Mounting allegations against Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain have roiled the Republican Presidential nomination process, leading to speculation that the candidate's stunning rise in the polls may be followed by an equally devastating fall from grace within the Republican (and American) electorate even as he has steadfastly resisted calls to drop out of the nomination race.
Although recent polls have not yet seemed to register much of a change in opinion among Republicans towards the embattled candidate following his staunch denials of allegations that he sexually harassed several female employees of the National Restaurant Association in the late '90s when he was President of the organization, that is likely to change with Sharon Bialek, one of the alleged harassed women, now coming forward to publicly air lurid details of his attempted advances and use of employment as leverage in attempts to procure sexual favors, see here.
And although as a non-profit organization we don't often publicly express opinions on purely political matters better left to the judgment of the American voters (as opposed to examination of the issues), and don't usually endorse particular candidates, these extraordinary events lead us to make the following statement:
1) With the publicly detailed allegations now given increased credibility, as well as yielded publicly the name of a second woman and U.S. treasury department spokesperson Karen Kraushaar, also allegedly harassed by Cain, raising the likelihood of further revelations to come, (indeed, news has broken that a planned news conference of all the women claiming harassment by Cain in the 1990's is planned), AND,
2) The revelation by the Candidate himself that at least one of the woman claiming harassment was paid a "severance pay" to drop her claims of sexual harassment in the '90s and the National Restaurant Association has confirmed the existence of at least 2 such complaints against Mr. Cain, and WHEREAS,
3) It appears highly likely to this organization that dragging this matter out will prove not in the interest of all parties, (including the women involved in these incidents, several of which have expressed a desire not to have the whole thing made public), and further focusing on such matters will only serve to contribute to the cynicism and low esteem in which the American public already holds their elected leaders and political institutions and can at this point serve no legitimate law enforcement purpose these many years later long after the statute of limitations on any civil or criminal action can be brought have expired, AND FURTHER,
4) That a continuation of Herman Cain's presidential campaign can only harm and reinforce by association, fairly or not, in the eyes of a significant portion of the public, a negative view towards conservative principles and other candidates who might otherwise better be able to promote policies more in keeping with the values and goals of the ACLP than the present Administration, MOREOVER,
5) That further scheduled debates, one of which is scheduled for November 9, 2011 on CNBC, is likely to focus considerably on the claims as have been made against Mr. Cain and thus serve as a distraction to the discussion of the critical public policy issues facing the nation at this time, NOW THEN,
The American Center for Law and Policy calls on Republican Presidential Candidate Herman Cain to suspend and/or end his campaign for President of the United States and put his country's need to focus on the critical issues it faces in these uncertain times above his own political aspirations.
Indeed, to do so would allow a time of healing and reflection that would innure to the benefit of the country and good will of all Americans and positively reflect on the character of Mr. Cain that, prior to the recent revelations, had been so much a part of the appeal of his campaign for the Republican nomination to the presidency. (After all, even Nixon had the decency to resign rather than put the country through a grueling and extended impeachment process that would have only served to further divide our country at a time in which, as now, our attentions could be better focused elsewhere, for instance, Iran, or the world economy).
On a more personal note, we also urge you Mr. Cain to seek personal redemption and reconciliation for the matters of which have been reported on which will undoubtedly require your attention in your own life regardless of whether the offenses claimed have been exhaturated and/or promoted for partisan political purposes as you claim.
We also call on all other Republican candidates for the presidential nomination to condemn, in no uncertain terms, the kind of acts as are alleged and have been reported widely in the media, as several have already moved in the direction of doing so, (see comments by Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum).
The issue of sexual harassment is a very serious one, as are the issues that further focus on the sensational claims as have been made against Mr. Cain will undoubtedly crowd out from public consideration if the allegations as have been made persist in dominating public discourse as they have the last week in the next.
We therefore appeal to you personally Mr. Cain, to do the right thing and step down from consideration for the nomination to the office of President so that a comprehensive and dispassionate examination of the relevant and crucial issues facing our nation may be able to move forward and ultimately innure to the general welfare of these United States. jp
No comments:
Post a Comment