Arguably, Herman Cain has exploited more workers than he has women, yet the media feeding frenzy these past few weeks has centered exclusively on the Godfather Pizza CEO’s sexual exploits.
Not even Mr. Cain’s not-so-subtle hint to take a closer look at his 9–9–9 plan instead of his sexcapades has done any good.
Instead, all the cable networks, and much of the mainstream press, have been busy interviewing lawyers for three women who were allegedly sexually harassed by the candidate, and a fourth who claims to have had a consensual extramarital affair with Cain.
Apparently, watching one of his alleged victims, and a former restaurant worker, step forward and describe how, after they went out to dinner, Cain stuck his hand up her skirt gets higher ratings for the networks than detailing how Godfather Cain became godfather in the first place. Now Godfather Cain wants to become Citizen Cain, but don’t believe it. Once a godfather, always a godfather.
To the Occupy movement, the pizza magnate says only, “Don’t blame Wall Street, don’t blame the banks if you don’t have a job, and you’re not rich. Blame yourself.” This coming from a man whose annual income places him firmly in the top 0.12%.
All the while, barely a peep has been heard about the fact that Mr. Cain became immensely rich off the labor of low-wage, part-time workers. If that sounds familiar it is. So-called “job creator,” Texas Governor Rick Perry, contends that he is best suited to put America back to work while boasting of all the jobs Texas has created over the past several years. What both Mr. Cain and Mr. Perry don’t tell you is that these have come at the expense of workers.
The latest details of Mr. Cain’s 9–9–9 plan have been all but drowned out by the media ecstasy over his love life. A closer look at his plan reveals that, as president, as Fox News reports, Cain would work to eliminate minimum wage laws, roll back union rights, building codes, and even vouchers for school lunches. He is about as antithetical to organized labor as it gets.
Earlier this fall, according to Fox, Teamster President Jim Hoffa attacked Cain’s 9–9–9 as offering even more of “an opportunity for corporate America to exploit workers and turn the U.S. into a third world country.” And, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka called the Cain plan to repeal minimum wage laws “almost laughable” in light of the current economic climate.
At a time when income disparity has never been greater, surely the GOP party leaders are delighted by the distraction of Cain’s much-publicized sexual transgressions, as there can be no better way to deflect attention away from the reality that not one candidate running for president on the Republican ticket has supported unions, the minimum wage, building codes, and school lunches for children.
And, if you think Mr. Cain’s views on Occupy Wall Street are his and his alone, listen to Newt Gingrich who sounds even more like Archie Bunker than Herman Cain. Not one would-be Republican contender for the presidential nomination in 2012 has defended the minimum wage, unions, and worker’s rights. To the contrary, even those who come across as liberal on the foreign policy front, like Ron Paul, have said they would do away with the minimum wage.
Way to go, mainstream media. Make a spectacle of the Godfather of management so that those who don’t read the fine print will overlook the indisputable attack by Republican corporateers, including Mr. Romney, on the average working man and woman in this country.
Jayne Lyn Stahl is a widely published poet, essayist, playwright, and screenwriter, member of PEN American Center, and PEN USA.
