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AP
Herman Cain (R) speaks at a "Faith and Freedom" rally at Ohio Christian University Thursday.
BARTLETT, Tenn. -- With the Republican presidential primary season potentially beginning as early as December, candidates have been pounding the pavement in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.
But for the next two days, Herman Cain -- the newest front runner in the race for the White House -- is bringing his campaign here, to Tennessee, and forgoing those states that will be the earliest to cast ballots to decide the GOP nominee.
Days after the release of an NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll that shows Cain as the leader in the race for the nomination, political observers are scratching their heads as to why his campaign is heading to the Volunteer State instead of the carve-out states that historically have played the biggest role in selecting the country’s next chief executive.
Cain’s trip that will take him from Memphis, where he was born, through Nashville, the music city where country singers like Lee Greenwood endorsed him last week.
It is his second visit to Tennessee in as many weeks, but the last time he was here, it was part of his book tour. Tennessee's primary will not be until March 6, 2012, part of Super Tuesday.
Cain told reporters that the front loading of the primary calendar and the Republican National Committee potentially stripping Florida of half its delegates for setting a primary date that violates party rules will mean other states will play a more influential role in determining the nominee than in the past.
“We believe states like Tennessee, that traditionally would not have had as big a role, are going to be more important,” Cain contended Wednesday after speaking at a Faith and Freedom Coalition rally at Ohio Christian University. "You can’t win Florida and wave the victory flag. You have got to look at some of those other states that are coming after Florida -- and Tennessee happens to be one.”
But while Cain might be leading in a national poll, he is not ahead in any early states, like Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada, or Florida. Nor is he ahead in fundraising, organization, or the groundwork that many feel is essential to do well in Iowa and New Hampshire.
With the newfound momentum of his campaign, observers question if he may be squandering his chance to strike while the iron is hot.
Joshua Putnam, a visiting political science professor at Davidson College and founder of FrontloaderHQ.com, a blog that tracks the primary schedule, said Cain's strategy is a curious one.
“The main problem here is Cain has the poll numbers, but he doesn’t have the fundraising and endorsements of the big wigs in the party,” Putnam said, “and campaigning in those early states is the only way to get [them]."
If the Cain campaign is running a 50-state strategy, it may find itself in trouble if they can't show early state voters that Cain can win, Putnam added.
Cain's campaign manager, Mark Block, said the campaign is not limiting itself to campaigning in only the states where other candidates have been. Block said on MSNBC's "The Daily Rundown" on Oct. 5, for example, "It's not the traditional campaign that's been run in past years.... We're not running a one-, two- or three-state strategy."
Plus, running a 50-state strategy would be exceedingly difficult for a campaign with limited resources.
Cain joked with reporters in New Hampshire Wednesday that he was heading to Tennessee, because he wanted to go home. The decision to campaign in the state will do little to quiet the charges that the former CEO of Godfather's Pizza is more interested in selling books than selling himself to voters.
But it also may be a sign of a newfound confidence Cain has in his supporters. The Atlanta-based businessman said he has not been in Iowa, because polls show he is already doing well there. An NBC-Marist poll released last week showed Cain a close second to Romney, though he has a limited campaign infrastructure there. He said he will also be heading back to New Hampshire.
"Governor Romney has a great big lead,” Cain said, “but we’re not going to abandon it, because I want to make sure that if he keeps that lead, we’ll come in a strong second.
“All of the states are really important, because you really just don’t know how things are going to shake out.”
Next week for Cain: Arizona and Indiana. He's not back in Iowa until mid-November.
Leave a Comment:
Is Tennessee moving their primary up as well? lol
This guy isn't campaigning - he's hawking his book & fleecing the same sheep that Sarah Palin picked the pockets of...
The current 'flavor' of the week will soon melt faster then day old jello left out in the AZ sun @ high noon...
Or Jan Brewer's make-up - you can take your pick! ;o)
Feisty, Cain say that he has "limited campaign structure in Iowa".
Could that be the table in the Barnes and Noble that are displaying his books?
