SHOCK POLL: Herman Cain Leads GOP Nationally! (PPP Poll has Romney trailing by 8 points)

Business Insider ^ | 10/12/2011 | Zeke Miller

[SeekAndFind]

Businessman Herman Cain has risen to the top of a national poll of Republican primary voters, upending the GOP field yet again this cycle.

Cain has the support of 30 percent of Republicans in the Public Policy Polling survey, trailed by Mitt Romney at 22 percent, Newt Gingrich at 15 percent, and Rick Perry at 14 percent. Cain is also the second choice of 24 percent of those polled — the highest of any candidate.

In a two-person race, Romney would lead Perry 48-38, Cain would lead Romney 48-36, and Cain would destroy Perry 55-27.

The poll was conducted before last night's Washington Post-Bloomberg debate, in which Cain alienated some members of the tea party (his largest constituency) by saying he admired Alan Greenspan's leadership of the Federal Reserve.

PPP has a checkered history with polling — and this poll has a VERY large 4.5 percent margin of error — so don't read too much into this just yet.

[SeekAndFind]

When I posted it, the link worked, as of this writing, the website is down. Not my fault. Try again later.

[buccaneer81]

Herman Cain is a liar.

I think you're a liar, Mr. Troll. Here for a single day and trashing this forum shows your inherent lack of manners, class and decency.

[agere_contra]

You’ve been here an extremely short time, and you’re busy trying to drive a prissy rhetorical wedge between Perry and Cain supporters.

What’s with that? You stink of Troll.

There’s no call for trash-talking Perry supporters. Just disagree with them, and stop using gay little nicknames for them. Does that sound like a plan?

[Pride in the USA]

Oh, happy days!!!!!!!!

[left that other site]

Pinganator

[LibertyRocks]

I’m not understanding how producers would “switch” to gas and food... For instance, my husband is a machinist - are you suggesting that his employer would find some way to produce gas or food and abandon his profitable business?

I do understand the forces of supply and demand, and I understand what you are saying about demand of those two commodities being inflexible.

I guess I just have to educate myself a lot more on our tax structure as is, and how Cain’s plan would work. I’m VERY much open to it - just not educated enough on the details, and I think I’m pretty typical of the kind of people that will have to be sold on the sales tax portion of the plan. That’s the only downfall I see with the plan (besides making sure there are strict rules regarding any future increases). Average folks who are not particularly educated regarding our tax system might not look further than thinking about paying an extra 9cents per dollar on everything they buy. With the increases in costs over the last couple years it could be a bit of a hard sell. Plus, you KNOW the Dems are going to bring up the poor and how this will likely be a hardship on them (particularly in places where food is not already taxed). I’m just trying to look ahead and understand so that I can educate others who may be worried about the same things.

[LibertyRocks]

In the area in which I live those positions are populated by middle-age workers. My 19-year-old daughter is having a VERY hard time finding ANY kind of work - everyone seems to prefer hiring older workers with experience, even for what should be entry-level jobs.

I too remember people SAVING for big purchases. There is too much of an attitude of needing immediate gratification. It’s a HUGE problem in our society, IMHO.

[Grey Eagle]

PPP is a liberal group. Polls is not worth the paper it is written on. It is much too early to annoint anyone.

[bamahead]

I’m pretty typical of the kind of people that will have to be sold on the sales tax portion of the plan.

I'll try and break it down for you. If you are familiar with the FairTax, his proposal is somewhat similar in principle:

Much of the cost you pay now on any good or service is 'embedded' tax that the producer has to pay.

If all duties and taxes except the 9% tax on what the business must pay to produce that good or service is eliminated, the embedded taxes that are a part of the prices you pay now are no longer a factor

EVERY business can once again set the price point on it's product/service to be competitive based on how efficient they are, with the cost of taxes they have to pay to produce being much less of a factor at 9%.

The prices of goods will most likely drop as businesses will have an edge to COMPETE based on their efficiency in producing/providing that good/service.

The 9% federal sales tax you pay will more than likely end up evening out the cost of that good/service to a price point similar (if not less) than the one you paid before.

Not to mention the extra 6.5% more income Americans will be able to keep in their pockets with the payroll tax reduction to 9%, meaning more buying power across the board.

Granted this is a bit of a simplification, and there are other state-by-state cost issues that will have to be worked out. But I hope this gives you a primer.

I'm behind Cain 100%. And you know my views pretty well ;)Personally, I don't think he shouldn't call it 9-9-9. He should call it Win-Win-Win.

[County Agent Hank Kimball]

You and others have very short memories about Newt. He was more responsible than anyone for getting the GOP back into the majority after 40 years on the outside. He was relentless in going after Dem leadership and proved himself a master strategist.

Is he perfect? Hell no. Was I disappointed when he sat on that couch with Nancy? You bet. But who is this one guy I would most like to see debating Filth next Fall? Newt’s absolutely the one.

