Poll Shows Cain Approval Drops Over Allegations

Unless you are living under a rock and have no connection to the rest of America, you probably know about the allegations of sexual impropriety that have been made against GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain (Pictured above). It was first reported that two women had accused him of sexual harassment while they worked for the National Restaurant Association (NRA) in the late 1990's and Cain was their boss.

Now a third woman has come forward with similar accusations. It has also been revealed that this behavior by Cain was not a one-time deal, but happened on a continuing basis. At least two of the women received pay-offs from the NRA -- one for around $35,000 and the other for $45,000 (which was a year's pay for the women at that time).

Cain at first denied the allegations, calling them "false accusations", and said he knew nothing of any pay-offs being made (which was hard to believe since the pay-offs were the result of accusations against him and he was the head of the NRA at the time). Since that initial denial, Cain has changed his story several times -- and now refuses to answer further questions about the sex scandal. One thing is for sure -- Cain has certainly acted as though he is guilty. Now there is a new poll that shows a majority of Americans believe the charges are true.


A new Reuters /Ipsos Poll, conducted last Friday and Saturday of 1,007 nationwide adults, showed that about 53% of the general public believed the charges against Cain were true (including 39% of Republicans). The poll also shows that Cain's approval rating has dropped.

A week ago, Cain had an approval rating among Republicans of about 66% in this same poll. That approval is now down to 57% -- a drop of 9 points in one week. Cain's approval rating with the general public was already pretty low, but it also showed a significant drop -- from about 37% a week ago to about 32% currently (a 5 point drop in one week).

I have never believed Cain had any chance of being elected president (or of getting the GOP nomination), even before the sexual improprieties became public knowledge. But I have to wonder about a large segment of the Republican Party. While 39% of Republicans believed the charges were true, there was only a 9% drop in Cain's approval. Did the other 30% already disapprove of him, or do they just not care that their possible nominee sexually harasses women?

We already know that the far-right fundamentalists in the party (the teabaggers) don't truly believe in equality for women. They (and their congressional representatives) opposed equal pay for women. They oppose choice for women, believing that women shouldn't have the same right as men to control their own bodies. And they believe that women should be submissive to men, both in marriage and in the church. After seeing this second-class status they give to women, it is not so hard to believe that they wouldn't see sexual harassment as a serious issue.

I vociferously disagree with their viewpoint. Equal rights is a meaningless term unless it is applied to all Americans equally, including women. And sexual harassment is nothing less than a denial of equal rights. It also shows a marked disrespect for women everywhere. Just the thought of electing a president who doesn't respect women is wholly unacceptable.

Republicans acted as though they were horrified by the sexual misconduct of President Clinton (and yes, I do believe he was guilty of sexual misconduct). Why then are they not as equally horrified when the sexual misconduct involves one of their own presidential candidates?