Cain wins Alabama straw poll

“Under the Cain presidency, the Justice Department would not be suing Alabama. The Justice Department would be helping Alabama,” Cain said to applause from the hundreds in attendance at the Bryant Conference Center.

Though Alabama’s law is considered the most restrictive law against illegal immigrants in the nation, Cain said “empowering states to do what the federal government won’t do” is key in solving the nation’s illegal immigration problem.

Cain said that securing the border, promoting the current path to citizenship and improving enforcement of the immigration laws currently in place are the first steps to solving the problem.

The visit in Tuscaloosa was Cain’s fifth stop in Alabama in the past two days as part of his Common Sense Solutions bus tour.

Cain, a Georgia native and former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, has surprised many by leaping to the front in the polls. His campaign touts his ability to tackle the country’s problems as a businessman and not a politician.

And though the entire crowd sided with Cain on immigration, the presidential candidate was greeted with a mixture of cheers and boos at other times. At one point, Cain had to ask some in the crowd to quiet down and allow him to speak.

As Cain began to speak about the reason behind the economic crisis, a supporter of fellow GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul shouted, “the Federal Reserve.” Other Paul supporters, who had booed Cain’s entrance, applauded the woman who made the remark.

“With all due respect, I’m going to give this speech today,” Cain said to the woman, as Cain’s supporters applauded.

“But since you brought up the Federal Reserve, I’m going to say this real quick. I do not believe we need to end the Fed. I think we can fix the Fed and that’s all I’m going to say about that.”

Again, the Paul supporters booed loudly.

“Now are you all going to let me do my speech or not? All I’m asking for is the respect for me to give my comments and my speech,” Cain said.

During the the remaining 10 minutes of Cain’s speech, the audience was quiet as the candidate outlined his platform.

Cain said the U.S. has been “hijacked” and that the country is now “a nation of crises.”

“We have an economic crisis. We have a spending crisis. We have an energy crisis. We have an illegal immigration crisis. We have a foggy foreign policy crisis. We have a moral crisis,”

“But the good news is we can fix stuff. That’s the difference between a businessman and a politician. We can fix stuff.”

But with two months left before the voting season begins, many question Cain’s campaign strategy of spending time in states like Alabama, which votes late in the primary calendar.

Nevertheless, Cain laid out his platform issue by issue Saturday, beginning with foreign policy. Cain said his stance is an extension of former President Ronald Reagan’s foreign policy philosophy.

“The Reagan policy was peace through strength. The Cain policy is peace through strength and clarity,” Cain said.

“We must clarify who our friends are and stop sending money to our enemies.”

Cain said the main reason for the economic crisis is the current administration’s preference for federal spending over the business sector.

“This administration does not understand a basic fundamental economic principle and that is that the engine of economic growth is the business sector. Not government,” he said.

“That’s not going to bring down unemployment and it’s not going to give businesses the certainty that they need in order to get back into growth mode.”

Cain said he would start by throwing out the current tax code and implementing his 9-9-9 plan, which calls for a 9 percent business tax, a 9 percent income tax and a 9 percent sales tax.

“It will replace five other taxes and save us $430 billion a year in filing and filling out forms,” Cain said.

Cain said he also has a strategy for making the U.S. energy independent.

“Being energy independent is not only an economic imperative, it is a national security imperative because we do not need to depend upon foreign oil when the world is not safe,” he said.

Before coming to Tuscaloosa, Cain made stops in Anniston, Talladega, Birmingham and Montgomery on Friday. From Tuscaloosa, he traveled back to Birmingham and then to his last Alabama stop in Huntsville on Saturday night.

Article source: http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20111030/news/111029649