2:35 - if Cain keeps slandering these women as he did with one of the nameless ones, he can be deemed to have waived the agreement.

    The NRA granted the one woman the right to give her side, but she was still too afraid to do so. Being sexually harassed or assaulted still is a stigma for women.

  22. Anonymous3:21 PM

    Its always interesting and disheartening to see how many women come out to demonize women that speak out about their abuse. To Morgan at 2:07, when I started my career, I worked in a male-dominated industry in a town with a ratio of men to women at 3:1. Both my bosses sexually harrassed me. I was at 18 and fresh out of college at my first job and had no clue what my rights were, but I left after a year when it escalated to an unbearable point. My second job I had several male bosses that I loved. After 5 years or so there, they brought in another guy who thought it was ok to grope me. I left and started my own firm when I could, taking all my clients with me. Had I complained, I would have likely been black-balled in the industry. I suppose I could have sued and won, but would I have been able to work? In that situation, probably not. That was the 80's. I think it would be easier now, but until you have walked in anothers shoes, you simply don't know what you are talking about. Nothing is as black and white as you'd like to hope it is. I think she's exceptionally brave to come forward now when she knows she is up again a powerful political machine as well as the Koch brothers. Using a high powered, well-known feminist attorney is damned smart.

  23. Thenorwegianblue3:23 PM

    What Morgan said. Gloria Allred is over the top - even for those of us who know He-man Cain to be a tool

  24. sharon3:38 PM

    2:07 "Morgan" - I don't agree at all with your comments about the motive behind this woman coming forward but i do agree with you on the gloria allred opinion - she's not my favorite person to say the least. How she latches onto these woman I have no idea - maybe a little like ambulance chasing.

    But I don't think this latest victim of Mr Cain is doing this for any other reason then to let people know. What good would it have done her to come forward when it happened? She wasnt' an employee and who would listen?

    I have a feeling she would've been stonewalled and the NRA knew what kind of pos cain was already. They were probably constantly on damage control.

    Her story is easy enough to check out with the hotel - the room was upgraded. they would have a papertrail for that. Someone was billed for that upgrade.

    I don't think this makes women look like perpetual victims when they come forward. As women we need to support any woman that has been a victim of a shithead man who has too much power and money and thinks he can get away with it.

    And you better believe there are still a huge number of asshole guys out there that play by their own rules and treat women like objects for their personal pleasure.

    Power and money makes some men think nobody can topple them and they behave accordingly.

  25. Nefer and Anon @ 3:12, I'm just not buying it. She's saying this happened in 1997. That's what, six whole years after Anita Hill "spoke truth to power?"

    As long as we use the excuse that women "are too afraid" to come forward, we're just going to be stuck in this perpetual victimhood status.

    And I'm sorry, but again I ask the question: How many of us believed Paula Jones when she came out with her story against Bill Clinton? And if you didn't, why are you so quick to believe this woman who comes out now - perhaps not because she was scared then, but because she sees an opportunity to profit from the publicity?

    I hate double standards in politics. I was suspicious of Paula Jones and the people behind her when she made her accusations against Bill Clinton. I'm equally suspicious of this Cain's accuser and the people behind her, perhaps even moreso because in the wake of Anita Hill were were supposed to have gotten the backbone to stand up to sexual harassment.

    Gloria Allred's displays make a mockery of women . She's a parasitic publicity hound. It seems to me that Cain's accuser would have been better served with another attorney. I'm sick of seeing Allred presenting herself as the Voice of All Women. I'm sick of her making women sound like victims. How can we be strong and use fear as an excuse?

    We need to stop babbling about equality until we have the collective guts to act against sexual harassment when it happens, not years later when people can question our motives when we go on TV to talk about it.

  26. Anonymous3:39 PM

    I totally agree with Morgan. There are lawyers that women can hire other than Gloria Allred. A lot of people immediately discount the story of someone who hires Gloria Allred. Dumb move.

