Herman Cain (born December 13, 1945) is an
American politician, business executive, syndicated columnist, and Tea Party
activist.
Cain grew up in Georgia and graduated from
Morehouse College with a bachelor's degree in mathematics. He then graduated
with a master's degree in computer science at Purdue University, while also
working full-time for the U.S. Department of the Navy. In 1977, he joined the
Pillsbury Company where he later became vice president. During the 1980s,
Cain's success as a business executive at Burger King prompted Pillsbury to
appoint him as chairman and CEO of Godfather's Pizza, in which capacity he
served from 1986 to 1996.
Cain was chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of
Kansas City Omaha Branch from 1989 to 1991. He was deputy chairman, from 1992
to 1994, and then chairman until 1996, of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas
City. In 1995, he was appointed to the Kemp Commission, and in 1996, he served
as a senior economic adviser to Bob Dole's presidential campaign. From 1996 to 1999,
Cain served as president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association.
In May 2011, Cain announced his presidential
candidacy. By the fall, his proposed 9–9–9 tax plan and debating performances
had made him a serious contender for the Republican nomination. In November,
however, his campaign faced allegations of sexual misconduct—all denied by
Cain—and he announced its suspension on December 3.
Herman Cain was born on December 13, 1945, in
Memphis, Tennessee, to Lenora Davis Cain, a cleaning woman and domestic worker,
and Luther Cain, who was raised on a farm and worked as a barber and janitor,
as well as a chauffeur for The Coca-Cola Company President Robert W. Woodruff.
Cain has said that as he was growing up, his family was "poor but
happy." Cain related that his mother taught him about her belief that
"success was not a function of what you start out with materially, but
what you start out with spiritually." His father worked three jobs to own
his own home—something he achieved during Cain's childhood—and to see his two
sons graduate.
Cain grew up on the west side of Atlanta, Georgia,
attending school and the Rev. Cameron M. Alexander's Antioch Baptist Church
North in the neighborhood now known as The Bluff. Eventually Cain's father
saved enough money and the family moved to a modest brick home on Albert Street
in the Collier Heights neighborhood. He attended Archer (public) High School,
graduating in 1963.
Cain married Gloria Cain (née Etchison), of
Atlanta, soon after her graduation from Morris Brown College in 1968.
In 2006 Cain was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer in
his colon and metastases to his liver and given a 30 percent chance of
survival. Cain underwent surgery and chemotherapy following the diagnosis, and
has since reported that he is in remission.
Disclosures filed during his campaign in 2011
categorized Cain's wealth at that time as being between $2.9 and $6.6 million,
with Cain's combined income for both 2010 and 2011 being between $1.1 and $2.1
million.
Cain also serves as an associate minister at
Antioch Baptist Church North in Atlanta, which he joined at the age of 10. The
church is part of the National Baptist Convention and is politically liberal
and theologically conservative; the church's senior pastor, Rev. Cameron M.
Alexander, did not share Cain's political philosophy.
On July 2, 2020, it was announced Cain had tested
positive for COVID-19, and had been admitted to an Atlanta-area hospital for
treatment.
In 1967, Cain graduated from Morehouse College
with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. In 1971, he received a Master of Science
in Computer Science from Purdue University, while working full-time as a
ballistics analyst for the U.S. Department of the Navy as a civilian.
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.
Burger King
At age 36, Cain was assigned in the 1980s to
analyze and manage 400 Burger King stores in the Philadelphia area. At the
time, Burger King was a Pillsbury subsidiary. Under Cain, his region posted
strong improvement in three years. 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."
Godfather's Pizza
Cain's success at Burger King prompted Pillsbury
to appoint him president and CEO of another subsidiary, Godfather's Pizza. On
his arrival on April 1, 1986, Cain told employees, "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." Godfather's Pizza was
performing poorly, having slipped in ranks of pizza chains from third in 1985
to fifth in 1988. Under Cain's leadership, Godfather's closed approximately 200
restaurants and eliminated several thousand jobs, and by doing so returned to
profitability. 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.
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
Cain served as chairman of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Omaha Branch from January 1, 1989, to December 31, 1991. He became a member of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in 1992. He served as deputy chairman from January 1, 1992, to December 31, 1994, and then as its chairman until August 19, 1996, when he resigned to become active in national politics.
National Restaurant Association
Cain left Godfather's Pizza in 1996 and moved to
Washington, D.C. From 1996 to 1999 he served as CEO of the National Restaurant
Association, a trade group and lobbying organization for the restaurant
industry, on whose board of directors he had previously served. Cain's lobbying
work for the association led to a number of connections to Republican lawmakers
and politicians. Under Cain's leadership, the Association lobbied against
increases to the minimum wage, mandatory health care benefits, regulations
against smoking, and lowering the blood alcohol limit that determines whether
one is driving under the influence.
Cain was on the board of directors of Aquila,
Inc., Nabisco, Whirlpool, Reader's Digest, and AGCO, Inc.