Why do Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada get to go first and have such an influence on the nominations? Let's be honest they're doing a lousy job.
You and other LWLL can try all you like to dismiss Cain; but the simple truth is that he isn't going away, he's gaining momentum.
DEAR FIRST READ: Basta! Basta!
I am bored with the Republican primary news! Enough, already! Aren't the Democrats doing anything newsworthy? I mean come on....
Feisty,
Glad to see him fleecing Republican donors! Please do more of it Mr. Cain.
Cain vs. Abel in 2012. We all know who won the first fight but lost the war. Now we may have a rematch. Can't wait!
Well, lets take a look. Looks like AG Eric Holder perjured himself in front of Congress. Another Green company with Democratic political connections named SunPower took a $1.2 billion dollar US government loan and now is $800 million in debt. Minority leader Pelosi says Republicans want "Women to die on the floor". Obama doesn't call jobs 'saved' or 'created', but now calls them 'supported'. MSNBC talking head and big liberal Donny Deutsch calls for a "Kent State" moment with the Fleabaggers "without the killing" as he says - nice of him to add that in.
Might be best to go back to GOP news Amy.
In local news, Occupy Wall Street protests have expanded to Augusta, Maine, but in Maine the focus is on passing the Presidents Jobs Act:
Herman Cain is the "popover candidate." He's big and puffy and crusty on the outside, but inside he's hollow and filled with hot air.
- Cain doesn't understand his own "9-9-9 plan."
- Cain cares little about international policy.
- Cain has very little to offer about his programs were he elected, he's said he'll figure that out when the time comes.
- Cain is firmly fixed with the Heritage Foundation, whose board he joined for some time, meaning that he's another tool of Grover Norqust, the Koch Brothers, and the whole collection of backstage manipulators who brought us incompetence, failure and ultimately worldwide financial crisis via the Bush Regime.
Herman Cain is simply unleavened flour, a cup of warm milk, and some eggs, whomped together and tossed in a hot oven. He is simply a popover - all appearance and no substance.
It's a shame this guy couldnt have been the first black President. He would have been a far better role model for minorities trying to make it in the private sector and get off the government welfare. Sigh what could have been......
All the moving up of dates will only result in non-stop campaign mode. I suspect the red states may be doing this for that exact reason -- They don't want anything to get done in congress.
Put a lot of thought into this did you?
Maybe the people in Tennessee haven't heard about 999 yet.
Hi Dottielou - I think for once in her life bat @!$%# crazy Bachmann was right - it more closely resembles 666!!!
I am in Tennesse, and I did hear about 999. And while it would be an added burden on me, I sort of like it.
Why you ask? Glad you asked....
The run away spending of the federal governement will not come down when the majority of the population pay no federal income tax or very close to no federal income tax. They dont have any money in the game so they do not pay attention to it being wasted.
Maybe when everybody is paying in, people will pay attention to what the money is being spent on. If all of a sudden people are paying taxes, they may have a curiosity of where exactly all this money is being spent.
I would not mind paying a little more in taxes to watch those that have not paid squirm at the prospect that the government is taking money from them. I would find it entertaining.
And then maybe we can have actual spending reform. When the masses are paying, the masses will scream for spending cuts.
I find it odd that eveyone is so worried about this plan, when they have been such proponents of taking even more money form the ones currently paying into the system. It is laughable to watch them all say "What, I will actually have to pay income taxes???"
ABO 2012
dsdshrem no one asked you and no one cares about your opinion you showed us all you have no idea what you are talking about.
Tis,
I replied to a person mentioning people in Tennessee and the 999 plan. And my post does not pertain? It seemed as if they asked if the people in Tennessee have heard about the 999 plan.
I live in Tennessee and have an opinion on the plan. My post was valid, and someone did ask.
Your post however was just a personal attack. I bet you dont even live in Tennessee.....
Say something constructive with your postings. Make it apply to what you you are responding to. And have some decency. You dont want to represent your party by launching uncalled for personal attacks do you?
ABO 2012
Crazy like a fox, or just crazy? That's the question.
