Herman Cain Pitches Part-Time Congress at State House Campaign Event

Former Republican presidential candidate and Tea Party activist Herman Cain visited West Bloomfield on Wednesday, where he pitched an idea in support of a part-time U.S. Congress. 

Cain, an Atlanta native who has been busy preparing to launch his own television channel in recent months after dropping his campaign late last year, visited the in support of Brad Hantler, a GOP candidate for the State House running for the open seat in the 39th District, whom Cain has endorsed.

Cain said he became interested in the campaign after Hantler's op-ed on the subject of a part-time state legislature was picked up by the popular conservative website, Real Clear Politics policy page.

Hantler, 21, of West Bloomfield opined that State House lawmakers, who earned $71,685 in 2011, could be reduced to part-time status with no drop in productivity as compared to states such as Arizona, Florida, and Georgia, in which representatives are part-time.

Piggybacking on Hantler's idea, Cain said, "most successful states don't have a full-time legislature."

"I’ll go one step further — we don’t need a Congress that’s in session year-round. That’s part of the problem," Cain said. "As long as theyre in session, they think they’ve got to pass stuff ... That’s the benefit of having someone as young as (Hantler) is, looking at it with a fresh point of view."

Hantler is a newbie on the Michigan political scene after his recent graduation from Oberlin College (OH). 

An  graduate, Hantler will appear on the Aug. 7 primary ballot with fellow Republican candidates Albert Clawson, Nicholas Kennedy, Klint Kesto, Bubba Urdan, and Kristine Zrinyi.

After recent redistricting, the State House 39th district encompasses Commerce, West Bloomfield, Wixom and Wolverine Lake.