By David Mildenberg - Oct 15, 2011 11:01 AM GMT+0700
Herman Cain, taking his economic plan to suburban Memphis, said his proposed 9-9-9 tax overhaul distinguishes him from the conventional options favored by his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination.
“All the other Republican candidates, God bless them all, start with the current tax code,” said Cain, the new leader in some Republican primary presidential polls, at a city park in Bartlett, Tennessee, yesterday. “It’s been a mess for decades.”
Criticisms that Congress could eventually increase his proposed 9 percent taxes on personal and business income, along with a new 9 percent federal sales tax, don’t worry Cain, he said, because of a likely public outcry against higher levies. The plan showed his business-oriented, problem-solving approach, he said.
“We made it simple and transparent for a reason,” he said. “Common sense -- that’s what the American people are hungry for.”
Cain’s comments drew repeated applause from an anti-tax, Tea Party-supported event that campaign aides said attracted more than 1,200 people. Organizers expected no more than 50 people to attend when they sought a city permit for a Cain appearance in early September, said Jim Tomasik, a member of the Mid-South Tea Party.
While supporters of Cain set up a tent to seek donations and volunteers, the Atlanta businessman’s campaign staff didn’t control the event. The former chief executive of Godfather’s Pizza arrived at the park about 45 minutes late, bounding out of a Cadillac Denali van wearing a black Stetson hat.
Why They Came
As crowd members waited for Cain, attendees were asked by a Mid-South Tea Party official walking through the crowd with a microphone why they were there.
Most said they were inspired by Cain or wanted to learn more about his plans, while one man said that he didn’t believe President Barack Obama is a U.S. citizen. Another called for the abolition of the Federal Reserve, noting that Cain had previously served as a board member of the Kansas City Fed bank.
During the wait, Tomasik asked from the speaker’s stage if there was a CNN representative at the event. No one responded or seemed to know, including Cain’s campaign staff, who were scattered around the grounds.
Why He Came
Cain, who said he raised $2.8 million in the third quarter, told reporters he is campaigning in Tennessee because “the whole primary schedule has been tossed aside” with states moving up their election dates. “It makes other states much more important,” he said after speaking to about 1,000 people in the parking lot of a strip shopping center in Jackson, Tennessee.
Referring to the two states that traditionally kick off the nomination process, Cain said he is already been to Iowa “two or three times,” and made numerous trips to New Hampshire.
Tennessee’s primary is scheduled for March 6, almost two months after the expected Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3, and more than a month after Florida will hold what may be a decisive primary on Jan. 31.
Cain wanted to keep commitments for Tennessee events that he made several weeks ago, said Michael Branch, a Nashville songwriter who is state manager for Cain’s campaign. Cain previously has attended campaign events in Nashville, he said.
With third quarter campaign financial disclosure reports due to be made public today, Cain told the crowd that he is lagging behind his more experienced rivals.
Lagging on Fundraising
His two main competitors have raised 10 times as much money as he has, he said, without naming Texas Governor Rick Perry or former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. “It ain’t all about the money,” he said.
Romney reported that he raised $14.2 million in the period between from July 1 to Sept. 30. Perry’s campaign has said he raised about $17 million in the third quarter.
Cain attacked Obama for not showing more forceful leadership.
“We have a president who believes we can maintain our status in the world by singing Kumbaya,” he said, referring to a Christian hymn. “Singing Kumbaya is not a strategy.”
Obama also has weakened the U.S. military “by cost-cutting after cost-cutting after cost cutting,” Cain said. He pledged to avoid defense budget cuts.
Cain’s comments on his tax plan weren’t specific enough for Joyce Robinson, a retiree who said she has been active in the Mid-South Tea Party since 2009.
“It was good, but I’d like to learn more,” she said. “I’m a numbers person, a mathematician and I still need to understand it better. We already have a high state sales tax in Tennessee.”
Other crowd members praised Cain’s business background. “I’ve never been very involved in politics, but I’m going to get involved now because we are in such a crisis,” said Jim Stiles, an owner of an insurance and tax consulting firm in Germantown. “I like the fact that Cain isn’t a politician.”
To contact the reporter on this story: David Mildenberg in memphis at dmildenberg@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Tannenbaum at mtannen@bloomberg.net
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