Thursday, November 17, 2011

Herman Cain says business sector is ‘engine for economic growth’

How bad is the state of American society when a reminder of knowledge so basic even needs to be the topic of a news article? Have we fallen so far, that there is actually a measurable percentage of Americans over the age of 5 who do not know this?

By Michele Dargan
Daily News Staff Writer
Updated: 8:16 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011


If elected president, Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain said Wednesday his top three priorities will be national security, the economy and energy independence.

Cain spoke to close to 500 people, who attended the half-hour rally at the Palm Beach County Convention Center.

Following the rally, Cain attended a private fundraiser at the Palm Beach home of Town Council President David Rosow. Tickets to that event were $999 to hear him speak and $2,500 to have a private meeting and a photo with him.

Although the event was scheduled for 5 p.m., Cain took the stage at 6:10 p.m.

“We are America, you and me,” Cain said. “Not the people in Washington, D.C. ... We’ve got to abolish Obamacare. We’ve got to abolish the Dodd-Frank bill. ... so we’ve got some abolishing to do.”

Cain said the country, under President Barack Obama, has become a nation of crises. If elected, Cain said, he would approach the presidency like a businessman: making sure he’s working on the right problems, prioritizing the problems and surrounding himself with good people. Above all, he said, you have to make sure you’re working on the right problems.

The economy is “on life support,” he said. “The economy needs a bold solution. This administration does not understand a fundamental economic principle. The engine of the economic growth is the business sector.”

Cain said he would throw out the current tax code and ask Congress to pass his plan — as the crowd shouted “999.” Cain said analysis has shown his plan would raise at least the same amount of revenue if not more and will “boost the economy and get it going.”

If elected, Cain said, more than 50 percent of his top appointees will be from the business community “because they know how to solve problems.”

Cain said he doesn’t have foreign policy experience, but has foreign policy philosophy. “Peace through strength and clarity. Stop giving money to our enemies. And when we clarify who our friends are, we’ll tell the rest of the world and stand with them, starting with the nation of Israel.”

Cain has been fighting allegations regarding sexual harassment claims by four women in the 1990s. He has denied the allegations.

Adding to that has been his drop in a recent presidential poll. In a CNN/Opinion Research Poll released Monday, Mitt Romney led with Newt Gingrich in second and Cain in third. In two polls earlier this month, Cain held the top spot by 2 to 3 percentage points over Romney.

Cain visited Miami and Coral Springs earlier in the day.

Before the West Palm Beach event, Palm Beach County Republican Party chairman Sid Dinerstein, asked about Cain’s drop in the polls, said all the contenders keep going up and down except for Romney, who remains constant.

If Cain is to be the nominee, he needs work in foreign policy, Dinerstein said.

“You have to absolutely make the country believe that you understand that you have a basic core set of values and when the phone rings at three o’clock in the morning that you’re the person who answers the call,” Dinerstein said.

“While foreign policy is not in the top five issues, the fact is you can’t elect a president who you don’t trust on foreign policy.”

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