Herman Cain Takes on 'Occupy Wall Street' Part 1
2012 candidate on anti-business protests, economic crisis
This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," October 10, 2011. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST: While President Barack Obama and his left wing friends in Hollywood has been busy praising the "Occupy Wall Street" protesters. Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is taking a different approach.
Now last week, he slammed the movement as, quote, "anti-American." Saying those who camped out here in New York City are simply jealous of the success of others. On Sunday morning, Herman Cain did not shy away from his words. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "FTN"/CBS)
BOB SCHIEFFER, HOST: Do you think it comes down to jealousy?
HERMAN CAIN, R-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Bob, yes, I do.
SCHIEFFER: Really?
CAIN: Because it's class warfare. Some of them are there because they don't have a job, yes. But the fact of the matter is, why aren't there jobs? Go and picket at the White House. Demonstrate in front of the White House.
Part of it is jealousy. I stand by that. Here is why I don't have a lot of patience with that. My parents, they never played the victim card. My parents never said we hope the rich people lose something so we can get something. No. My dad's idea was I want to work hard enough so I can buy a Cadillac, not take somebody else's.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Now, meanwhile, Cain continues to surge in the polls and over the weekend he picked up another straw poll victory, this one at the Midwest Leadership Conference.
Joining me now on all this is the man itself, Republican presidential candidate, Herman Cain. How are you, sir?
CAIN: I'm great, Sean. Happy to be here.
HANNITY: Appreciate it. By the way, your father worked three jobs.
CAIN: Yes.
HANNITY: Your mom was a maid. He was a chauffeur, what were the other two jobs? He was a janitor?
CAIN: He was a barber and a janitor and a chauffeur. He worked three jobs until he could make it off two, and he worked two until he could make it off one. This is why I don't have a lot of sympathy for people who believe that this country owes them something.
HANNITY: Why did you say they should be picketing in front of the White House?
CAIN: I said that they should be protesting in front of the White House because Wall Street did not produce the failed economic policies. Wall Street did not spend $1 trillion nearly or if you want to start at $787 billion, almost a trillion dollars of failed economic stimulus.
Wall Street isn't the one that is now proposing that we spend another $450 billion that is not going to work because the other trillion dollars didn't work. The vast frustration should be directed at the White House.
Sean, I believe that this is a coordinated effort on the part of the unions and Obama supporters to distract the American people from the real problem, which is, the failed policies of the Obama administration.
HANNITY: Listen, if his policies had worked as he said they would, you know what? A lot of people would be working and wouldn't have tile to be out there protesting.
You made some very interesting comments that I find fascinating and I want you to expand on them. One is you said if you are not rich, blame yourself.
And the other thing you said was you don't believe racism is holding anybody back in a big way in this day and age today. Explain those two.
CAIN: Yes. All right, let's start with the one if you are not rich or if you are not financially secure, blame yourself. First of all, one of the reasons that a lot of people are struggling is because this economy is on life support. It is the direct result of failed economic policies.
Secondly, relative to the racism thing, Sean, I graduated from college in 1967. This was a few years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voters Right Act of 1965. I was able to climb the corporate ladder at Pillsbury. I was able to climb the corporate ladder at Burger King.
I was able to be head of Godfathers Pizza, took that company and prevented it from going bankrupt. I headed up with the second largest employer in the country, the National Restaurant Association. Don't you think if I saw racism along the way in all four of those or five ventures, that I would have recognized it?
This is why I don't have a lot of patience for people who want to blame racism on the fact that some people don't make it in America. One of the greatest things about this country, Sean, and I have experienced it, if you put your mind to it and you don't play the victim card, you can do whatever you want to do in this country. I am walking proof of that.
HANNITY: You know what, I think it's a great message for everybody. There is some residual racism, but don't let any obstacle to get in your way, and if you do a good job, I agree with you, I don't think you will fail in America.
Now you said perhaps somewhat -- you are a bit of a prophet, looking into your crystal ball that now you are surging in the polls there's a bulls-eye on your back.
I saw tonight that Harry Belafonte said that Herman Cain is a totally false bad apple in the black community and Cornel West said the following. I want you to watch this.
CAIN: All right.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "CNN NEWSROOM"/CNN)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, ANCHOR: What do you make of what Herman Cain said? He did acknowledge that racism exists, but he says, you know, it doesn't matter that much, that more of it is about actually working hard and making opportunities happen for yourself.
CORNEL WEST, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Well, one, black people have been working hard for decades. I think he needs to get off the symbolic crack pipe and acknowledge the evidence is overwhelming.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANNITY: Get off the symbolic crack pipe? You are a totally false bad apple in the black community? Don't you find those things offensive?
CAIN: Yes, I do find them offensive. OK, let me respond to Professor West first. That's the difference between someone who has spent their life in academia and someone who has spent their life in the real world. I've been in the real world. He's been in academia.
So he's back on this symbolic stuff. As far as Harry Belafonte's comment, look, I left the Democrat plantation a long time ago. And all that they try to do when someone like me -- and I'm not the only black person out there that shares these conservative views -- the only tactic that they have to try and intimidate me and shut me up is to call me names, and this sort of thing. It just simply won't work.
Professor West has been in academia too long. He is out of touch with the real world. I have worked in the real world. I have worked and I have spoken at Tea Parties. As far as this, you know, on Wall Street demonstration stuff.
Look, they are now trying to legitimize themselves by comparing it to the Tea Party Movement. That is absolutely no comparison. The Tea Party Movement in this country, I call it the citizens movement, the Tea Party Movement, they had three objectives, fiscal responsibility, basically promote the free market system, and promote the free market system and enforce our laws.
This group and other groups around the country, they are creating all this mayhem, protesting against Wall Street, what are they looking for? They don't have real clear objectives like that. Do they want the people on Wall Street to come out of their offices and write them a check?
I don't think that's going to happen. So this is totally different than the Tea Party. They are just trying to legitimize themselves by comparing it to the Tea Party Movement. Not the same.
HANNITY: My good friend David Brody had an interview with you on CBN at the Value Voters Summit in which you got a tremendous response. You keep winning these straw polls. Your numbers are going through the roof and continue to. And he said are you ready for all the gotcha questions? Who is the president of Uzbekistan, et cetera, and you had a pretty funny answer.
CAIN: Yes, you know, ever since that Florida straw poll, there's been a big bulls-eye on my back. It's coming from Harry Belafonte, it's coming from Colonel -- you know, from Professor West, it's coming from anybody who does not like the fact that I as an American black conservative am in a position to be able to speak my mind and tell the truth and wake people up. They don't want a lot of people to wake up especially black people.
I've also said, Sean, which also received some criticism, that a large percentage of American black people are thinking for themselves. That's the good news.
But people like Harry Belafonte, Professor West, and others who attack me, they don't want black people to think for themselves. And this is why they are so upset with Herman Cain, who is now moving up into the top tier for the Republican presidential nomination, and that people are listening to me.
They don't want me to wake people up and get them to read the fine print and think for themselves.
HANNITY: You know, I can see as you get to the top tier, you've really decided to tone it down and be very, very measured and careful in your responses.
CAIN: Thanks, Sean. Remember, I never took a class in political correctness.
HANNITY: I can tell.
CAIN: All right.
HANNITY: I think we are reading that book right now.
Herman Cain, appreciate your time as always. Thanks so much for being with us.
CAIN: It's my pleasure, Sean. I always enjoy. Thank you, man.
HANNITY: All right, appreciate it.
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