SALON

Tuesday, Jul 5, 2011 3:55 PM UTC

Homosexuality accusations fly within Cain campaign

The presidential hopeful has himself called homosexuality "a sin" and "a choice"

By

Topics: 2012 Elections, War Room,

Homosexuality accusations fly within Cain campaignFILE - In this Friday, June 17, 2011 file photo, Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain speaks at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans. Bolstered by support from his loyal radio talk-show audience and tea partyers, businessman Herman Cain has revved up mainstream conservatives, rising recently to third place in a poll of voters in Iowa, the leadoff caucus state. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)(Credit: AP)

Politico has an item up describing a crisis in Herman Cain’s Iowa office, including the departure of a few key staffers. But this passage stands out:

The [resignation of a top Iowa staffer], which shakes the campaign of the tea party favorite into turmoil in a state where he’s staking much of his 2012 hopes, comes after weeks of swirling rumors between Cain’s staff and volunteers in the Hawkeye State accusing each other of affairs, homosexuality and professional misconduct.

“A lot of volunteers, who worked hard for five months, are all leaving the campaign,” said one Iowa volunteer.

Is being gay now akin to professional misconduct, something that a person is accused of? When I asked Cain spokesman Ellen Carmichael about the reported “rumors,” she charged that the Politico piece “lacked full information from an authoritative source — the campaign itself.” She added: “In regards to ‘rumors,’ they are just that — rumors.”

I asked if it’s considered acceptable in the Cain campaign for staffers to be gay. Carmichael emailed one line in response: “It is illegal to discriminate.”

Cain, for the record, said last month that he believes homosexuality is both “a sin” and “a choice.” So if there are gay people on his staff, it’s easy to imagine it might not be the most accepting work environment.

(Cain also famously promised not to hire Muslims in his future Cabinet, later qualifying that he would quiz potential nominees on their views on the Constitution. )

Here is Cain outlining his views on homosexuality:

 

Justin Elliott is a reporter for ProPublica. You can follow him on Twitter @ElliottJustin More Justin Elliott.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
    Credit: AP/LM Otero

  • Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
    Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

  • A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
    Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher

  • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
    Credit: AP/Molly Riley

  • Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
    Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

  • Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
    Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid

  • Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
    Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield

  • When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
    Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

  • A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
    Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 33 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

vote
Journalists file suit against Manning's trial secrecy: Plaintiffs including Glenn Greenwald and Julian Assange demand press, public access to trial and documents
144 points145 points | comment
vote
Report: Nearly a quarter of Americans struggle to afford food
125 points126 points | 12 comments
vote
Kaitlyn Hunt refuses plea offer, will go to court over high school relationship - The 18-year-old rejected a deal that would have labeled her a sex offender and placed her under house arrest
118 points119 points | 89 comments
vote
Kaitlyn Hunt refuses plea offer, will go to court over high school relationship - The 18-year-old rejected a deal that would have labeled her a sex offender and placed her under house arrest
113 points114 points | 32 comments
vote
Ted Cruz against the world - How the Junior Senator is igniting the GOP civil war
78 points79 points | 19 comments

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: Chekhov's story mirrors Russia's own

Recommendations