Cain wins Presidency 5 straw poll in Florida

Businessman Herman Cain has won the Presidency 5 Straw Poll in Florida.

Governor Rick Scott announced the results:

Herman Cain: 986 votes (37.1 percent)

Gov. Rick Perry: 410 votes* (15.43 percent)

Gov. Mitt Romney: 372 votes (14 percent)

Rick Santorum: 289 votes (10.9 percent)

Rep. Ron Paul: 276 votes (10.4 percent)

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich: 224 votes (8.4 percent)

Gov. Jon Huntsman: 60 votes (2.3 percent)

Rep. Michele Bachmann: 40 votes (1.5 percent)

Cain worked Florida hard, but he has resonated with Main Street for years. His radio program is very popular.

This is a huge win for Cain, a man Karl Rove referred to dismissively in May as "that talk radio guy."

Presidency 5: New leader for RPOF and a Newt-Rubio moment

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich told Presidency/5 attendees and delegates he will challenge President Obama to 7 Lincoln-Douglas style debates if "allowed" to be the GOP nominee.The straw poll process for Presidency 5 will begin about 4 p.m. on Saturday at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.

This gathering is the first official gathering the new chair of the Republican Party in Florida will preside over. The US Report congratulates Lenny Curry who has been serving as chair of the Duval Republican Party.

Anyone who meets Lenny knows what a fine person he is. Personally, I couldn’t be more pleased he will lead our party into the great challenge that faces us in 2012. Curry follows the late chair Dave Bitner whose passing marked the loss of another great leader and fine man.

I wasn’t able to attend the meeting because of prior commitments, but I did catch some of the events live—the convention is being streamed on the presidency5.com website. I dropped in on former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich's speech and he definitely delivered a surprise.

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Democrats are seein’ the intensity in the Perry Factor

Politifact cleared up The Rick Perry Secession Myth. [Screen snip from PolitiFact site; for commentary purposes only.]Aside from the intensity businessman Herman Cain inspired early on, and aside from the passion Rep. Ron Paul (Texas) has always inspired in his supporters, the remaining GOP candidates for 2012 are a very relaxed group. Cain is an energized orator, and few can match Paul’s fervor, but the rest of the candidates lean towards deliberative pragmatism.

That isn’t to say that all the GOP candidates don’t bring assets to the table—they do.

There’s a new intensity in the GOP field, courtesy of the Perry Factor, and it’s illustrated by The Washington Post’s snarking about the way Southerners talk.

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Cain—and an ‘apostate’—come under fire from fundamentalists

This cross was given to my family at the beginning of Lent at our church in our former home state. Our church always made the crosses from the boughs and trees used from Advent through Epiphany.I often swear I’ll forego sensitive topics on Facebook and other social media simply because they can be so time-consuming. I’ll confess I’ve had some very unpleasant exchanges, with ultra-liberals, pro-big government types and pro-open border types resorting to name calling. Ironically today a religious fundamentalist called me an “apostate.” That’s a first.

The conversation began over presidential candidate Herman Cain’s appearance in Pella, Iowa. Horror of horrors—Cain made the statement he would have no problems hiring a homosexual.

The Des Moines Register quoted Cain: "'I just want people who – I want qualified,’ said Cain, 65, a former pizza chain chief executive who lives in suburban Atlanta. ‘I want them to basically believe in the Constitution of the United States of America, so, yep, I don’t have a problem with appointing an openly gay person.’”

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Cain plows into field dotted with political landmines

Herman Cain isn’t backing down from his bid to become the next US president. He’s plowing straight ahead into a field dotted with political landmines planted by Old Guard Republicans, Democrats and some black conservatives who fear the support he has from the Tea Party grassroots.

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Cain, Rove’s ‘talk radio guy’, rises in polls and unveils new site

Herman Cain announced his candidacy in Atlanta on May 21. [Screen shot from TV]Never let it be said that Herman Cain isn’t serious about the US presidency. He’s crisscrossed the United States to meet and greet the grassroots, and most who hear him speak come away impressed. Not a Beltway insider, Cain doesn’t just have to convince Americans on Main Street he’s our best bet. He’s going to have to persuade some Old Guard Republicans.

It appears the OGR might want to take Cain more seriously. The man Karl Rove recently referred to as the “talk radio guy in Atlanta” is rising in the polls.

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Libertarian weighs in on potential GOP presidential candidates

David Boaz, executive vice-president of Cato Institute, weighed in on potential GOP presidential candidates. [Screen snip from video at Cato.]I’ve often described myself as a Republican with a substantial amount of Libertarian, and that’s one of several reasons I like to read content at the Cato Institute. There’s an interesting video on the site with commentary by David Boaz, executive vice-president of Cato.

Boaz gave his opinions of the GOP possible presidential candidates, confirming something I’ve said in recent conversations.

There is a distinct Libertarian influence on the Republican Party at present and frankly, I think there’s a positive effect on overall fiscal issues and the principle of small government.

Boaz summed up candidates like Gov. Mitt Romney (“looks like a plastic model of a president”) and social conservatives popular with the GOP base (“can’t win a general election.”)

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