A Love Fest in Texas

Presidential Candidates Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich, source: abcnews

                  In a hotel ballroom just outside of Houston, Texas it seemed the ultimate bro-mance was born.  Saturday night, a Texas Tea Party group called Texas Patriot PAC organized what was supposed to be a debate between two Republican presidential candidates, former President and CEO of Godfather’s Pizza Herman Cain and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. The debate was designed after the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates for the 1858 Illinois Senate seat. In 1858 Abraham Lincoln and Steven Douglas conducted seven debates in seven different cities across Illinois. These debates included intense discourse about political policy. Saturday night, the debate was meant to focus only on entitlement reform with emphasis on the three most important programs, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

                This debate was more like a love fest as both candidates constantly complemented each other and purposely avoided any controversial or uncomfortable topics. Cain’s resent sexual harassment controversy was completely off limits as was Gingrich’s Tiffany & Co. account that has also gotten a lot of unwanted attention. The organizers of the event ensured that the reason such topics were off limits was because the debates were to be centered on entitlement reform and that only. 

Former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich

                This left both candidates in an opportune position to discuss one of the more important issues in the campaign. However, the debate resulted in both men commenting one another on various positions. At one point Cain stated that he is supposed to give a one minute rebuttal to Gingrich’s stance on Medicare reform, but simply could not and agreed with the former speaker. Similarly, Gingrich stated at one point that he is tempted to bring up Cain’s 9-9-9 plan but would not. This debate lacked all of the bickering and heat found in the recent Republican debates. Saturday’s event seemed to be more of an excuse to gain positive attention than a place for true debate. Both candidates laughed and talked more than they contributed serious political content. The candidates also showed a united front against the government and current President Obama. They even joked about sharing the ticket for 2012; the Tea Party audience was pleased.

                The real action came after the debate when Herman Cain held a small press conference. Prior to this his advisers told the press that they were not allowed to mention anything about the sexual harassment allegations.  Not surprisingly, a journalist attempted to ask a question pertaining to the touchy subject (no pun intended). The journalist was met with an irate Cain who refused to dwell on the matter.  Cain replied, “Where’s my chief of staff? Please send him the Journalistic Code of Ethics”. Clearly, Cain wants to forget this past week’s events in regards to the alleged sexual harassment of now three female victims. It seems that the controversy has barely hurt the candidate as he has risen over $1.6 million this week and is trailing leader Mitt Romney by only one point in the polls. Cain has weathered the storm of controversy for now, but the farther along in the race he gets, the harder it will be to keep such information out of the lime light. More importantly, it will be harder for his campaign to brush the allegations off as gossip while the evidence piles up. But the most alarming part is that Cain has raised substantial amounts of money while not dipping in the polls. Do Republicans not believe the allegations or are they willing to look past them? As the weeks surge on to the primaries, perhaps Cain will really have to deal with this scandal. 

Sources:

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/06/8660471-cain-has-a-last-word-on-harassment-case

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/67681_Page2.html

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/11/cain-spars-with-reporters-over-questions-on-sexual-harassment-claims/

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/us/politics/herman-cain-and-newt-gingrich-meet-for-a-congenial-debate.html?_r=1&ref=politics

C-SPAN Uses Social Media

C-span's communications director Howard Mortman talks about how the network uses social media in order to create a more efficient way for people to keep track of various politicians and political news. He uses the example of their Twitter page, which posts the tweets of Representatives, Senators, and people of the press that follow political stories. This video is an example of how important and influential social media can be in politics.

Internet and Elections

The following video includes two commentators and founders of websites that deal political matter. This clip includes their opinion on how internet and websites effect elections. There is also talk about who uses the internet for information and how they can be influenced in elections.

Internet and Campaigning

The commentators reflect on the use of the internet in campaigns as well as its benefits. There is also discussion about the creation of websites by members of Congress in order to make an easier connection with voters. The commentators agreed that the use of the internet will soon evolve. An interesting point from a video that was aired in 1998 as we now see the versatility of the internet today.

Cain Controversy

 

                  News broke on Sunday night from POILITICO that Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain had been accused by two women of sexual harassment while he worked as the President and CEO of the National Restaurant Association from 1996-1999. And thus began the shaky and disorganized defense from the Cain campaign.  Since Sunday night, Cain has found himself in a media whirlwind surrounding the controversy. He has contradicted his own statements and the facts according to Cain have changed from day to day. The evolving stories that involve two separate accusations of sexual harassment as well as the chance of a cash settlement for both female employees may have serious consequences on the Cain campaign.

                The report released on Sunday night by POLITICO included allegations by two female employees of the National Restaurant Association of inappropriate behavior by, then President and CEO, Herman Cain. The report included sources that recited the incidents at hand; these sources included documentation and recollections of associates. The incidents included,

“Conversations allegedly filled with innuendo or personal questions of a sexually suggestive nature, taking place at hotels during conferences, at other officially sanctioned restaurant association events and at the association’s offices. There were also descriptions of physical gestures that were not overtly sexual but that made women who experienced or witnessed them uncomfortable and that they regarded as improper in a professional relationship.”(www.politico.com).

Overall, it was stated that the incidents made the female employees uncomfortable and angry. POLITICO also reported that these women were given separate severance packages along with their departure from the National Restaurant Association.  It is believed that they received an amount of five figures in accordance with their involuntary dismissal. 

Presidential Candidate Herman Cain, Source: POLITICO

            The exposure of this information has seemed to cause a problem for the Cain campaign. The various comments made in regards to the situation from Cain himself as well as his advisors have been contradictory and not effective in explaining the allegations. On Monday, Cain assured his innocence during his appearance on Fox News. He claimed that he was falsely accused of sexual harassment and that he was unaware of a financial settlement. The inconsistency began later that day when he changes his stance stating that did not know about an “agreement” made with the accusers. 

              On Tuesday, Cain claimed that the amount of time that has passed since the incidents occurred was the cause of his poor memory of the details. He defended himself by explaining that the twelve years lapse along with the long days he has scheduled made it difficult to remember such significant details. In an interview on the news network HLN, Cain claimed he does not remember signing a “separation agreement” but admits he very well could have. During the same appearance he described one encounter with the female employee involved that consisted of a simple conversation about height.  Cain claims that he made a gesture by putting his hand up toward his chin as he made the comparison of his wife’s height to the female employee. He explained that the gesture was made only to make the comparison and that the conversation happened in his office with the door open and his assistant sitting right outside it.

                In regards to the financial settlement, Cain still insists that he was unaware it was made, if it was to begin with. He insists that both incidents were handled by officers at the National Restaurant Association and that he had nothing to do with any cash settlement that may have been agreed upon. These allegations have come out just when Cain found himself ahead in the polls. Cain has stated that he believes this is a “smear campaign” that evolved due to his recent success in fundraising.

                Will these allegations hurt the Cain campaign or will they be forgotten due to another controversy surrounding any other candidate? It seems that the more detrimental aspect of Cain’s recent episode is the poor handling by his campaign. Their defense and explanation has be in consistent and not the least bit convincing. Although there seems to be bigger fish to fry in terms of Cain’s issues, such as his stance on abortion which contrasts with Republican ideals, he has continued to stay ahead in the polls. It will be interesting to see if Cain can continue this trend or if his rhetoric and past will catch up to him. 

Sources: 

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/01/cain-blames-time-for-change-in-story/

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/31/8563824-nbc-confirms-one-cain-accuser-received-cash-settlement

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/67307.html

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/67194_Page3.html