  27. And Anon @ 3:21, I have been in the working world, both as a young woman and a mature woman. I never put up with that nonsense. I didn't put up with it in my 20's and I wouldn't put up with it now in my 40's.
    When I was in my early 30's, I had an editor pull that nonsense on me at a small paper after hours one night. I rounded on him and said, "You do NOT talk to me like that. It is against the law." He didn't do it again. If he'd threatened me or fired me, you can believe I'd have been on his back like the wrath of God, because of what I am. I am a feminist. Not the Pretend Feminists like Allred who profit from promoting victimhood, but the real kind of feminist that men know won't put up with bullshit. My editor sensed I was not someone to be screwed with - literally or figuratively - and not just ceased his flirtation with me but also with my friend Linda who worked in the same office.

    I find it kind of ironic that these women are soooo afraid to come forward until a man is famous and they can get on television. I find it ironic that the suddenly start to worry about whether he'll abuse his power only after that power can put them in the spotlight. Cain's accuser was away from him for years. At any point she could have made this accusation. But she waited until now when those in power - likely Cain's fellow Republicans - were desperate to lure someone up to the stage.

    No, this doesn't help women. Not only do we look like victims, but we look really easily manipulated, too. Meh.

  28. Now that he's officially pond scum, we can turn our attention to the other GOP nutcases.

  29. Anonymous4:22 PM

    I'm glad for you Morgan that you stood your ground. I did too, but it still comes down to your word against the man, against his company. This is very similar to the pro-choice arguments. You have to trust your fellow women to make the best decisions for themselves, given their individual circumstances. Not based on your decision-making, your indiviudal circumstances, etc.

  30. Anonymous4:23 PM

    Does this mean they are finally going to interview Shailey? In this case the woman is confident and well spoken. As far as I can tell she has not been interrogated to the degree that Shailey has been. So it begs the question, why does the media protect teh Palins?

  31. Not to discount Morgan and others who agree with her, Nefer @2:48 pm makes valid points about the accuser being out of work and powerless compared to Cain, the CEO. Since she had no leverage, she would have had to withstand ridicule and scorn after Cain denied her allegations.

    One Washington Post blog described the accuser's allegations as "horrific." This is just the kind of hyperbole we don't need. Cain's alleged actions were out of line, but not "horrific." I think most women are all too familar with this type of unwanted activity, especially after dark and when drinks are involved.

    IMO, it's the abuse of power that is damning. I think the reason Cain's polling hasn't suffered much is because most GOP men believe there is no such thing as sexual harassment, that anything short of using a weapon is fair game in pursuit of women.

  32. Sharon Bialek stood her ground at the time of the incident. She stopped Cain's advance. Even if she hadn't and was further victimized, there shouldn't be a time limit for standing up.

    Bravo for her for going public! I don't care what motivates her or who represents her or the timing of her statement. The public needs to have as much information as possible about candidates for public office.

  33. Anonymous4:49 PM

    I'm with Libby!

    After spending the majority of my adult life in the hospitality business I can say from personal experience that if I'd turned in every bartender, chef, hotel manager, visiting Vip for how I was treated there would be only a handful of men left in the industry!

    Ok maybe that's a bit of a reach - but really, the general public today has no clue how common it was to be sexually approached by superiors in the 1970-1990's and if you needed to work you got yourself out of the situation as best your could and then kept your mouth shut.

    I found Ms. Bialeck to be very believable - her voice cracked multiple times - she was that nervous recounting her story. and she remembered details like what they were wearing. Those are details you simply NEVER forget.

    Cya Herb!

  34. See ya, Herm.... Go get some corn-on-the-cob at the Koch KLAN-RALLY this weekend. Har... Har... Har....

  35. Anonymous4:57 PM

    Gloria Allred is the perfect choice. Look at the media attention this is generating. Bye bye Mr. Cain.

  36. Anonymous5:34 PM

    3...2....1...and Palin sees this as the "door" that God has provided for her to barge through.

  37. Anonymous5:39 PM

    Herman the Squrmin' Vermin

  38. Anonymous6:05 PM

    to Morgan who wrote: No, this doesn't help women. Not only do we look like victims, but we look really easily manipulated, too. Meh.

    And the other side laughs as they watch women like you 'eating your own'.

