Former GOP hopeful Herman Cain was in the City of Brotherly Love this week and he wasn’t there to sample the pizza. The one-time restaurant mogul (he chaired Godfather’s Pizza from 1986 to 1996) who once touted his economic plan based on a familiar pizza promotion (the 9-9-9 plan) was here to talk politics.
Cain was in Philadelphia as part of his “Truth Tour” (closely aligned with his “College Truth Tour”) sponsored by Job Creators Solutions. The tour began in September in the midwest and will end, well, in the midwest (getting the sense that the midwest may carry the election, are we?). The tour did swing eastward to the battleground state of Pennsylvania where Cain not only appeared in Philadelphia but also in State College, home of Pennsylvania State University.
On the Philadelphia leg of the tour, Cain told employers that they must educate their own workers about the presidential campaign because, well, let him tell you:
Because one of the reasons we had to do this truth tour is that stupid people are ruining America. Some of them don’t know they’re stupid. But they are ruining America.
Cain isn’t the only big name advising employers that they should tell their employees how to vote. David Siegel, the founder and CEO of Westgate Resorts, sent a threatening letter to his employees indicating that he might fire all of them if Republican nominee Mitt Romney was not elected. Days later, he reiterated his position to Business Week, saying, “They need to worry if Obama gets reelected.”
It’s a tactic that Romney himself has gotten behind, telling the National Federation of Independent Businesses earlier this summer, “I hope you make it very clear to your employees what you believe is in the best interest of your enterprise and therefore their job and their future in the upcoming elections.”
But Siegel and Romney differ from Cain. You see, it’s actually not against the rules to talk to your employees about who you think the best candidate might be (though it could certainly be awkward). What is raising eyebrows, however, is that Job Creators Solutions is funded by the Job Creators Action Fund, a non-profit organization organized under section 501c(4) of the Internal Revenue Code; the organization was created by Cain together with Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus. Under the IRS rules, 501(c)(4) organizations may participate in politics, unlike 501(c)(3) organizations, so long as their primary activity is “the promotion of social welfare.” Specifically, the Regs say that:
The promotion of social welfare does not include participation in political campaigns on behalf of or in opposition to any political candidate. Reg. 1.501(c)(4)–1(a)(2)(ii).
And despite the fact that promotional materials claimed that the tour “promotes the need for serious discussion on how to correct the economy…It is not intended to discuss a particular president, congress member or corporate leader” Cain took the time to stump for Republican presidential nominee Romney claiming that it wasn’t partisan to say that his mission “is to defeat Barack Obama.” He told employers that “[t]here are a lot of disgruntled Democrats that we can impact. And most of them work for you.”
Hmm. Sounds an awful like campaigning on behalf of or in opposition to any promotional candidate to me. I wonder if that makes me one of the stupid people?