Hank

[County Agent Hank Kimball]

You and others have very short memories about Newt. He was more responsible than anyone for getting the GOP back into the majority after 40 years on the outside. He was relentless in going after Dem leadership and proved himself a master strategist.

Is he perfect? Hell no. Was I disappointed when he sat on that couch with Nancy? You bet. But who is this one guy I would most like to see debating Filth next Fall? Newt’s absolutely the one.

Hank

[caveat emptor]

When I posted it, the link worked, as of this writing, the website is down. Not my fault. Try again later.

Thanks for the working link.

[WOSG]

“I don’t see a need to mount up a retread to take down Obama.”

Who is the best alternative? is the question.

Untested Cain?
Inarticulate Texan Perry?
Crazed teapartier Bachmann?
non-conservative flipflopper Romney?

At what point do we stop tearing our own folks down and start BUILDING THEM UP to defeat Obama?!?!?

Whay are we doing the liberals work for them????

[LibertyRocks]

I’m guilty of forgetting how much of the price of goods is to cover taxes in the first place. I also just watched another interview with Herman Cain and combined with your simplification I’m understanding it a lot better now. I really appreciate you taking the time to explain it to me. It’s so easy to forget about all the “hidden” taxes - which is why they hide them in the first place! LOL [I’m having a DUH! moment right now in relation to all of this... total facepalm here! LOL]

I’m definitely behind Cain. With a little more time and study I’ll also be able to help dispel some of the misconceptions that others have as well. Thanks again. :)

[mazda77]

It’s only a shocker that people who claimed to be smarter than democrats would vote for someone who has no experience and makes his living as a motivational speaker.

If that were Cain's only bullet points on his resume, you might have a point. We need executive experience with a record of success.

After completing his master's degree from Purdue, Cain left the Department of the Navy and began working for The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta as a computer systems analyst. In 1977, he moved to Minneapolis to join Pillsbury, soon becoming director of business analysis in its restaurant and foods group in 1978.

At age 36, Cain was assigned in the 1980s first to analyze and ultimately to take the reins of Burger King, which at the time was a Pillsbury subsidiary, where he managed 400 stores in the Philadelphia area. Under Cain's leadership, his region went in three years from the least profitable for Burger King to the most profitable. According to a 1987 account in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Pillsbury's then-president Win Wallin said: "He was an excellent bet. Herman always seemed to have his act together." At Burger King, Cain “established the BEAMER program, which taught our employees, mostly teenagers, how to make our patrons smile” by smiling themselves. It was a success: “Within three months of the program’s initiation, the sales trend was moving steadily higher.” His successes at Burger King prompted Pillsbury to appoint him President and CEO of another subsidiary, Godfather's Pizza. Cain arrived on April 1, 1986, and told employees that, "I'm Herman Cain and this ain't no April Fool's joke. We are not dead. Our objective is to prove to Pillsbury and everyone else that we will survive." Aiming to cut costs, Cain, over a 14-month period, reduced the company from 911 stores to 420. As a result of his efforts, Godfather's Pizza became profitable. In a leveraged buyout in 1988, Cain, Executive Vice-President and COO Ronald B. Gartlan and a group of investors, bought Godfather's from Pillsbury. Cain continued as CEO until 1996, when he resigned.

Later in 1996 he became CEO of the National Restaurant Association, a trade group and lobby organization for the restaurant industry, where he had previously been chairman concurrently with his role at Godfather's Pizza.

Cain became a member of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in 1992 and served as its chairman from January 1995 to August 1996, when he resigned to become active in national politics. Cain was on the board of directors of Aquila, Inc. from 1992 to 2008, and also served as a board member for Nabisco, Whirlpool, Reader's Digest, and AGCO, Inc.

[mazda77]

I will say that I am beginning to have questions about 999, I’d prefer a straight Fair Tax.

Herman has said on several occasions that the 999 is just the prelude to the FairTax. He is a FairTax endorser but he needed something to make the transition for not only the people of this country but also for pairing down the IRS and the rest of the government apparatus essentially re-tasking them to be ready for the FairTax.

It really steams me that the media is intent on leaving the impression that the other federal taxes would remain, which is an outright lie.

[RoosterRedux]

IIRC, Newt has claimed residency in McLean VA since 1999.

[cvq3842]

Thanks for the response, and the info. And good luck to your daughter!

[Rich21IE]

and he’s black which makes him almost saint-like and thus he can’t be opposed without the opposer being called a racist.

[Pravious]

“The powers that be continue to underestimate the Tea Party.”

Right. Just where did they think all the Palin supporters were gonna go? To Romney?

Truth is, though, I liked Herman a lot more before this last debate. I don’t like or trust “9-9-9” and that’s ALL he spoke about... while Newt brought it to the Democrats, and didn’t seem like he was simply shoveling a line of political BS in our general direction.

Of course, Newt’s Newt... so that brings me right back to looking for someone who CAN, possibly be elected.

Then again, the media and Republican Establishment have OBVIOUSLY chosen the Plastic One.