The leader of a tea party group is calling for scandal-embroiled GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain to drop out of the race.
Judson Phillips, the founding leader of Tea Party Nation, said Cain’s flailing response to sexual harassment allegations brought forward by several women was simply unacceptable.
“Herman Cain has got to go,” Judson said in an email to Tea Party Nation members. “I do not believe Cain’s accusers. There are too many questions about them. The allegations are not why Cain should leave. The campaign’s response is why he should now withdraw.”
“Ten days in, the Cain campaign is still stumbling around like newly castrated cattle. [Campaign manager] Mark Block should have been gone nine days ago,” Phillips continued. “Cain should have a competent team in place by now as well as someone really good at crisis management. So far, it is not there.”
When the allegations against Cain first surfaced, Phillips called them a “hatchet job,” but the Cain campaigns response has convinced Phillips that Cain is not prepared for office.
“If Cain cannot run his own campaign, how is he going to run the country? A few days ago, I would have been willing to accept Cain as the nominee. Cain was not my first choice but I could have easily supported him. No longer.”
Phillips said his first choice for the GOP nomination is former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Cain’s response to the sexual harassment allegations have been criticized in conservative corners, but this is the first direct call for him to drop out of the GOP presidential race.