Herman Cain

First, I can't think of his name without hearing his voice in my head say "HER mun....(pause) KAne."

Next, am I the only one who thinks putting him on the ticket would be worth it for the entertainment value alone? The Congressional Black Caucus would (insert head exploding gif here). The race card would be thrown so far out the window that it may take Bear Grylls to find it. I swore I would back the first candidate who took up the Fairtax or Flat Tax banner, so Herman has my attention. I'm not totally on board with his 9-9-9 Plan, but at least it is a start. And the debates would be epic. Herman has been practicing for years on his radio show so that should make things interesting.

I know, I know. I should be comparing policies and where everyone stands, but at this point politics has become such a joke that it might as well be entertained. At least the WCW/WWF had the decency to add change their name to reflect the "entertainment" element of the act. Senatainers? Congretainers? Presitainer?

Of course, next week Herman could be cold fish and the Republicans will be left with Mitt again.

9/9/9 came from SimCity and the dude quotes Pokemon lines as poetry. He's a Grade A nutjob.

He's the only guy up there I'd vote for other than Ron Paul in the primaries. He's one of three (maybe) that I would vote for in the general election. I am watching.

He's making liberal heads explode all over the place. They're trying so hard to bully him back on the farm, calling him an Uncle Tom and worse just because he won't toe the democratic line. I'm not worried about his economic plan, and I like the fact he's the only person to commit to one and dare others to come up with anything at this point.

Let's face it, anyone but Obama at this point.

He makes a lot of sense to me also, i have been watching him for a couple of years. At least he has actually produced something in his life

In reply to aussiesmg:

Well, he did get a CEO job where he proceeded to make the company less than half its previous size while firing a ton of employees. He did restore profitablitity by doing this. I am not sure how that plan would work for the US as a whole.

DoctorBlade wrote: He's making liberal heads explode all over the place. They're trying so hard to bully him back on the farm, calling him an Uncle Tom and worse just because he won't toe the democratic line. I'm not worried about his economic plan, and I like the fact he's the only person to commit to one and dare others to come up with anything at this point. Let's face it, anyone but Obama at this point.

Yes. This.

And he does want to raise the taxes like crazy on the poor and middle classes while granting tax breaks to the rich. But I am not sure that is good idea either.

Otto Maddox wrote: In reply to aussiesmg: Well, he did get a CEO job where he proceeded to make the company less than half its previous size while firing a ton of employees. He did restore profitablitity by doing this. I am not sure how that plan would work for the US as a whole.

Perfectly!

Otto Maddox wrote: And he does want to raise the taxes like crazy on the poor and middle classes while granting tax breaks to the rich. But I am not sure that is good idea either.

Yeah, I'm mixed on his tax plan. I like some parts, but to me all forms of income should be taxed at the same rate. Herman wants to yank capital gains tax and I'm not too thrilled with that. Income is income, it doesn't matter how you make it. I'd me MUCH happier with the Flat Tax but at least Cain has a plan.

Otto Maddox wrote: And he does want to raise the taxes like crazy on the poor and middle classes while granting tax breaks to the rich. But I am not sure that is good idea either.

Credible source as to Cain's intent?

Put some bait on that hook................

In reply to tuna55:

Well, I love the idea of being lean and mean as a country. But it is really hard to cut the bloat without further endangering our fragile economy. Clinton and that congress was able to do it to an extent because the economy was so good at the time.

I'm sure he'll slip up at some point and get Elvis Presley's birthday wrong and then Bryan Williams will be all over him for it, like he was on Bachman.

I hate the media. It is makes it SO difficult to find out what the candidates really stand for, rather than the sound-byte anti-marketing that the media does. It amazes me how hard they try to smear folks with silly stuff and to give them a "nut-job" image. All we heard on Bachman is that she is a tea party favorite and slipped up about The King.

I like him so far. I don't think the 999 plan will fly very far, but at least he is talking a significant change rather than just pandering demagogues that want to solve all the problems by taxing the "rich". It is interesting out "the rich" is constantly being defined down. During Obama's campaign it was a household income of $250k per year. Lately I heard it is now $200k per year. That isn't that hard to reach for a two-income earning household. Pretty soon we'll all be "rich" and should "give back" even more to everyone else.

Anyway, I like the idea of effectively taking race out of the equation. I know it would frustrate a lot of folks that use it as a tool. I liked Cain's "plantation" comment. It would be interesting to see how that goes.

I like Ron Paul, too, except that he wants to eliminate the Fed and go back to the gold standard. I don't agree with that at all. Whatever its shortcomings, the central bank model has allowed us to smooth out the business cycle and soften major economic disasters (the current one is major, but not as large as it could have been without the central bank's ability to inject liquidity in a panic).

slefain wrote: I know, I know. I should be comparing policies and where everyone stands, but at this point politics has become such a joke that it might as well be entertained.

