Politics

Herman Cain: Voters will find Chris Christie too liberal

Alex Pappas Political Reporter
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Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain predicted on Fox News Sunday that GOP primary voters will find New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie too liberal if he decides to join the race for the White House.

Moderator Chris Wallace pointed out Christie’s views on gun control, civil unions, immigration, global warming that may not be conservative enough for Republicans, and asked Cain if Christie is too liberal to be the GOP nominee for president.

“Yes,” Cain responded. “I believe that a lot of conservatives, once they know his position on those things that you just delineated, they are not going to be able to support him. I think that it is absolutely a liability for him if he gets in the race.”

There has been rampant speculation in recent weeks that Christie would change course on his repeated statements that he will not run for president, as donors and Republicans continue to push him to run.

“Most of the conservatives believe that we should enforce our borders,” Cain elaborated, “they do not believe people should be here without documentation. They do not believe global warming is a crisis or a threat. Yes it might be a little bit out there, but they don’t see it as a crisis or a threat. And as you go right down the line, he’s going to turn off a lot of conservatives with those positions.” (RELATED: Top aide to Herman Cain plans to leave presidential campaign)

Cain also reacted to the front-page Washington Post story about a hunting camp once used by Texas Gov. Rick Perry, another candidate for president, informally known by a phrase with a racial epithet: ““N—-rhead.” The story alleges that a rock bearing the name was on display at some point at the camp.

“That’s just very insensitive … There isn’t a more vile, negative word than the n-word, and for him to leave it there for as long as he did, I hear — I think they finally painted over it — is just plain insensitive to a lot of black people in this country,” Cain said.

Perry’s spokesman, Ray Sullivan, responded to Cain’s comments by saying, “Mr. Cain is wrong about the Perry family’s quick action to eliminate the word on the rock, but is right the word written by others long ago is insensitive and offensive. That is why the Perrys took quick action to cover and obscure it.”

And Cain also explained why he described rival GOP contender Ron Paul, the Texas congressman, as a grumpy old man on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” Friday night.

“This is how he comes across to a lot of people,” Cain said. “This is what I’ve heard … Because everything is ‘end this, end that, end this, end that,’ and you have to fix stuff, not end everything.”

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