He supported the TARP bailout in the strongest language possible, to the point that he wrote articles extolling the virtues of a bailout.
Government shouldn’t pick winners & losers
Q: Mr. Cain, you initially supported the TARP program?
CAIN: I studied the financial meltdown and concluded on my own that we needed to do something drastic, yes. When the concept of TARP was first presented to the public, I was willing to go along with it. But then when the administration started to implement it on a discretionary basis, picking winners and losers and also directing funds to General Motors and others that had nothing to do with the financial system, that’s where I totally disagreed. The government should not be selecting winners and losers, and I don’t believe in this concept of too big to fail. If they fail, the free market will figure out who’s going to pick up the pieces.
Source: 2011 GOP primary debate in Manchester NH , Jun 13, 2011
I’ve seen his response in the debates, and last night was more of the same “I liked it but didn’t like how it was implemented.” That’s b.s. TARP granted carte blanche over billions to a former Goldman Sachs CEO, and suddenly he’s got problems with its IMPLEMENTATION?!?!? That’s like saying “I was for the French Revolution until this Robespierre guy came along.”
Cain’s reflexively not a conservative.