127 YEARS LATER....SAME GAME PLAN
In July, 1884, the Democrats nominated highly regarded NY Governor Grover Cleveland for President. The corrupt reputation of his GOP opponent James G. Blaine made Cleveland the clear favorite.
Only Maria Halpin stood in Cleveland's way. Halpin was a 43 year old widow with three children, that last of which was fathered by the bachelor Cleveland in 1874. Cleveland had been covering up his lone known public indiscretion for ten years, even conniving to have his illegitimate son put in an orphanage and Halpin briefly institutionalized for insanity, till authorities regained their sanity. Not all bad, Cleveland paid some child support and a $500 cash settlement to the beleaguered Ms. Halpin.
Upon his nomination, the scandal went pubic in the July 21, 1884, Buffalo Evening Telegraph under the explosive headline "A Terrible tale: The Pitiful Story of Maria Halpin and Governor Cleveland's Son". Having devastated Halpin's life upon the birth of their son ten years earlier, Cleveland and his operatives engaged in a second smear campaign, further subjecting the hapless Halpin to a life of shame and poverty. A recent biography of the scandal has recounted her ruin and resurrected her reputation. While Halpin was descending into a pitiful fate, Cleveland ascended to the Presidency twice, never publically acknowledging their son.
Here we are 127 years later, and another powerful politician, Herman Cain, is borrowing from the Cleveland playbook to salvage from sexual scandal his heretofore spectacular drive for the GOP Presidential nomination. Cain has countered publicized sexual harassment claims made years ago by two women who worked for his national restaurant organization by calling them liars, knowing full well they cannot defend themselves due to their confidentiality statements. Republican operatives have denounced as a scam artist, Sharon Bialek, who publicly described a sex-for-job quid pro quo allegedly offered by Cain. Most egregiously, Cain hired Lin Wood, famous for defending accusations of sexual indiscretion with threats of defamation lawsuits, to intimidate further potential accusers. Wood quickly earned his retainer with this remark: "I'm not here to scare anyone off...any new woman thinking of coming forward...should think again".
Cain has been heralded as a modern, common sense, straight talking outsider who has excited the Republican base. In truth he's straight out of the 19th century; where the powerful trash the powerless in their voracious quest for the brass ring.
Only Maria Halpin stood in Cleveland's way. Halpin was a 43 year old widow with three children, that last of which was fathered by the bachelor Cleveland in 1874. Cleveland had been covering up his lone known public indiscretion for ten years, even conniving to have his illegitimate son put in an orphanage and Halpin briefly institutionalized for insanity, till authorities regained their sanity. Not all bad, Cleveland paid some child support and a $500 cash settlement to the beleaguered Ms. Halpin.
Upon his nomination, the scandal went pubic in the July 21, 1884, Buffalo Evening Telegraph under the explosive headline "A Terrible tale: The Pitiful Story of Maria Halpin and Governor Cleveland's Son". Having devastated Halpin's life upon the birth of their son ten years earlier, Cleveland and his operatives engaged in a second smear campaign, further subjecting the hapless Halpin to a life of shame and poverty. A recent biography of the scandal has recounted her ruin and resurrected her reputation. While Halpin was descending into a pitiful fate, Cleveland ascended to the Presidency twice, never publically acknowledging their son.
Here we are 127 years later, and another powerful politician, Herman Cain, is borrowing from the Cleveland playbook to salvage from sexual scandal his heretofore spectacular drive for the GOP Presidential nomination. Cain has countered publicized sexual harassment claims made years ago by two women who worked for his national restaurant organization by calling them liars, knowing full well they cannot defend themselves due to their confidentiality statements. Republican operatives have denounced as a scam artist, Sharon Bialek, who publicly described a sex-for-job quid pro quo allegedly offered by Cain. Most egregiously, Cain hired Lin Wood, famous for defending accusations of sexual indiscretion with threats of defamation lawsuits, to intimidate further potential accusers. Wood quickly earned his retainer with this remark: "I'm not here to scare anyone off...any new woman thinking of coming forward...should think again".
Cain has been heralded as a modern, common sense, straight talking outsider who has excited the Republican base. In truth he's straight out of the 19th century; where the powerful trash the powerless in their voracious quest for the brass ring.
posted by Walt Zlotow at 9:21 PM
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