    How wonderful for you that you are so strong and a 'real' feminist. Now, if only you could learn to have a little bit of compassion --- I might be inclined to listen to you.

    Not all women are alike -- for a variety of reasons. Not all women have the internal certainties and strength that you appear to have.And not all women react the same way to the same stimuli.

    So, good for you. Must be nice living in your ivory castle.

  39. Anonymous6:16 PM

    I actually think believes himself: in his little mind. what he did was not harassment...he was offering the woman a path to employment. He saw nothing wrong with being the big black boss intimidating the poor weak needy white woman. In fact, it was payback for his ancestors who worked for rich white women. Sorry, Herbie, if the GOP stands behind you on this, they are even more doomed than they were putting you in the lead in a poll. You are slime; Newt is slime, Perry is slime; Palin is slime: I guess the GOP is kind of stuck right now. So sorry.

  40. Anonymous7:13 PM

    YAY! Get it done Gloria Alred! Ole Herm is so done! He really thought he was going to get away with this shit because he pulled the Clarence Thomas defense...."high tech lynching"...and I guess he thought the media would head to the hills! Looks like it didn't work Herm! a feminist it's great that women have the freedom to open their very own "Erotica blogs"...we've come a long way Baby!

  41. hmm..almost every job I have ever had, mostly in the retail food industry, sexual harassment is such a given,that it is overlooked on so many levels. All about power and entitlements. Unless you get tough and they know better to go there with you, women are treated as second class citizens and are to serve their masters. I take younger women under my wing all the time and let the stalkers know that I have their number. i only wish that I would have had someone looking out for me years ago, could have saved much grief and frustration.

    This is going to take Cain down, hopefully. The more he protests, the worse it gets for him. The whole idea that he is doing performance art as Rachel has proposed, gives one food for thought...I kept thinking about it all day.

  42. Anonymous8:19 PM

    I'm with Morgan.

    As a woman who endured, fought, and won against a male boss who thought "employee" meant "use me" or "own my body", I find it higly offensive to see people question the victim's motives in speaking up and her choice of representative.

    Gloria IS a pitbull with lipstick and a grasp of the law that's unimpeachable. Would the accuser be more believeable if a male represented her?

    Herman Cain didn't make sexual gestures or subtle sexual inuendo. He "upgraded her room", got her alone in a car, ran his hand up under her skirt and grabbed her genitals, then put his hand on her head and tried to push it down to his crotch.

    On what planet is this anywere near acceptable? It's an abuse of power, sexual assault and abhorrant behavior.

    How can he not remember doing this to a woman? We're not chattle, we've fought too hard to be treated as equals, and we aren't. We're not even paid the same for doing the same job a man can do.

    It's not over, Godfather of Gropers. Acknwledge you lied, acknowledge you're a pig, stop using your wife's height to excuse what may be percieved as sexual advances.

    Good Riddance

    Next bombshell- Texas Tea's cabana boys.

  43. Gasman10:07 PM

    Politico is reporting on a 5th incident of lecherous behavior by Herbie:

    I'll bet Herbie's sleeping on the couch.

  44. hauksdottir12:42 AM

    We must remember that Cain is not only married (children and grandchildren), but is also an Assistant Minister.

    Yup, yup,yupperdoosie... Cain was "called" by God to be a leader and counselor and a preacher of what is right. Of course, he belongs to a religion that teaches "all is forgiven".

    It doesn't matter if his congregation forgives him or his wife forgives or some mythical sky-fairy forgives him. The women he wronged obviously have not forgiven nor forgotten what he did to humiliate them. Sexual crimes are not forgivable. The fact that he doesn't think he did anything wrong means that he'll continue to behave like a predatory opportunist.

    It isn't about sex, it is all about power and dominance... and that makes this matter incredibly relevant when considering candidates for what is probably the most powerful job in the world. someone who abuses power is simply not to be trusted with it.

  45. Anonymous3:10 AM

    Morgan -

    This woman could not have filed a sexual harassment complaint through work, because at the time she was unemployed. She is telling her story to support the other women who are too afraid to come forward.

