Free Republic

Don't expect Herman Cain to endorse any of the Republican presidential candidates before Tuesday's Iowa caucuses Cain's campaign manager, Mark Block, tells The Associated Press that Cain hasn't seen in any of the GOP candidates the commitment and resolve to make bold changes to put the country back on track.

The primary’s on Saturday the 21st. He’s promising to endorse on Thursday the 19th at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, which happens to be hosting a presidential debate that same day. He’s timing it for maximum impact, in other words, right down to his choice of which primary to target: As a Georgia native, he might have a bit more sway over voters in SC than he would have had over Iowans, assuming he has any sway left over anyone. Question: Who would value his endorsement the most? Perry’s desperate for positive buzz of any kind but Cain’s already ruled...

On Thursday's NBC Today, co-host Ann Curry predicted that following his strong finish in Iowa, Rick Santorum was "about to face the meat grinder of tough scrutiny for the first time." Turning to Meet the Press host David Gregory, she wondered: "So is he going to have to change his conservative message as he's looking...into New Hampshire, which is a much less conservative state, David?" Gregory suggested some lines of attack: "Well, he's going to be under a very intense scrutiny by the other candidates....you could go back about apparent contradictions between small government conservativism and some of his activism....

Herman Cain’s not a candidate anymore, but he’s launching a new bus tour anyway. The former Godfather’s Pizza CEO announced plans to tour the country to raise support for the “9-9-9” plan that was the star of his aborted presidential run, hoping to rally congressional sponsors for his plan to replace the federal Tax Code with a 9 percent corporate tax, 9 percent personal income tax and a 9 percent national sales tax. The one-time Republican front-runner announced his “Cain’s Solutions Revolution” during a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity on Wednesday night. “I started a new movement. The biggest...

Herman Cain appeared on Fox News Wednesday night to make what was billed as a "very big announcement" on Sean Hannity's show. Very big it was not. The former Republican hopeful and pizza chain CEO did not endorse a current GOP candidate, as some had predicted he might. Nor did he announce he was getting back into the 2012 race, as Hannity teased he could. Instead, Cain announced the launch--or continuation--of his 999 economic plan with another catchy tagline: "Cain's Solutions Revolution." "The biggest comment when I ended my candidacy was, 'Keep 999 alive,'" Cain said. "And that's what this...

Failed GOP White House hopeful Herman Cain, who dropped out after a woman who said she was his mistress went public is staging a comeback of sorts, he announced on Monday--on the eve of the Iowa caucus. "Our mission continues, and we're on fire for 2012 and beyond!," Cain said in an e-mail, highlighting a list of media interviews he has booked. Cain is looking to regain some spotlight in a week heavy with Republican presidential politics--that he is no longer a part of. "....I will soon be announcing a major new initiative. This is a crusade so critical to...

Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney are arguing like girls on the playground. The USA Today piece is funny, but it shows the absurdity of meaningless rhetoric. Voters who knew and understood Herman Cain's 999 plan may be left to wonder what Romney and Gingrich stand for except attacking each other, and defending themselves. Iowans do not like candidates bickering with each other.

I have grown cynical of party politics in mature democracies, including the most exciting democracy of all, the United States. In the middle of a spectrum exclusively defined by Republicans and Democrats, personality and style must be favored over platforms that few candidates are ever able to implement. So many people are bored by politics in the U.S. that half of the voters don’t bother to vote. This is not necessarily a bad thing. If politics does not affect the daily life of citizens, to the extent that most can choose to ignore it, then some wisdom has been found...

The Write-In Cain Movement by: Totus Tuus On Saturday, Dec. 3 2011, Herman Cain suspended his campaign. Prior to the announcement, my husband gave his prediction. He predicted that if Herman Cain came out swinging he would get more supporters than ever. My husband loathes politics so him giving his 2 cents was quite remarkable. He is still voting for Herman Cain in our primary. We had both made our minds up some time ago. It was a horrible day when we heard Cain announce the suspension of his campaign. We were sure Mr. Cain would come out fighting, but...

Some on the right have been pumping Rick Santorum relentlessly in the wake of Herman Cain's withdrawal from the GOP primary race. Now lo-and-behold, such new media bloggers can share much of the credit for the Pennsylvania Republican's unlikely rise in the Iowa polls over this last week, particularly those who got behind him early and/or put boots on the ground. Sure do love his platform... as I do Bachmann's. But the problem is that this 'Santorum surge' is coming purely at Newt's expense- and a direct result of underhanded scumbag Mitt Romney and his ma$$ive war chest, training the...