After Cain's term with the restaurant advocacy
group ended in 1999, he returned to Omaha for about a year, then moved to his
hometown of Atlanta in 2000.
Media work
Cain writes a syndicated op-ed column, which is
distributed by the North Star Writers Group.
Cain appeared in the 2009 documentary An
Inconvenient Tax. From 2008, until February 2011, Cain hosted The Herman Cain
Show on Atlanta talk radio station WSB. On January 19, 2012, Cain began working
for WSB again by providing daily commentaries, while occasionally filling in
for Erick Erickson and Neal Boortz.
On October 1, 2012, Cain began writing weekly
online columns for the media organization Newsmax, in a series titled
"9–9–9 To Save America".
Cain took over Boortz's radio talk show on January
21, 2013, upon Boortz's retirement. The show was dropped from the Westwood One
Radio Network in December 2016 in favor of The Chris Plante Show, continuing to
air in limited syndication through WSB's owner, Cox Radio.
On February 15, 2013, Fox News Channel announced
Cain would join the network as a contributor. In March 2019, Cain was a
panelist on a Watter's World episode.
Recognition
Cain received the 1996 Horatio Alger Award and has
received honorary degrees from Creighton University, Johnson & Wales
University, Morehouse College, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the New York
City College of Technology, Purdue University, Suffolk University, and Tougaloo
College.
Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Jack Kemp referred to Cain as "the Colin Powell of American
capitalism". Kemp stated that Cain's "conquests won't be counted in
terms of countries liberated or lives saved, but in those things that make life
worth living—expanding opportunity, creating jobs and broadening horizons, not
just for those he knows, but through his example, for those he'll never
meet."
Possible nomination to the Federal Reserve Board
On April 4, 2019, President Donald Trump said that
he intended to nominate Cain to the second of the two vacant seats on the
Federal Reserve Board. Assessing the possible nomination, news publications
reviewed Cain's sexual misconduct allegations that preceded his withdrawal from
the 2012 presidential election. Cain acknowledged that the nomination process
would be "more cumbersome" for him due to his "unusual
career". He initially stated that he was not considering withdrawing his
name from consideration for the seat. After it appeared likely that he would
not receive enough votes to support his confirmation, Cain withdrew on April
22, 2019.
POLITICAL ACTIVITIES
Role in the defeat of 1993 Clinton health care
plan
In 1994, as president-elect of the National
Restaurant Association, Cain challenged President Bill Clinton on the costs of
the employer mandate contained within the Health Security Act and criticized
the effect on small businesses. Bob Cohn of Newsweek described Cain as one of
the primary opponents of the plan:
Because Kemp was impressed with Cain's
performance, he chartered a plane to Nebraska to meet Cain after the debate. As
a result, Cain was appointed to the Kemp Commission in 1995.
Joshua Green of The Atlantic called Cain's
exchange with President Clinton his "auspicious debut on the national
political stage."
Senior adviser to 1996 Dole campaign
Cain was a senior economic adviser to the Bob Dole
presidential campaign in 1996.
2000 presidential campaign
Cain briefly ran for the Republican presidential
nomination in 2000; he says it was more about making political statements than
winning the nomination. "George W. Bush was the chosen one, he had the
campaign DNA that followers look for." However, Cain went on to state,
"I believe that I had a better message and I believe that I was the better
messenger." After ending his own campaign, however, he endorsed Steve
Forbes.
2004
U.S. Senate campaign
In 2004 Cain ran for the U.S. Senate in Georgia
and did not win in the primaries. He was pursuing the seat that came open with
the retirement of Democrat Zell Miller. Cain sought the Republican nomination,
facing congressmen Johnny Isakson and Mac Collins in the primary. Collins tried
to paint Cain as a moderate, citing Cain's support for affirmative action
programs, while Cain argued that he was a conservative, noting that he opposed
the legality of abortion except when the mother's life is threatened. Cain
finished second in the primary with 26.2% of the vote, ahead of Collins, who
won 20.6%, but because Isakson won 53.2% of the vote, Isakson was able to avoid
a runoff.
Americans
for Prosperity and America's PAC
Starting in 2005, Cain worked for the political
advocacy group Americans for Prosperity (AFP) alongside Mark Block. Block would
later become campaign manager for Cain's 2012 presidential run and would be
joined in Cain's campaign by several other AFP employees. Cain continued to
receive honorariums for speaking at AFP events until he announced his campaign
for the Republican nomination. Cain's senior economic advisor during his 2012
presidential campaign, Rich Lowrie, who helped devise Cain's 9–9–9 tax plan,
had served on the AFP board. In 2006, Cain voiced several radio ads encouraging
people of color to vote Republican; the ads were funded by a group called America's
PAC and its founder J. Patrick Rooney.