    Most women do not file complaints. I have been sexually harassed many times at different jobs over the course of my life. I was 12 when I was hired as a waitress. The owner kept pressing himself against my buttocks every time I walked by. I quit the same day. (How could I file a complaint when I was underaged and employed with a small restaurant when the boss is the culprit?)

    Other times, it was pretty much the same thing. A boss makes it uncomfortable to work with them - I found a different job and quit.

    Making a formal complaint takes guts. Coworkers will target you. You put yourself up for a war, and more likely than not end up on the losing side of he said/she said.

    Most of these incidents happen when there are no witnesses. The victims are usually desparate to have their income. They may be the sole provider for their family.

    It is a shame that the women experience this initially, but after they complain they are further targetted. People question their motives, question why they want to destroy the reputation of the man.

    They have to recall shameful, humilating experiences which are painful.

    It keeps them from being able to succeed in business based upon their work accomplishments and demands that as a woman they have to play to get ahead.

    I am proud of the women who do file complaints against their harassers. That is what needs to happen to make long term change.

    I took the chicken way out, and looked after only myself. Which permitted the slimeballs to continue their behavior with future employees.

  46. Anonymous3:18 AM

    Morgan said...

    .................After witnessing how Anita Hill was treated (and still to this day) I believe that set back the desire for women to speak up. Anita Hill was bullied, and Clarence got a life time appointment.

  47. Anonymous3:20 AM

    What a brave lady. Sure hope she is doing this out of the goodness of her heart and not because some one is paying her off behind the just never know these days. I believe her and can't wait to see him spin this one. Think I will be going over to Fake News this morning and watch them squirm.

  48. Anonymous3:29 AM

    and another point.....what really blows my mind is where these men get the balls that it would be a good idea to run for president when they have these skeletons rattling in the closet. Hello........people talk, you will get caught. Duh.....

  49. Anonymous4:05 AM

    There was an article in the Chicago Sun Times this am that has a witness stating that this woman and Cain were hugging like old friends at a recent Tea Party get together.

  50. To Anon @ 6:05: So in order to be a feminist we can't disagree with other women? Really? We have to walk in lockstep and support other women, even if we think they're lying? Good Lord, that sounds a lot like what they tried to tell us about Sarah Palin?

    To Anon @ 7:13: Yes, indeed. Your disapproval on the matter, like you, is irrelevant. ;-)

  51. Anne In DC6:24 AM

    Her being not only white is problematic for him. But the fact that she is also a registered Republican tends to further discredit Cain's allegations that the "liberal" media is out to get him. He has to be an unmitigated fool to have believed he could run for a presidential nomination with these skeletons rattling in his closet. So, in addition to being empathy-challenged like his "brothers with a different mother," and as ignorant as the day is long, he is also exposed as a first-class boor with no respect for women.

  52. Anonymous6:40 AM

    He should change his handle to Herman "Big Daddy" Cain!

  53. Anonymous6:41 AM

    I post on this blog all the time with a moniker, but this I am posting as Anon: I was raped when I was 19 by a hairdresser whose salon was downstairs from my apartment. He was in his late thirties and knew I had a boyfriend and I was naive enough to think we were becoming "friends." We were going out and went back to his apartment to pick up his wallet. I came in and he raped me in the vestibule of his apartment, just inside the door. I tried to fight him off but he was way too strong for me. He never even took off my clothes, just moved my underwear over to the side (I think I was wearing shorts.) This was 24 years ago.
    I called my friend at the time who knew him and she said to take a shower and open a bottle of wine. She came over and I never told the police, never told my boyfriend, never told my sister. I did tell my husband of 15 years.
    Why didn't I report it? I felt stupid and naive. Why did I think we could go out and this kind of thing wouldn't happen? Why did I go back to his apartment? He was cute and flattering, and under different circumstances I just might have dated him or slept with him. (But I said no. Repeatedly. Yelled it. Tried to fight him off.) Who the fuck was going to believe me? What would it mean when other people found out about it. He had a big following, big ego. I was a nobody waitress and college student. There would be DNA evidence if I had had a rape kit done, but who would believe me?
    I found out that years later he had been arrested, charged and convicted of raping a 15-year-old girl.
    I am a smart woman, I have two brothers and a boyfriend at the time who would have kicked the shit out of him. I was scared, embarrassed and naive--actually embarrassed of my naivety.
    I believe her. Absolutely. He didn't "hit on" on her." To put it graphically, he put his hands under the skirt of her business suit and tried to grab her genitals. He put his hand on the back of her head and tried to push her mouth over his cock. When she said, "No, I have a boyfriend" he said: "You want a job, don't you?" This is the man you are defending, Morgan.
    Have fun with that.