Anyone who says they'll work out the details after election makes Scott Walker look attractive (ugh). I think we should start a chain Email about how Cain will enact laws to make all white people pick cotton (remember that one in regard to President Obama?). If we put "God Bless America" at the bottom they will believe it. Actually that's right in there with the conspiracy theory that the president is only pretending to ignore gun laws with the plan of banning guns in his second term. Ha. People and their children...
Probably explainable by comparing State SAT math scores...the media began actually reading his 999 Plan.
Hell, I'd go to Tennessee too, if it meant toting my 'iron' into the bar where I planned on getting drunk.
All Iowa has is corn-dogs and Bachmanns.
Bartlett is probably a pretty good place to hide...while claiming you are still campaigning.
And did anyone notice that he started in Bartlet, TN - a very wealth suburb of Memphis, not the west or southwest end of Memphis - big wealth there- not so much, actually not at all. He may come to Nastyville but somehow I don't think he is going to get a lot of money out of the music industry here - been here all my life and while the producers and promotors (just plain crooks) might like him, most of the actual performers and writers probably won't. But heck, like DBO is talking about, you can get drunk and carry your gun in Tennessee these days, wonder if Mr. Cain is going to meet with the republican state representative from Memphis who was arrested for drunk driving with a loaded gun in his car? That idiot was actually driving around between 3 colleges and several elementary schools and was driving 60mph in a 40mph zone. Oh, yeah, that's a very responsible act for someone who was in charge of the fire arms legislation committee until yesterday. So come on Mr. Cain - let's see who all you ge to hang out with, should be fun to watch. And we all remember that Godfather's pizza went bankrupt in our state back in the 80's.
Hi Earl Belle:
Quite the buzz-kill article you cite...I actually grew drowsy reading about the nuanced differences between Cain and Paul. It's like saying the tarantula is superior to the scorpion.
999 has no cloths the more you look at it the more exposed. Ah close your eyes don't look!
I hate, I repeat I hate the United Heathcare Ad. If you even get near it or try to roll down the page, it jumps onto your page and starts rolling.
You might mention to them that obnoxious is not the way to win customers.
Agreed. It is driving me insane also. Everyone who has a choice should choose something other than United Healthcare. They are annoying!
Herman Cain knows that Iowa ranks #1 in combined ACT and SAT college admittance test scores and Tennessee ranks #30.
What better place than to try and sell 9/9/9 ? Those folks in Tennessee haven't finished the math part yet....
Really? THat's all you got? Some tired old stereotype about an entire state? Seriously?
No better ideas? THoughts? Analysis? Nothing to offer?
Well, MkeMike, keep working at it. Maybe someday. . . . .
Herman Cain's Campaign is a mess.......maybe he figures he can hide out in TN until March and still get the nomination????
Andrew Fieldhouse, Federal Budget Policy Analyst, Economic Policy Institute on Wisconsin Public Radio Wed. Oct. 12, 4:30pm
HERMAN CAIN'S ADVISORS INCLUDE BANKRUPT EMBEZZLER – MANY ARE BAILING ON HIM
HERMAN CAIN'S STAFF BLEEDING CONTINUES...
Fox News Oct. 1, 2011
CAIN CAMPAIGN IS "DYSFUNCTIONAL AT EVERY LEVEL".
HERMAN CAIN'S ECONOMICS ADVISOR IS AN INSURANCE AND SECURITIES SALESMAN FROM CLEVELAND...
MkeMike, thanks for the background post on Cain's campaign.
Further proof that Cain is just on a glorified book tour and... lo and behold...He is leading in the polls for GOP nominee for POTUS.
There has to be a movie script in all of this
Northstar,
I hate to say this in a public forum, but I really hope that Cain gets the GOP nomination. He's the only GOP candidate that has been forthcoming with what he'd do to the country, and thus he'd be the easiest to defeat. 999 is a disaster, as we'll all soon find out when the mainstream press starts doing it's job.
That being said, I think that a black man getting the GOP nomination is a virtual impossibility. If one did, I know many GOP voters who would choose to just sit this one out.
