As we’ve documented on TPM, Herman Cain and his supporters have offered plenty of arguments as to why the sexual harassment accusations against him should be dismissed. But they don’t always address the core question: whether Cain actually sexually harassed — or in Sharon Bialek’s case, assaulted — several women in the 1990s.
Our last list (and its game show spin-off) was compiled before two of the accusers came forward and revealed themselves to the press, spawning a whole range of new talking points from Team Cain, many of them pretty irrelevant to the above question.
So without further ado, here are the latest updates to our ongoing feature:
“Things That Do Not Affect Whether Herman Cain Sexually Harassed Two Several Women In The 1990s.”
Whether The Democrat Machine Is After You
“The Democrat machine in America has brought forth a troubled woman to make false accusations.”
-Herman Cain, 11/8/11
Whether There Are Thousands Of Women You Didn’t Harass
“For every one person that comes forward with a false accusation, there are probably thousands who will say that none of that sort of activity ever came from Herman Cain.”
-Herman Cain, 11/9/11
Whether You Turned Around Burger King
“I turned around a poorly performing region for Burger King, then turned around a struggling Godfather’s Pizza organization. At some point during a career like this, someone will not like things you do, or how you do it. Someone will complain.” -Herman Cain, 11/09/11
Whether Men Are Sexually Harassed Too
“I’ve also seen situations in which women have attempted to sexually harass men. It’s very serious, and I have made sure that that wasn’t something that was tolerated in any organization that I was responsible for.”
-Herman Cain, 11/8/11
Whether A Former Politico Reporter Shares A Last Name With An Accuser
“I mean, just at the press conference it was brought up that Karen Kraushaar had come out as one of the women. So, we’ve come to find out that her son works at Politico, the organization.” Cain chief of staff Mark Block, 11/8/11
“Based upon information available at the time of Mr. Block’s Tuesday night interview on Fox News, the campaign was led to believe that Mr. Josh Kraushaar, currently with the National Journal and a former employee of Politico, was the son of Karen Kraushaar. We have since learned that is not the case.” -Cain spokesman JD Gordon, 11/9/11
Whether A Private Voice Expert Tells Local News You’re Innocent
“CBS 46 in Atlanta is reporting tonight on an interview with Private investigator TJ Ward, who used software to analyze speeches by Mr. Cain and Sharon Bialek earlier this week.” -CainTruth.com, 11/10/11
Whether Herman Cain’s Accuser Worked For Him At The Time
“There’s nothing here. The lady didn’t even work for the company.” -Sean Hannity, 11/7/11
Whether You Think The Accuser’s Surname Implies Promiscuity
“[B]ialek. As in (slurp slurp) buy-a-lick.” -Rush Limbaugh, 11/7/11
Whether You Think Sexual Assault Is A Thing
“Political correctness, which is censorship, has now spread to behavior — not just speech. It’s spread to behavior.” -Rush Limbaugh, 11/8/11
See another one that’s not here? Send in suggestions to benjy@talkingpointsmemo.com