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No Rabbits Were Harmed, But Herman Cain's Latest Video 'Blasts' A Bunny

During his brief run for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, Herman Cain became well known for his 9-9-9 tax plan, the allegations of sexual harassment that threatened to drown out his message and his highly unusual videos.

Remember the one starring Cain campaign manager Mark Block that included him taking a long drag on a cigarette and blowing smoke straight at the camera?

Now, Cain's Sick of Stimulus campaign has put out a video that begins with a sweet little girl holding a rabbit. As she puts it in what looks to be a basket of straw, she says "this is small business under the current tax code."

And before you know it, the bunny is hurled into the sky and — fair warning, stop reading here if you are squeamish — appears to be blown out of the sky by a shotgun blast.

"Any questions?" asks the little girl.

As you'll see if you watch the video, no real rabbit was gunned down. It's obvious the "bunny" that flies into the sky is a digital rendering.

Cain's website says "no actual bunnies were harmed." The rabbit is fine, it adds, "but our current tax code is killing small business." (Reminder, don't press "play" if you think the video might be too graphic for your tastes.)

The It's All Politics blog is following ads and other campaign tactics throughout the season.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.