Maybe Cain realizes this and is sabotaging his own campaign? He sure doesn't look like he wants to win. Then again, being thrust to the top of the GOP polls can be pretty heady stuff. Look what happened to Rick Perry. He thought all he had to do was just show up.
I actually think we may see a split, with Ron Paul running a third party candidacy just to spite the conventional Republicans. Either way, I think this race is already over and Obama will be re-elected. We should be concentrating our efforts on winning back the House and strengthening the Senate to prevent filibusters.
Romney is not exciting anyone except 23% of 46%. That's about 11% and that's not going to win it. Don't tell anyone I said though. Let the GOP keep devouring their front runners. LOL
MKeMike, I agree completely. I plan to concentrate on congress and our state elections. With redistricting, every state rep and senator will be running because of the new district lines.
Voter registration will be critical due to the changes in the law in a lot of states. Lot of work to do....
All the 999 plan is, is a precursor to totally eliminating the income tax. The income tax is not fair. It rewards people that do less work and have more children than penalizes people that do more work and have less children. Down with the IRS. Down with big government. 999!!! Let's try it and see.
Americans First-3238795
I hate, I repeat I hate the United Heathcare Ad. If you even get near it or try to roll down the page, it jumps onto your page and starts rolling.
AF- you might want to change browsers to Mozilla Fire Fox. You can block all the ads you want and you'll never see them or be bothered.
Just MSNBC paying the bills. You should be yelling at them, they are the ones that took money to put it on the page. I guess the protesters should be at the doors of MSNBC tomorrow, such capitalist...
It's not the dumbest idea.
Originally I was thinking of posting about how maybe Cain sees an opportunity to sell more books in Tennessee than Iowa, and suggesting that maybe that's what his campaign is really about.
But on second thought...
I don't think he got into this race suspecting he might actually win the nomination. Now that he's on top of at least a couple national polls, he's probably thinking, "man, now I really have to do this."
But his strength right now is those poll numbers - national, not state by state. So he could go up to Iowa and New Hampshire and fight the crowds there. But in the end, how much is he going to raise his state numbers? A little, but arguably not too much. But by going where no one else is, by stroking the non-first states some, he might be able to move up his national numbers.
If he continues to show increasing strength nationally, how long before voters in Carolina and Florida start to reflect that, too?
Plus, coming from a position of relative name awareness disadvantage, the longer he can stay in, the better. If the media has this storyline that his strong states are after the first states, he has some built in and acceptable low expectations for the first ones. He might even get to be the last non-Romney running, which puts him a good position to win.
Think about that. Bachmann needs Iowa. If she doesn't win there, she'll drop. Paul needs New Hampshire. If he doesn't win there, he'll drop. Perry needs to do better than fourth in Iowa and New Hampshire, and win South Carolina, or he'll drop. Huntsman and Gingrich probably drops after New hampshire. Santorum is a tougher read, but doesn't seem like him staying or going matters much. So if Cain creates this storyline that he's going to be a strong finisher, and it comes down to practically a two-man race between him and Romney...
Yeah, actually, it's a good strategy - just play to be the last non-Romney standing, and you do that by lowering expectations for the early states.
I think the Dems are playing it smart, most of us are bored with all this early time wasting so early, chill out media we don't really want to have to listen to all this junk so early! What wonder that they keep polling the question about enthusiasm amongvoters-We've got over a year yet! Wouldn't it be great if in one stroke we got it together enough to force these guys to: Limit electioneering to only 6 weeks before the election(this will greatly reduce the amounts of money needed): Institute term limits, say 2 terms(no more career Pols!) And back to a simple majoritys approval in congress-Has it is Written in the constitution!!! (This eliminates the filibuster-which is nowhere in the constitution but was added fairly recently by our Pols(who by the way have used it a record number of times the last 3 years!) And for Gods sake limit the amount of time and space the Media wastes on this stuff for all our sanities! Most industrialized countries do this!!!
What section of the constitution has simple majority vote in it. All I see is the 2/3rds.
