The only minority candidate in the Republican field is Herman Cain. He rose from from humble beginnings, his father worked three jobs, to basically achieve the American Dream. He successfully climbed the corporate ladder, scuttled Hillarycare, and is now one of the front runners in the GOP primaries. But let's get to the issues:
#1: The Economy: This area of his campaign has attracted the most attention. With the 9-9-9 plan, a name obviously from the pizza industry, he plans on slaying the economic dragons that have plagued our country as of late. This plan would replace most taxes with a 9% business flat tax, a 9% individual flat tax, and a 9% national sales tax.
No plan this simple could possibly be without caveat, so he does us the favor of being honest about them. Around the country, Empowerment Zones would be set up. These would basically lower the tax rates for all involved. However, all of this smacks of an opportunity for favoritism. Nowhere does he commit to making these zones geographic. Since he was rather popular in the restaurant industry, being named CEO of the National Restaurant Association in 1996, we can assume a large amount of his financial support will come from that area. Could it be possibly conjectured that a Restaurant Empowerment Zone would be created?
#2: Immigration: It seems that the plan-maker in his staff worked overtime on economic issues, but forgot to give him anything specific to say on immigration. His main position seems to be enforcing current laws and securing our borders. And his commitment stops there. Does he support a border fence? Is he against the DREAM act? Does he even have a plan?
#3: National Security: While his website gives us little actual information, his remarks in several of the debates seem rather centrist. He is not inherently against Iran possessing a nuclear weapon, choosing rather to believe, in a rather Paul-esque fashion, that they would simply want it to matter on the international stage. Why should the opinions of a brutal police state matter at all? Does he recognize Iran's utter hypocrisy? Does he think that they would treat their nuclear weapons in a sane manner? Having a viable national defense institution can only go so far in a world with suitcase nukes.
#4: The Constitution: While those on top usually do their best to identify with their party, Cain has had little to say about the renewed interest in our nation's founding document. It is rather odd that a growing section of the Republican Party, the Tea Party, is completely ignored by him. Does he think that a long, hard look should be taken at the constitutionality of the federal government? Does he have any opinions on the ideas that went into creating it? We are quite simply left in the dark.
In conclusion, Herman Cain is an odd, but very smart candidate. While he can't seem to be bothered by most issues, he has taken one of them and made it his defining idea. He is your typical mainline conservative, but we are left to wonder if he has fully thought through what that means.
