(CNN) - Herman Cain's barnstorm of Tennessee kicked off Friday with a speech lambasting questions from the media about the GOP presidential candidate's economic advisers and his 9-9-9 tax plan.
"They often ask me, 'Well, who are your economic advisers?'" Cain said in Bartlett, Tennessee. "And they hate it when I say, 'I'm not going to tell you.'"
Cain continued, "I'm not going to tell you! They're my advisers, not yours. They just want to know who my smart people are so they can attack them."
Cain said the media was criticizing his 9-9-9 tax plan, which proposes levying a 9% tax on income, corporate profits, and national sales, because they weren't accustomed to such sweeping change.
"They don't know how to respond to a real solution to a problem," Cain said. "When I presented 9-9-9 and American people started saying they like it, their brains exploded. They don't know how to attack it."
Cain said he wouldn't reveal the names of his foreign policy advisers either, predicting the media would attack them in the same way he sees the media going after his economic consultants.
During a GOP presidential debate Tuesday night, Cain was pressed on who helped him craft his 9-9-9 plan. Cain named one man, Rich Lowrie, who was later revealed in multiple reports to be a wealth manager for Wells Fargo.
Earlier, Cain had refused to name his economic advisers in an interview with Fox News, saying he didn't want to "compromise their confidentiality."
Cain's event Friday is part of a bus tour through Tennessee, which will also include stops in Jackson and Waverly.
From CNN Politics
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The 999 tax policy is lifted note for note from the videogame Sim City. I guess CNN is slow on the uptake.
Come on now!!!!
That's becasue he HAS NONE!!!
That 999 bs came to him after he got "twisted" watching The Omen!!!
Obama 2012
He does not have any.
Already hiding? He'll take off running like Sharon Angle did soon.
Cain's policy advisers are playing a cruel joke on him.
Cain quoted Pokemon in a debate and his 9-9-9 plan was ripped off from SimCity4.
Either his advisers are 20-something nostalgic gamers, or incredibly cruel pranksters.
What's the matter Herm? Afraid to tell people who's coming up with your moronic proposals? If you want to be POTUS you're gonna have to tell.
Apparently the Pillsbury Dough Boy was one of his main advisors. Herman has known him from his days at Godfather Pizza. When asked about PDB, Cain said he would definitely be able to help the economy as he, better than anyone, knows how to raise the dough. And he is an example of a white person they call boy, further bolstering his assertion that racism really does not exist
Will you have a hard time telling us what type magazines and newspapers you read as well?
thick or thin crust? pepperoni or sausage? either way, it's just BAD pizza!
I thought transparency was part of the TP philosophy...oh, that's right, only if we are part of the 1% that stand to benefit from 999. The rest of us can eat cake. I guess he is already running this like a dictatorship- er, sorry, business.
He fired the Pillbury Doughboy yesterday from his staff: the announcement came at 3:50 in the afternoon after a meeting that lasted 20 minutes.
Someone's brain exploded a long time ago.
Just more rich corporate thugs that are trying to get out of paying taxes. They see it as a chance to reduce their tax and stick it to the poor and middle class. With all the loop holes they have now they would still find a way to not pay a fair share even if they reformed the tax laws.
Please, would the one real god stand up and save us from these lunatics. Cain is a complete nut job which makes him slightly more sane, (or perhaps insane) then the rest of the Republican/Tparty and their candidates.
I said good morning to one of our bosses today and his response was "9-9-9" I am starting to get a bit nervous about my job now.
If I was advising him (I'M NOT!!!), I wouldn't want anyone to know,either.
He won't tell because Goofy and Daffy Duck are tired of all the phone calls. Seriously, how does a "presidential candidate" avoid not answering logical questions? Does Cain believe he can just throw a bunch of numbers out and intelligent American voters accept them? Oh, I forgot he's a politician.
Curley, Larry and Moe??
Herman Cain has real solutions
If elected, Herman, I mean Herb's, economic advisor will be a video game. Since Ronald McDonald and Burger King are out of work, thanks to their own fault, look for them to be given higher up cabinet positions.
Herman Cain has real problems.
I won't tell you nothin' about nothing'!
This guy is crazier than a squirrel with 2 tails.
Conservatives say they support Herb, but that has not yet translated in campaign donations. Notice how the right wingnut billionaires give millions of dollars of campaign money freely to Mittsy, Perry, and Paul, but Herb, sits on a few hundred thousand?
If this Cain guy for real? I'm starting to believe he's more of a reality TV star than a Presidential Candidate.
@vic, nashville: "Herman Cain has real solutions" – Yeah? Name one.