  54. Anonymous8:09 AM

    It's not only about the alleged sexual harrassment charges. It is about how Cain has reacted to all of this - first he couldn't "remember" and then he suddenly "remembered" some details. He clearly is arrogant, and a liar. His 999 plan clearly favors the rich and would hurt the middle class on down. He doesn't have a clue about foreign affairs, and seems to think it's a joke.

    Cain is in no way presidential and fit to represent ALL the people of America. Cain is a loser, and if he really cared and had any decency at all, he'd withdraw as a candidate.

  55. Anonymous8:16 AM

    3:03 pm: Thank you - I totally agree with you!

  56. Anon @ 6:41:

    Sooo your terrible experience proves that Cain's accuser is telling the

    It doesn't, and the incidents are completely different. Cain's accuser is 50. This incident happened fourteen years ago, so she was 36 and a professional woman, well old and wise enough I presume to access the proper channels in regards to this alleged incident.

    She did not. Nor did she come forward at any other time in the ensuing years when she was away from him. At any point she could have hired a lawyer and gone public. Instead, she waited until there were a string of anonymous allegations and Cain's opponents and the media were clamoring for someone to come forward with a story and a name they could quote.

    The last line of your comment states an allegation as fact. But there is no proof other than the word of a woman with a history of financial problems trotted out onstage by a celebrity lawyer notorious for attaching herself onto every high-profile harassment case that comes around.

    There are reasons to suspect that Cain may be lying. His behavior in the wake of the first allegations was certainly suspect. But there are also reasons to suspect that Bialeck is lying. She certainly has motive and never, ever lodged a complaint even though this happened not long after the Anita Hill testimony, when awareness of sexual harassment was at its zenith. The two men she allegedly told have not provided their names to anyone but Allred, who will not release them. Her current fiance never heard a thing about this until she was about to go to the press.

    Cain seems dodgy, but so does she.

    And while your red herring argument is quite passionate, let me remind the readers of my original question which is this:

    Many of us were quick to disbelieve Paula Jones when she accused Bill Clinton of harassment. I know I was. So why do we believe Bialek? I think it all comes down to politics, so if you - as a rape victim, believe Bialek I can only assume you also have no doubt that Paula Jones was telling the truth. And Kathleen Willy, too, for that matter. Remember her? She said Bill Cllinton raped her in a hotel room.

    Do you believe those women's stories? Please do respond, for I'd like to know whether you think any woman ever lies about these things....

    It's a sad day when political ideology is our only criteria for whether someone is telling the truth or not. I campaigned for Barack Obama. I will campaign for him again. As I stated early on, Cain is a buffoon. He will collapse under the weight of his own hubris and stupidity. Let it happen. But let's not be so quick to believe an allegation just because we want it to be true. We should be better than that.

  57. Sharon Bialek no longer worked for NRA so she couldn't complain to them. Had she have gone to the police, even if she had proved her case against Cain what would have happened to him? Jail time? Highly unlikely but she would have paid a high price for speaking out back then just as she's going to pay right now. Humiliating the victim was and apparently still is the first line of defense for anyone accusing a man of sexual assault or harassment. There's reports today about her financial position back in the '90's. What does that have to do with what Cain did? His supporters are using the excuse today that she's after money. They would have used the same excuse back when it happened. Limbaugh came out yesterday with a crude way to pronounce her name - "buy-a-lick" which suggests that she's a prostitute.

    It will be great when all women publicly scream about men like Cain but when will we get to that point? It might help if women would support the Sharon Bialeks of the world instead of helping men demonize the victims. Herman Cain is a serial sexual predator and hopefully won't be able to lie his way out of it now.

