Herman Cain
After a third woman came forward in the Herman Cain sexual harassment scandal, Cain threatened to sue POLITICO for libel. GOP supporters have scrambled to find ways to distract people from the charges. The most recent? To argue, along with racism, that sexual harassment isn't really that big a deal in the first place. Reuters

GOP hopeful and former pizza magnate Herman Cain said Sunday that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is too liberal to land the Republican presidential nomination.

Cain's comments were made on Fox News Sunday when host Chris Wallace asked the former Godfather's Pizza CEO if Christie was too liberal after ticking off a list of policy issues that would put the New Jersey governor at odds with the conservative base of Republicans who dominate presidential primary politics.

Christie's alleged infractions, according to Wallace, include support for same-sex civil unions, backing an assault weapons ban, being soft on illegal immigration, and calling climate change real and manmade.

I believe that a lot of conservatives, once they know his position on those things that you delineated, they're going to not be able to support him, Cain told Wallace. So I think that that is absolutely a liability to him if he gets into the race.

A Low-Quality 2012 GOP Field

Cain's comments come in the midst of a frenzy surrounding Christie's potential entry into the GOP presidential race that has so far left the Republican electorate wanting.

While Christie has gone through great lengths to rebut calls for him to run, recent reports say the first term governor is mulling the race. On Saturday, an anonymous Christie aide told The New York Times that the governor's advisers are actually considering it seriously.

Meanwhile, Cain has been picking up in the polls without Christie in the mix. Cain had recently scored a surprise win at a Florida straw poll Texas Gov. Rick Perry contested. A SurveyUSA poll of the Republican contest in Florida showed Cain closing in on Mitt Romney, trailing 25 to 27.

Facing a potential Chrisie bid, Cain doubt on candidacy would gain traction among the conservate GOP base.

Most of the conservatives believe that we should enforce our borders, they do not believe people should be here without documentation, they do not believe global warming is a crisis or a threat, Cain said. And as you go right down the line [Christie is] going to turn off a lot of conservatives with those positions.

Global warming The New York Times Climate change Florida