2012
presidential campaign
A Tea Party activist, Cain addressed numerous Tea
Party rallies in 2010. On September 24, he announced that he was considering a
run for president in 2012 as a Republican. In December, he was the
"surprise choice" for 2012 GOP nominee in a RedState.com reader poll.
Cain announced the formation of an exploratory committee on January 12, 2011,
before formally announcing his candidacy on May 21 in Atlanta.
Straw
poll victories
Cain's addresses to conservative groups were well
received, and in late September and early October 2011, Cain won the straw
polls of the Florida Republican Party, TeaCon, and the National Federation of
Republican Women's Convention. "My focus groups have consistently picked
Herman Cain as the most likeable candidate in the debates," said GOP
pollster Frank Luntz. "Don't underestimate the power of likability, even
in a Republican primary. The more likeable the candidate, the greater the
electoral potential."
9–9–9
Plan
In July 2011, an advisor suggested that his
campaign's tax policy plan be called "the Optimal Tax", but Cain
rejected the name, saying "we're just going to call it what it is: 9–9–9
Plan." The plan would replace the current tax code with a 9-percent
business transactions tax, a nine percent personal income tax, and a 9-percent
federal sales tax. During a debate on October 12, Cain said his plan
"expands the base", arguing that "when you expand the base, we
can arrive at the lowest possible rate, which is 9–9–9." An analysis
released to Bloomberg News by the campaign claimed that the rate for each of
the three taxes could in fact be as low as 7.3%, but "poverty
grants"—which Cain has described as a lower rate in targeted
"empowerment zones"—necessitated a national rate of nine percent.
Paul Krugman has criticized the plan, saying it shifts much of the current tax
burden from the rich to the poor. Arthur Laffer, Lawrence Kudlow, the Club for
Growth, and Congressman Paul Ryan have spoken favorably of the plan. On October
21, Cain told a crowd in Detroit that the plan would be 9–0–9 for the poor,
saying that "if you are at or below the poverty level ... then you don't
pay that middle nine on your income." Cain's 9–9–9 plan attracted
skepticism from his fellow candidates at numerous Republican debates.
Campaign
suspension
In late October 2011, Politico reported that Cain
had been accused by two women of sexual harassment and misconduct during his
time as CEO of the National Restaurant Association in the late 1990s. Two other
women made additional harassment accusations later on. Cain acknowledged that
the restaurant organization made financial settlements to the complainants. Of
the four women, two of them came forward publicly: Sharon Bialek and Karen Kraushaar.
On November 28, 2011, Cain asserted that a woman
named Ginger White claimed to have had an affair with him and that the
allegation was not true. In an interview with White, which aired on the same
day, she stated that the affair lasted 13 years and ended right before Cain
announced his presidential campaign. On November 30, 2011, Herman Cain
denounced the allegations of sexual harassment and adultery at an event in
Dayton, Ohio.
On December 3, 2011, Cain suspended his campaign,
following allegations of sexual harassment and adultery, which he denied, but
were widely considered responsible for the sharp drop in his poll numbers.
According to a Pew Research Center report on
December 21, 2011, Cain was the "most covered candidate" among the
Republicans during that year.
Cain's
Solutions Revolution
On January 4, 2012, Cain announced the
"Cain's Solutions Revolution". Cain's stated goal was to get
commitments from members of Congress to support the 9–9–9 Plan before the 2012
elections. Cain stated that he started a new movement because the "biggest
comment I got when I ended my candidacy was to keep 9–9–9 alive. That's what
this is about, and I'm going to keep it alive with what I'm calling Cain's
Solutions Revolution." In order to promote this movement, Cain was using
both a bus tour and a new website. New York magazine stated, "It's Cain's
earnest effort to keep 9–9–9 alive and focus on solutions." On January 20,
2012, Cain spoke at Stephen Colbert's "Rock Me Like a Herman Cain: South
Cain-Olina Primary Rally". The Huffington Post reported the crowd size was
between 3,000 and 5,000 people. It had been called "the largest campaign
rally so far during this GOP presidential primary season".
State
of the Union response
For President Barack Obama's 2012 State of the
Union address, the Tea Party Express chose Cain to give its second annual
response. After Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels gave the official GOP response,
Cain delivered his speech at the National Press Club. The speech was streamed
live on the Tea Party Express website. Cain referred to Obama's address as a
"hodgepodge of liberal ideas," adding that there were "no big
ideas that would impact job growth" and "no big ideas that would
stimulate economic growth in this country."
Call
for a third party
Although Mitt Romney was endorsed by Cain on May
15, 2012, he would eventually lose the general election to President Obama.
Cain then told Bryan Fischer that the Republican Party no longer represented
the interests of conservatives in the United States and that it did not have
"the ability to rebrand itself." He asserted that "a legitimate
third party" would be needed to replace it.
COVID-19
Herman Cain was admitted to the hospital on July
1, 2020 for treatment of COVID-19. He had attended a Trump rally in Tulsa 12
days earlier without wearing a mask.
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