TALLADEGA — Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain was in town Friday to speak to voters about his proposed solutions to America’s problems.

Cain spoke about the crises facing the country, such as the economy, illegal immigration and foreign policy.

Danny Hubbard, chairman of the Talladega County Republican Party, said the last time a presidential candidate visited Talladega the year was 1906. Hubbard described Cain’s visit as “historic.”

Excitement was in the air on the Talladega square as hundreds of people came to greet the candidate. The event was moved inside the Ritz Theatre due to threatening weather, filling the theater to capacity with scores of people standing during the event.

When Cain announced his bid for the presidency on May 21 at Atlanta’s Olympic Park, he said he expected 5,000 to attend, but was surprised when more than 15,000 people showed up.

“I knew then that something was happening in this country,” he said.

Cain said the American dream has been hijacked by “too much legislation and taxation.”

“The good news is that we can take it back,” he said.

He said the economy is “our biggest problem,” with 14 million Americans out of work. Cain said nothing will happen to fix this problem until “we alter the occupant of the White House.” He said we need “bold solutions” to boost our economy, and the business sector is the best starting point for economic growth.

Cain said the current tax code should be “thrown out,” and five taxes should be replaced with his 9-9-9 Plan.

“9-9-9 means jobs, jobs, jobs.”

Cain said his 9-9-9 Plan was attacked at some of the most recent GOP debates, but his critics do not have a good plan of their own. He said his plan was designed to be “simple, transparent, efficient and fair.”

“Fair not by Washington’s definition of fair, but Webster’s (dictionary) definition of fair.”

Cain said former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum believes the bill would never pass.

“A politician proposes stuff that he thinks will pass,” he said. “A businessman proposes solutions to the problem.”

Cain said the Founding Fathers believed in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and they also supported the Second Amendment that gives us the right to bear arms and protect our families, our homes and ourselves.

“The Founding Fathers got it right,” he said. “All we have to do is follow their example.”

Cain believes the American people must become the “Defending Fathers” to ensure the ideas this country was founded on remain intact.

He also believes the United States has become a “nation of crises.” He identified those crises as economic, entitlement spending, illegal immigration and foreign policy. Cain also said the country is facing a “moral crisis.”

As a career businessman, Cain said he knows that to fix a crisis, one must begin by working on the right problem. He said those currently in the White House are “just kicking the can down the road.”

“When was the last time they fixed something in Washington D.C.?”

Cain said he has been accused of having a lack of experience concerning foreign policy.

“And the guy (Obama) in there (the White House) now does?” he asked.

“My foreign policy is the same as Reagan’s policy,” he said. “Peace through strength and clarity.”

Cain said we need to clarify who our friends and enemies are, and we need to stop giving money to our enemies and stand beside our friends. He said his foreign policy is based on common sense.

Cain said that, if elected president, we would “beat the enemy,” not “send them an e-mail telling them we’re pulling out.”

Cain said two messages were confirmed when he won the Florida straw poll by a 2-1 margin over Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. The first was that “the voice of the people is stronger than the voice of the media.” The other was that “the message is more important than money.”

“Money is not going to buy you a second term, Mr. President,” Cain said.

Illegal immigration was identified by Cain as another one of the biggest problems facing our country. He there are four problems that need to be corrected concerning illegal immigration: secure the border, promote the path to legal citizenship that is already in place, enforce existing immigration laws and empower the states to deal with the problem.

“We will pass solutions to our problems,” he said.

Cain also told those attending Friday’s event to “stay informed” because a lot of the information they receive is “not true.”

“Stupid people are ruining America,” he said. “They’re clueless to what’s happening to the nation.”

Cain said he has been asked if he believes that point of view is insensitive.

“No, they’re stupid,” he said in response to the criticism.

He said people must “stay involved and informed to take back this great nation.

“We need to kick it up a notch,” Cain said of people’s involvement in the political process. “Liberals want you to believe we can’t do this.”

He said liberals did not believe that Republicans would take back the House of Representatives.

“But we did,” he said.

Inspiration for Cain’s presidential run came in 1999 after “looking into the face of his first grandchild.”

“This is not about us,” he said. “This is about our grandchildren.

“What do I do to make a better nation, a better world?”

Cain said he was diagnosed with stage four cancer in his liver and colon five years ago. He said his doctor gave him a 30 percent chance of surviving.

“That was a crisis in my life,” he said. “When I survived, that was God’s way of saying, ‘not yet’.”

Cain said there are two plans in life: your plan and God’s plan. He said the journey that he is on is “what the Lord wants me to do.”

He said God blessed him with the skills, talents and abilities that would allow him to “make a difference.” He said we all have a responsibility to use our talents and abilities to make a difference in our communities, our state and in people’s lives.

“I will put ‘united’ back in the United States of America and push this country back to where it belongs,” he said. “I will never apologize for America’s greatness.”

After thanking the audience, Cain reassured them that “God is blessing America.”

Contact Kenny Farmer at kfarmer@dailyhome.com.