  58. Anonymous10:22 AM


    4:28 AM

    LOL! Struck a nerve :)

  59. Anonymous10:51 AM

    Morgan, don't pretend you are a Democrat when it is obvious you are a plant. Paula Jones and Bill Clinton have nothing to do with this. (If that's the case, let's talk about David Vitter.)

    Four women have made allegations, two have received settlements. Others who were around Cain at the time said this behavior is within the realms of what they know about him. Fact is if he feels entitled enough to sexually harass women with the title of president of the NRA, how much more entitled would he feel as president of the United States.

    My story was relating a view of how it is that someone who knows better doesn't come forward. My opinion based on how she presented her case, the fact, for example, that she got choked up describing the most demeaning parts (you know, where he grabs her hair and shoves her face into his crotch), is that she is telling the truth. That she has more to lose than to gain with coming forward and being put through this witch hunt that you are so proudly a part of. As if her finances should play a role in this conversation. As if she is enjoying all the fucking teatards running around making insinuations and discounting everything she says because someone has stepped forward into the light, which was what they had been calling for last I heard.

    You didn't campaign for Obama, and that is beside the point. This joker is an arrogant asshole and thinks that he can steamroll over everyone with his bullshit mottos and denials and EXCUSE MEs.

    I don't need your fucking lectures and your fake voice of reason. The guy obviously thinks it's OK for him to paw at women who aren't interested because he has the big job and the big expense account and the campaign staffers to fend them off.

  60. Anonymous10:52 AM

    A lady who was previously "anonymous" has been outed by the paper to whom she spoke under the promise anonymity.

    She is communications director at the Treasury Dept.and has become the second woman to have her name put to accusations that Herman Cain is a serial sexual harasser. Whether she likes it or not -- and it seems clear that she doesn't -- Karen Kraushaar's name will now be part of the story of Cain's history of being accused of inappropriate behavior at work. Kraushaar, 55, has confirmed that the things said in the interview yesterday are consistent with what was said/done to her.

    I can't see how he can deny these allegations any longer. Time to turn off the lights and go home "Herb".

    I am VERY tired of those of you who seem intent on trying to make this okay but saying Bill Clinton did it too. That does NOT make it right or acceptable.

  61. Anonymous11:24 AM

    Well, lookie here: Lisa Murkowski praises accuser and says Cain should step down

  62. 10:51. You have successfully outed me. I am not a Democrat. I am a registered Independent. And those familiar with my blog will know I am anything *but* a conservative.

    It's amusing how people seem to think that the mark of a good partisan - be it conservative or progressive - is to walk in slack-jawed lockstep with the majority. I do not. I happen to know that people can and do lie, and barring anything more substantial than accusations thrown around during a partisan atmosphere, I'm hesitant to play the parrot.

    Getting "choked up" is not proof. People have been sent to prison on faulty rape charges. No doubt the accusers were very, very convincing.

    Rape and sexual assaults of any kind are crimes. But so is tarnishing the reputation of someone through false allegations.

    Emotion is no substitute for facts. Cain may well be a serial abuser. If he is, I hope someone comes forward with something more than hearsay to reveal him for what he is. So far, the proof is not there. What we have is a lot of people - both progressives and conservatives - who want it to be true.

  63. And one more thing. You seemed to have - AGAIN - ignored my question about Paula Jones. Did you believer her accusations against Bill Clinton? I personally did not, and for the same reasons I'm not so quick to believe Bialeck. Fame and money are strong motivators to lie.

  64. Anonymous7:57 PM

    Thanks for warning me away from your blog. You're a disrespectful asshole and I don't give a flying fuck about what happened regarding Paula Jones and Bill Clinton. Have fun defending the sex addict. I'll be popping popcorn.

  65. Anonymous8:10 PM

    Poor Morgan...still peddling your Clinton crap...sorry nobody's buying what you are selling...better get back to your...."blog"...whichever one you like ;)

  66. Ad hominem attack in lieu of an answer. No more than I expected. ;-)

  67. Anonymous8:57 AM

    Morgan said...


    7:08 AM

    This is the best that you can come up with?


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