The Liberty Tree

Republican Tea Party (GOTP) presidential candidate Herman “Pizza Man” Cain is reportedly facing a third woman accusing him of sexual harassment; more of those “unsubstantiated personal attacks” and “thinly sourced allegations” everyone was warned would be coming no doubt.

Of course the allegations are remarkably similar to accusations of unwanted behavior which led to separate settlements in the late 1990s with two other women, but the latest allegations come from a woman who said in interviews with The Associated Press (AP) that Cain was aggressive and inappropriate with her, even extending a private invitation to his corporate apartment when she worked with him at the National Restaurant Association. The woman said Cain’s behavior occurred at the same time two co-workers had settled separate harassment complaints against him while he was leading the association.

This third woman was located and approached by the AP as part of its investigation into harassment complaints against Cain that were disclosed in recent days. This is the type of scrutiny people face when they run for national political office, and with these kinds of skeletons in his closet it’s surprising no one on his staff knew about them. Doesn’t anyone vet candidates anymore? One thing is probably sure at this time, Cain has to win the nomination – he has to win it all – because with this albatross around his neck he’s not likely to be offered the VP nod if Romney emerges victorious.

The latest accuser said she didn’t file a formal complaint against Cain because she began having fewer interactions with him. She said Cain told her he had confided to colleagues how attractive she was and invited her to his corporate apartment outside work.

His actions “were inappropriate, and it made me feel uncomfortable,” the woman said.

The AP’s confirmed the woman worked at the restaurant association with Cain during his time there.

So, is this the smoking gun which derails the 999 express, or does it create the opposite effect and rally uber-conservatives behind Cain?

The problem for Pizza Man however is there’s more than just the women’s accusations floating about; Chris Wilson, a pollster who worked for the restaurant association during Cain’s tenure, said in an interview he witnessed the businessman making inappropriate comments and gestures toward a young woman who worked for the group during a dinner at a hotel in Arlington, Va., in the late 1990s. Wilson declined to discuss more specifics without the woman’s permission, but said it was not one of the two women who settled complaints against Cain and it was not the third woman interviewed by the AP.

Cain’s behavior with women was well known, Wilson said.

“I’m surprised that it hasn’t come up before,” said Wilson, whose firm, Wilson Perkins Allen Opinion Research, does polling for a political action committee backing a Cain rival, Rick Perry. Wilson said he has not been the source of information on the accusations against Cain.

Now, of course the fact Wilson is employed by the Reverend Rick Perry’s organization does throw some doubt on his credibility, but it also shows these claims are not part of a vast left-wing liberal conspiracy to put Cain out of the race because of the left’s fear of running against him, in spite of what mental midgets Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter think.

Cain – of course – calls the two sexual harassment complaints “totally false” and baseless; which is beginning to sound a lot like, “I did not have sex with that girl”.

Meanwhile back in reality land, the AP’s confirmed the identity of the two women who received settlements from the restaurant association but isn’t revealing their names.

Cain’s campaign’s saying it’s all a “smear campaign” because he’s riding high in opinion polls and accused Perry’s operation of being behind the original stories.

Perry’s campaign’s denied any involvement – and is pointing the finger at Mitt Romney, whose campaign is of course saying it isn’t true. The problem for Mitt being a close “democratic” associate has said he’s doing “whatever it takes to get elected” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/02/romney-democrat_n_1072008.html?1320260639&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009) which makes his group prime suspects, as well as Michele “Krazy” Bachman’s.

The opportunity for real damage control has come and gone; if the allegations are true, Cain should’ve owned up to them and moved on because now Pandora’s box has been opened and there’s no getting away from a picture of cover up and being just like every other scum ball politician out there. For the GOTP it’s appears he’s just one more “family values” candidate claiming to be the fine upstanding “Christian” who can’t seem to keep from practicing the laying on of hands on women other than his own wife.