I voted for Ross Perot partially because I wanted the country to start talking in quips such as:

Life is like a cobweb, not an organization chart.
Ross Perot

War has rules, mud wrestling has rules - politics has no rules.
Ross Perot

9-9-9 Analysis with links to more of the same

DoctorBlade wrote: He's making liberal heads explode all over the place. They're trying so hard to bully him back on the farm, calling him an Uncle Tom and worse just because he won't toe the democratic line. I'm not worried about his economic plan, and I like the fact he's the only person to commit to one and dare others to come up with anything at this point. Let's face it, anyone but Obama at this point.

No liberal I know thinks Cain has any hope of getting the nomination. Romney is playing the GOP like a Stradivarius. Sitting back and watching those yahoos rise and then burn out.

Cain's plan is regressive as hell and the last thing we need right now is to suck the money flowing around the bottom of our economic food chain out and put it into government coffers. Since they don't save money, you're essentially taking away 18% of what 47% of the country would otherwise spend, right?

In reply to Basil Exposition:

Keep in mind these income figures are AGI, not gross income. Add back all your deductions, exemptions, retirement account contributions, etc. and that $200K number is more like $300K.

But I agree, $200K is an upper middle class income here in Alabama, where the cost of living isn't so bad.

oldsaw wrote:

Otto Maddox wrote: And he does want to raise the taxes like crazy on the poor and middle classes while granting tax breaks to the rich. But I am not sure that is good idea either.

Credible source as to Cain's intent? Put some bait on that hook................

Simple math.

A person who earns $10,000 a year will use it all to survive on. 9% tax.

A person who earns $100,000 a year will save some, less than 9% tax.

A person who earn $1,000,000 a year will save even more, and be able to spend money outside of the US- a lot less than 9% tax.

If you need reseach to come up with that, I'm dissapointed in the state of thinking for conservatives.

Otto Maddox wrote: In reply to tuna55: Well, I love the idea of being lean and mean as a country. But it is really hard to cut the bloat without further endangering our fragile economy. Clinton and that congress was able to do it to an extent because the economy was so good at the time.

They were barely able to do it with some creative accounting for a couple of years. Have you noticed how even the most bolt cutting plan bring the spending down to 2004 levels? 1996 levels are a LONG way off. That's way leaner and meaner than anyone is currently saying even in campaign mode.

Otto Maddox wrote: In reply to aussiesmg: Well, he did get a CEO job where he proceeded to make the company less than half its previous size while firing a ton of employees. He did restore profitablitity by doing this. I am not sure how that plan would work for the US as a whole.

Except that they were getting ready to kick Godfather's to the kerb before he took over, so everyone employed there would have been without a job. Sometime's difficult decisions are nessecary. Plus companies are not in business to give us jobs, they are there to make a profit.

ppddppdd wrote: Cain's plan is regressive as hell

Because your current system isn't, right?

L
O
L

In reply to racerdave600:

I don't disagree with any of that. I just think we are going to need a scalpel rather than a machete to cut spending without sending us into a tailspin.

HiTempguy wrote:

ppddppdd wrote: Cain's plan is regressive as hell

Because your current system isn't, right? L O L

Worse yet, our system ends up being regressive only to the slimy and those able to hire lots of lawyers all while pretending to be incredibly progressive.

Otto Maddox wrote: In reply to racerdave600: I don't disagree with any of that. I just think we are going to need a scalpel rather than a machete to cut spending without sending us into a tailspin.

Screw a machete, we need some dynamite

I like the way cain handles himself, but I have serious doubts about how his 9-9-9 plan would really fall on those in the bottom half of the economy. From scanning a couple different analyses I think it would decrease the bring home for a lot of folks, not something I think we need now. On his website there are less than 500 words on the plan right now. i think it's mostly buzzwords anyway.

Having said that, i would love to see him get the republican nomination. There are a huge number of good southern republicans in my area that would absolutely explode. No matter what is said out loud or in public, race is still a huge issue with a lot of people here. A lot of the NO-Bama crowd locally hide behind conservative ideals in order to vote angainst having an African American in office. It would be hugely entertaining to see how they would handle the election.

If someone disagrees with da prez on political grounds, hey, that's great. But I think most of the people around my area have other reasons - and those reasons are flat out wrong.

Disclaimer: I'm not nailing anyone on this forum with these acusations. In fact, quite the opposite. i think this is one of the few places an open discussion of politics even has a slim chance of succeeding