I would not blame Herman Cain if he said, Lloyd, I know you mean well, brother. However, the relentless vitriolic media attacks against me have finally subsided since I dropped out of the presidential race. My family and I are finally having some peace. So why on earth would you bring up my name again? Well, in a nutshell, I just did not like the way the whole "Cain thing" went down. Also, we live in a fast-paced news cycle, "carelessly nuke a person's life and in two days everyone has moved on," disposable world. Herman Cain's courageous bid to...

Sharon Bialek, the north suburban woman who publicly accused Herman Cain of sexual harassment, leading to the end of his presidential campaign, appeared in court Friday morning for a hearing on her landlord’s attempt to kick her out of her townhome. Appearing in Cook County Circuit Court in Skokie, Bialek told Judge Jeffrey L. Warnick she needed a few more weeks to find an attorney to represent her in the case, in which her landlord is suing her for about $7,500 in back rent on the Glenview townhome. She also said she was not properly served with the eviction notice...

Herman Cain tells National Review Online that he will launch a new political-action committee in January. The outfit, whose final name remains under wraps, will be Cain’s main project next year. Its mission will be to enact his “9-9-9” economic plan. “We continue the campaign without a candidate,” says Cain, who hinted at the endeavor during his departure speech. “There are a lot of people who are willing to support the campaign for solutions without the end objective being my election as president of the United States.” As Cain transitions to private life, “Friends of Herman Cain,” the financial force...

As he watches his former competitors begin a two-week sprint to the Iowa caucuses, Herman Cain is not ready to endorse a candidate. But he is inching closer to a decision, telling NRO that he has ruled out two contenders. “I would definitely not endorse Ron Paul or Rick Perry,” he says. “It’s nothing personal, we’re just too far apart in terms of our ideas.” “At this point, there are only two people I would consider endorsing, and only two,” Cain says. “I’m hesitant, however, to endorse because if I endorse one, that may disappoint half of my supporters, and...

Former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain told a conference call of tea party activists on Sunday night that it was the liberal media that forced him out of the 2012 presidential race. "I am as broken hearted as others about having to pull out," Cain said, "but I couldn't continue to try and run a race when you have a liberal media and others who did not want to see me succeed and to see us succeed — constantly fighting false accusations." . . .

These days if you don't like the polls, wait a few minutes. Another will be along shortly. Speaking of which, here's a new one this morning that could presage the start of a significant move by one candidate (or not), as well as some fresh insights into the thinking of those New Hampshire voters who'll hold the nation's first Republican primary early next month. Suffolk University is out with a new survey showing Newt Gingrich gaining and Mitt Romney slipping there, which we already knew. What it also shows though is Jon Huntsman making a push into third place with...

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote that we do not know who the GOP presidential nominee will be: It could be Mitt Romney—though our warnings in this space a couple of weeks ago that his victory is by no means inevitable seem increasingly justified by the dynamics of the race. The nominee could be Newt Gingrich—whose rise in the polls has been spectacular, and whose skills and appeal are still widely underestimated by many elites, including conservative elites [....] It could be someone not yet in the race. If the Gingrich surge turns into a Newt bubble, and if...

Since my campaign ended, I’ve been honored to hear from so many people who asked me to continue because they felt I was the person who could help this country fix things that urgently needed fixing. I will continue to lead but not as a candidate, because I chose to put family first. < snip > We can’t count on the mainstream media to properly inform us, because too many members of the media are chasing the sensationalized or distorted story. Many Members of Congress are so busy trying to keep up with the legislative process, small incremental changes in...

Rick Santorum isn’t just attending the debate moderated by Donald Trump. He’s also emerging as one of the debate’s strongest defenders. “Many of my opponents jockeyed to be the first to fly up to New York and use Donald Trump for a photo op and no doubt try and secure an endorsement. But when Donald wants to moderate a debate — they refuse to attend. That’s what’s so wrong with politics today — hypocrisy,” Santorum said in a strongly worded statement issued last night. Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, and Jon Huntsman have all announced they will...

Exclusive: Herman Cain sits down with BET to discuss his last stand as a presidential candidate, and the scandal that brought his political ambitions to an end. Season 2011. Video at the link. 20:33 min long.