Saturday, July 2, 2011

Presidential Candidates: Herman Cain (R)

Background

  • Born in Memphis, TN on December 13, 1945
  • Graduated from Morehouse in 1967 with B.A. in mathematics; Received a M.S. in computer science from Purdue in 1971
  • Worked full-time in ballistics for the United States Dept. of Navy
  • Has worked for Coca-Cola, Pillsbury (vice-president), and Burger King
  • Was CEO at Godfather's Pizza before leaving to become CEO of the National Restaurant Association
  • Was also a member of the Federal Reserve of Kansas City, serving as its chairman from January 1995 to August 1996
  • Hosted The Herman Cain Show on Atlanta talk radio and served as a commentator for Fox News
  • On the board of Aquila, Inc. from 1992 - 2008
  • Has coauthored 4 books including Leadership is Common Sense (1997) and CEO of SELF (2001)


Political Positions


Social Security

  • Has criticized the current implementation of Social Security, calling it a "scam;" favors reforming the system through free market reforms
Welfare

  • Has criticized welfare stating that it was designed to make people "more dependent rather than less dependent"
Taxes

  • Supports lowering corporate tax rates from 35 to 25 percent
  • Wants to eliminate the capital gains tax
  • Supports suspending taxes of repatriated foreign profits
  • Supports elimination of estate tax
  • Strong supporter of FairTax which would replace all federal, personal, and corporate income taxes with a 23% national sales tax
Abortion

  • Cain is pro-life and opposes abortion
  • Favors defunding Planned Parenthood
Same-Sex Marriage

  • Supports the Defense of Marriage Act and is against legalizing same-sex marriage
Iraq War

  • Was in favor of war in Iraq
  • Opposes timetable for withdrawal stating it would be equivalent to surrender
Education

  • Opposes federal education plans such as No Child Left Behind
  • Advocates weakening the Department of Education in favor of state control of education
  • Argued for greater performance-related pay and accountability for teachers
  • Argued for choice in terms of expanding voucher programs and charter schools
Health Care

  • Favors appealing the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
  • Favors allowing the free market to play the greatest role in health care
Illegal Immigration

  • Believes undocumented immigrants should go through the traditional citizenship process
  • Opposes what he describes as an automatic sense of entitlement by those who come to the U.S. illegally
Other

  • Has expressed support for Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia
  • Stated that he would not appoint a Muslim to his cabinet on the grounds that they may support Sharia Law
  • Opposes any form of negotiation with North Korea, but favors a diplomatic, yet cautious approach with Iran

For more information: www.hermancain.com

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