Riiiight.
Like there's no motivation for a left wing hack to "get behind" an early smear campaign effort.
If they can help pick-off the opposition's possible nominees this early, then they can fight their preferred opposition-candidate somewhere down the road.
To the limited extent that it seems likely that a Republican or two is behind the present smear campaign, I don't mind agreeing with you. But even so, that doesn't rule out the prospect that a left wing Democratic might not be offering some behind the scenes assistance. If it can be seen as something of value to them, you can bet they'd do so. Gladly. And if they can then lay the "blame" solely (but inaccurately) at the doorstep of some GOP candidate or supporter, so much the better.
Liberals would save it for the general election, assuming Cain got that far.
Republicans are trying to keep Cain from getting that far. That's why it happened when it did.
That's not necessarily true.
A good forward thinking left winger might save it for later. That's a plausible option.
But a left winger MIGHT also (just as ligically) feel an incentive to use it now, to breed some good solid right wing in-fighting. Pick off the right wing candidates early on who might pose an eventual real threat. Get them to do it to each other.
This aint rocket science. Keeping the powder dry for future use is a wonderful notion, but so is using a little sprinkle of your powder now in order to get your political opponents to do your dirty work FOR you, on the cheap, nice and early.
How much more convenient would it be -- could it be -- than to get the RW opponents to PICK the very candidate whom you feel is the easiest to defeat down the road?
So, your read on it is plausible. Congrats.
But you aren't necessarily correct.
The GOP candidates were already squabbling like a bunch of school kids. Or haven't you seen the debates.
If it wasn't someone from the RNC or one of the other campaigns who leaked the story, it might have been someone who previously worked with Cain back in his NRA days and knew about what had happened (perhaps an old friend of one of the women or someone else on the NRA board who butted heads with Cain). But I seriously doubt it was a Democrat operative who leaked the story because Cain is their dream opponent, and they wouldn't dream of doing anything to knock him out of the nomination race.