Herman Cain Warmly Received At Values Voter Summit, Says Perry-Backer Calling Mormonism 'A Cult' Is Not Appropriate

GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain was warmly received Friday at the conservative Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C., and he refused to engage in criticism of fellow candidate Mitt Romney's religious beliefs.

The New York Times reports that Cain received a "rousing ovation" during his Values Voter Summit speech. The former Godfather's Pizza CEO delivered some memorable lines during his remarks, saying that "America wants to raise some Cain!" Per the Times:

“Why are you running for president? To be president!” Mr. Cain thundered in his booming baritone, which was playfully sarcastic at times.

“What did I miss? I’m not running to go to Disneyland. America has problems. I’m a problem solver. That’s why I’m running.”

Cain has recently seen an increase in his campaign's momentum. Per Politico, Cain "continues to surge" with a new poll in New Hampshire showing him with 12 percent support in the Granite State. Cain's finish in the poll puts him second only to Romney. The former Massachusetts governor garnered 37 percent support in the same poll.

CNN spoke with Cain Friday at the Washington event to get his thoughts on a controversial statement made by a supporter of Texas Governor and fellow GOP contender Rick Perry. Perry also spoke at the Values Voter Summit where he was introduced by Rev. Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas. HuffPost's Jon Ward reports that Jeffress had some harsh words about Mitt Romney's religious beliefs, calling the Mormon church, of which Romney is a member, "a cult." From Ward:

Jeffress also slyly played the Mormon card, hinting to the audience that because Romney is not an evangelical Christian -- he is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints -- he is not as desirable a candidate for religious conservatives.

Ward explains that Perry's campaign quickly distanced itself from Jeffress' "cult" comment:

Perry campaign spokesman Mark Miner told The Huffington Post, "The governor does not believe Mormonism is a cult," and said he was unaware of any official endorsement from Jeffress. Miner also stated that event organizers chose Jeffress to give the introduction, the campaign did not.

Cain, speaking to CNN Political Correspondent Jim Acosta, said that he had "no comment" on Jeffress' statement. From CNN:

HERMAN CAIN, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Some - some - no comment. Some people feel that way. You know, I respect - I respect everybody's, you know, religious beliefs and Mormonism's been around a long time. So no comment. Not going to get into that.

ACOSTA: Do you think that's appropriate to say?

CAIN: I don't think it's appropriate to say, but he said it. OK? He said it, but I don't want to get into that. I want to focus on growing the economy, creating jobs.

Jeffress also spoke to Acosta and stood behind his "cult" comment. "That's been the historic position of evangelical Christianity. The Southern Baptist Convention, which is the largest Protestant denomination in the world, has officially labeled Mormonism as a cult," said Jeffress.

Watch CNN's interview with Jeffress below:

 

 

Comments

[caprawalie]

11:00 AM on 10/11/2011

The godfather of pizza is right. Mormonism is a cult which by definition is a religious organization centered usually around the vision of a charismatic individual (Joseph Smith), has occult practices and is very secretive in its practices and demands total devotion from its adherents which the Mormon religion enforces trough the ward system and membership is contingent upon tithing

[Soulpractioner]

06:54 PM on 10/10/2011

Can't even bring himself to denounce religious bigotry, huh? Herman Cain - Profile In Courage! What a clown!

[NYC619]

06:19 PM on 10/10/2011

So when is Stain going to announce his "30 minutes or less or it's free" plan?

[LeftLeanWing]

05:52 PM on 10/10/2011

The 999 Plan is to much like the 666 Plan... don'tcha Think ?

[LeftLeanWing]

05:50 PM on 10/10/2011

Nine Ninety Nine..

All Can Eat Lobster....

Have Yourself Some Corn

Then  Try the Veg E. Platter.

[candcje]

05:46 PM on 10/10/2011

Well, you know, Jeffress, the only real difference between a religion and a cult is the number of active members. If Mormonism is a "cult" as you say, then I would have to say that Evangelical Christianity is just as much of a cult. So what do you think of that, sir?

[LivesWorthRemembering]

05:31 PM on 10/11/2011

Mormonism is 14 Million strong and growing.

[candcje]

09:18 PM on 10/11/2011

that was sort of my point. A cult has a few dozen members, maybe a couple hundred if it's really super popular. A formal religion has hundreds of thousands to millions of followers....

And while I don't have actual figures, it would not surprise me if there are more people in the world who identify as Mormon than there are who identify as Evangelical/born again.

[brt929]

05:36 PM on 10/10/2011

Are Perry supporters really that gullible that they don't recognize that it was Perry that gave Jeffress his script?

[nappyman]

05:34 PM on 10/10/2011

No country or empire ever fell from grace because of the poor. These politicians need to put the attention where it's needed.

[fairchilds]

03:43 PM on 10/10/2011

Are we having as much fun with Cain as we used to have with Palin, Trump, Daniels, Bachmann, Christie, and Perry?

[candcje]

05:47 PM on 10/10/2011

No. Cain makes me viscerally angry. The others amused me. Bring back Trump! He was funny.

[sinner11]

03:40 PM on 10/10/2011

This guy is a problem solver? He brings himself problems every time he speaks.

[hruss1125]

06:37 PM on 10/10/2011

He sure does.

[demisfine]

03:38 PM on 10/10/2011

Cain is quickly learning why Justice Thomas doesn't speak.
You get held accountable for the words you say.

[slickbottom]

02:37 PM on 10/10/2011

His 999 plan is two large pizzas for $9.99 and a two liter bottle of "the dew". He's got my vote as long as the pizzas come with the works.

[brutus1065]

05:21 PM on 10/10/2011

I am still laughing. That was really good-- two large pizzas for 9.99 ha ha ha

[Pamski]

01:58 PM on 10/10/2011

I guess when the proverbial phone rings at 3:00 am, he'll answer and say "No comment".

[Willow712]

04:37 PM on 10/10/2011

Or, "Do you want delivery with that?"

[dgsanangelo]

12:09 PM on 10/10/2011

Ask him about Islam, then you will find out how he really thinks.

[Sisa]

10:45 AM on 10/10/2011

NEO-CHRISTIAN FASCIST INDUSTRIALIZED SERDOM UNDER LORD REPUBLICORP: a socio economic political system that is a pseudo democracy in an industrialized nation based on the extreme right ideals of capitalistic anarchy and religious and ethnic intolerance. It is a cast society governed by a select group of elites whereby there is no separation of Church, State and Corporation but a melding of all three. Under this system the income gap between rich and poor is unmeasurably vast, only propertied gentry are permitted to vote,  there is no religious freedom or freedom of speech and social programs are all but nonexistent.  There are no health, safety, or environmental regulations to get in the way of the profit margin, education is beyond the reach of the masses, and the government will be granted full access to ones bedroom and body.  Under this system the workers or (SERFs) labor 10-14 hours a day 7 days a week for pennies an hour with no regard for safety and health or financial safety net should them become ill or injured. They will rent their dwellings and purchase their food and all other necessary items from  the  Church/State/Corporation ruling entity upon which they are completely dependent. The controlling  elites will comprise less than 2% of the population as a whole and will possess 99% of the nations wealth. 

[savingstone]

06:40 PM on 10/10/2011

Exactly!!!...as an operative of this vast network of those seeking to implement these plans, I can assure you the above is exactly what we have in mind...It is too late to rid yourselves of our diabolical plot...our operatives are everywhere, your teachers, mailmen, garbagemen, doctors, mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters...We have already mobilized our vast armies bionic spy bugs...