How Cain volunteers handle harassment allegations in Iowa

Chris Moody
·Political Reporter

In Iowa, the state holding the first caucuses of the Republican primary season, volunteers for businessman Herman Cain's presidential campaign are hard at work making hundreds of phone calls to voters throughout the state. Now, they have been trained on what to say when, inevitably, someone asks about the sexual harassment allegations against Cain.

Here's the script, via the New York Times:

"How are you doing this evening? I'm calling this evening to confirm your continued support for our next Republican nominee, Herman Cain," the script said. "Are you still a Herman Cain supporter? Will you be attending the caucuses?"

If people expressed concern about the accusations of sexual harassment, callers were instructed to say, "It's completely untrue and it's out of character for Mr. Cain to do that," said a campaign staff member who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

Now that at least two women who say they faced harassment while Cain was president of the National Restaurant Associations have made their names public, a new Ipsos/Reuters poll shows that nearly 40 percent of Republican voters view him less favorably than before.

The attorney for one of the accusers, Karen Kraushaar, said Tuesday she is planning a press conference to outline the details of her experience with Cain.

Cain has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

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