@dsdsherm could not agree more.
something like 9-9-9 has the potential to wake everybody up and shake off the frustration of never being able to understand taxes. Taxes are keeping so many people and small business from saving, and people have to start caring about where the revenue is going
I love it!!! Stop doing things the establishment's way!!! People in Iowa are no more important than people in Tennessee. There aren't more people in Iowa either. Elite Repubs need to swallow their egos and listen to the people. It's no longer about what a party wants for its constituents. It's about what the people want!! George Washington would love Herman Cain against the current field of candidates!!!! Cain for POTUS in 2012!!!!
At the point, I could care less about the GOP nominating process. Romney is going to outlast the others and will be the nominee. Then, depending on the poll day of the week, we will get his opinion on the issue du jour. Come November 1, 2012, I shall get my absentee ballot, make my best choice and see if I can talk the hubby into a cruise the caribbean. No tv. No political attack ads. No robo calls.
This Cain isn't Abel.
First, every employed accountant will not vote for this plan as it would put them out of a job! Second, it would snow in hell before this plan would pass the Congress! Cain is too simplistic in his thought processes to make sense! Cain's '9-9-9' plan goes like this:
For the 46% of Americans who did not pay income tax last year, the 9% tax would mean an automatic increase!
23% of taxpayers pay no taxes or get a tax credit greater than the payroll tax!
Wealthier Americans would get a tax cut!
On the top end, 9% is a lot better deal than what people at the top end are paying!
The Urban Institute estimates that those who make more than $1 million pay 18% in personal income taxes!
Going to 9% is going to save them half; that's a nice savings, That's the income tax side: The rich will pay
less; the poor will pay more!
Cain's plan would remove tax credits that help lower-income Americans!
lost credits would include the earned income tax credit and child tax credit!
Can a consumption-based tax can coexist alongside an income tax, no matter how low the rates?
Herman Cain's chioces are dictated bywhere he canraise money. AndTennnssee is a good chioce because it has a black white clevage that cna build him an infactructure ina hurry. It'shome to Fed Thomspon for example, whoran 4 years ago and whose endorsement might still be worthsomething.It's alsohoome the Grande Old Optry which lkes maveri's like Cain-and they are comfortablewith his down home bombastic stlye. But can he raise money andd get endorsements? that remains to be seen. So far he has been running a McGovern campaign withouta big issue. And 9-9-9 c;ear;y isn't it.
He will need to move to a bigger issue. Este Kefavover who was a US Senator had a famous line "Will ya help me?"..It was simple and direct and non partisan. andno one had ever asked before..so he became a folk heor just like Cain is claiming to be.Hehasn't pu to nDavy Crockett's hat yet-but that day is surely coming. Cain could do very well if he adopted a queiot "Will ya help me" pitch in contrast with loudmouths like Michelle Bachmann and Rick Perry.
Cain won't do wel ll in Iowa, pizza is not comfort food there. New Hampshire is skepticalof "plans"-anybody's. And they do their wonfiguring andwillsee Cain's plan'sfaults before anyone else. I think Cain'schances are better in south Carolinathanmanyrealize. It would be a chance to say "See we are not prejudiced-we voted voted for a black"-and for Presidentto boot. Michelle Bachmann should realy go after Cain-if she doesn't he will steal her base because he has a plan-andall she has is a negative arguement (one term President) that's obvious if one thinks about. but what does she want to do? Cain least has an answer of what he wants to do.
As a womanShe canattack Cain ina way men cannot attack him without gettingtagged as racist. She can simplyshake herhead and say "I can't see a whole race as brainwashed. I can't see it". Coming from a woman it would have more force and authority as a rebuke. She cango one "That like saying all blacks are dumb and mentally incompetent-andt hat'swhat those words mean. that's not presidential". "Or respecful. He doesn't respect voters and it shows"
With his 999 plan being shredded at every turn he needs to go where people do not pay attention to politics.
HALEY BARBOUR SAID IT:
If the Republicans nominate Cain, not only will he win, but he will sweep the South. -- (source, the Chris Matthews Show).
P.S. Yes, we Cain ! ! !