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Others can have at the prurient Herman Cain sexual harassment scandal. While it may be fun watching Cain bob and weave to try and “recollect” these claims in the best possible light, I maintain that the much more damaging issue for Cain is the fact that a network of private corporations directly paid for many of the campaign’s early events. Adele Stan has a good roundup of this story:
Prosperity USA, described as a 501(c)(3) in its incorporation documents (and which now seems to be defunct), appears to have been footing the bill for Cain campaign expenses, including a highly unusual payment of $100,000 to the right-wing Congress of Racial Equality in advance of a major speech by Cain. Daniel Bice, who writes the Journal Sentinel’s No Quarter blog, reports that the payment to CRE appears to have been disbursed from $150,000 in loans raised from unnamed donors. While Bice says that Cain was apparently not paid for that appearance, the New Yorker’s Jane Mayer this month uncovered information suggesting that Cain’s speaking fees are not directly reported as such on his disclosure forms to the Federal Elections Commission, but are shielded from public view as transactions that take place between his private company and the speaker’s bureau representing him [...]
Among Bice’s revelations is a record showing that Prosperity USA paid for (Cain chief of staff and noted smoker Mark) Block’s travel to meet with David Koch, the billionaire right-wing funder behind Americans for Prosperity and its foundation, and AFP president Tim Phillips in Washington, D.C., in January — after Block was named “chief of staff” of the Cain campaign. Although the records Bice combed through do not specify a date for that trip, we know that both Phillips and Koch were in the nation’s capital to celebrate the swearing in of the new congress on January 6, and to see the speaker’s gavel passed from Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to John Boehner, R-Ohio.
Block has a history of running afoul of campaign finance laws, and this just appears to be an extension of this. The more you read, the more you recognize that the Cain campaign is really just a corporate front group in and of itself, designed to push the conversation well to the right. Block is the only senior staffer in the Cain campaign, and he’s a direct conduit to the Koch Brothers and their network of corporate-funded groups.
The campaign is now claiming they will investigate the charges. Block himself had to answer some questions about this today, and here was the result:
At National Journal’s 2012 preview panel, in the caged environment of a hotel ballroom and live video, ABC News’s Amy Walter asked Block if he could explain the Bice story.
“We’ve retained independent counsel to look at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story and report back to us,” said Block.
Walter followed up with a different version of the question.
“We’ve retained independent counsel to look at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story,” said Block.
Walter tried again, asking Block if he watched the books when he ran the organization.
“Amy,” said Block, coldly and calmly, “why don’t we talk about the campaign going forward?”
Revealing!
The only problem with the story by Daniel Bice, which is meticulously documented, is that it came out on the same day as these sexual harassment allegations. But there’s a lot of smoke here.
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Interesting TPM article on Mitt and son Tagg’s involvement with perps of an $8 million Ponzi scheme.
(problem with link)
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/11/01/316040/romney-solamere-ponzi/
I really get the impression that this Block guy is a third-string campaign manager that Cain picked up because he needed somebody and all the good people were taken and Block was cheap.
If you’re not running a real campaign, the last thing you want to do is to waste money on the campaign itself. It reduces the chances to find creative ways to line your pockets with those sweet campaign contributions.
Now that the campaign has run into some Rovian turbulence, it is going to fold like a cheap suit. Rove will keep applying pressure until the wheels come off.
Thanks for the unsurprising update.
Mr. Dayen: I know you’re super busy, but have you run across any info about Cain’s time working at the Fed? Inquiring minds would love to know more about that.
IMO, Cain’s been tossed under the bus and will not re-emerge, but methinks it was probably scripted to happen this way, possibly down to Cain knowing this would play out this way. Doncha worry, though, Cain was a “useful idiot” for bringing the notion of the utterly regressive Flat tax, which reliably jizzes up the libertarians. And Cain will be amply rewarded for playing his ROLE well in the Kabuki Show called “the GOP Primary.” JMHO, of course.
You know what they say, “Where there’s smoke, there’s a bunch of guys smoking in the 2nd floor bathroom.”
Interesting take on it…….You may be right. Perhaps he was just a “rabbit” like in the 1500 meters. Of ALL the “candidates” this guy had the least chance of getting nominated. Former pizza exec of a less than average pizza chain, NO political experience, kinda “dark complexioned” compared to most republicans…..I’m not saying he didn;t ocme off fairly well on a few occassions. But blacks and women do not get to the top of the heap in the GOP.
According to his wiki, he was on the Board of the KC FRB, not “working” for the FRB.
As usual, your post is right on point.
And what do you want to bet it goes nowhere.
The post mentions the “right wing Congress of Racial Equality”. That’s CORE, right? I recall it as a pro-civil rights group from the 60′s? What happened? Get co-opted by somebody? Or is my recollection wrong?
It’s long been my opinion that the Republicans should nominate Cain. After all, they don’t have a prayer of winning with any of their candidates, so they could burnish their ‘We’re not racist’ cred, by nominating the Black guy, and then let him take the fall.
thanks for the tip. so if Cain was “just” on the Board of the KC Fed, does it mean he didn’t do much and doesn’t have anything to hide… or what?? More of a rhetorical question, as I’m unclear on what the Board members of the various Feds actually “do.” My very very very very basic Economics class really didn’t specify duties… and/or whatever power, sway or influence Board members have.
Board memberships, in my experience, can range all over the place. Thne nonprofit boards I’ve been on require very active participation in the activities of the underlying entities, both of which are quite small.
I have no experience on other boards.
However, it is my guess that board membership in large orgs, like major corps or possibly KC FRB are mostly honorary and prestigious. The bilaws require them to perform certain functions, like oversight of financials. But staff does all the work, presents the board with a PP and the board rubber stamps it.
On edit: I haven’t read Cain’s wiki carefully but I mentioned on another thread that it reads like he always switched what he was doing right before he was found to be incompetent at his current job. That career path usually involves a mentor, aka Godfather (heh). If so, Cain’s godfather could have gotten him on the KC FRB board as a resume padding exercise. Just speculatin’.
If my evil speculation is accurate, I can imagine being a fly on the wall and watching other board members rolling their eyes back in their head every time Cain opened his mouth.
Or perhaps, he was the Clarence Thomas of the KC FRB board, and NEVER opened his mouth.
BP….you are correct. I was there. Well, not a member of CORE, but CORE was a “left wing”, pro civil rights organization. There was CORE, SNCC, Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee, the Black Panthers, and later, the Grey Panthers (not affiliated).I’m prety sure “Wiki” will back me up.