By Valerie Baldowski
vbaldowski@henryherald.com

Radio personality, Herman Cain, said he believes a major turnaround in the political arena can happen by the November elections.

The conservative talk-show host, whose show airs on WSB radio, gave his assessment as the guest speaker for Thursday’s Republican Women of Henry County meeting. The meeting, held at the Merle Manders Conference Center in Stockbridge, was attended by local residents and municipal and county officials.

Polls, Cain said, show there are more Republicans than Democrats. With enough persistence, he added, Republicans can mount a grassroots effort to increase their numbers in Congress.

“We can take back this government,” Cain said. “We outnumber them.”

Cain’s address was punctuated more than once by applause as he made predictions for 2010.

Making a comeback is achievable for the Republican Party, Cain said.

“Achieving something begins with the belief that it can be done,” he said. “It starts with believing. When people believe something, they are passionate about it.”

He said one of the “weapons” at the disposal of local GOP groups is turnout at the polls. “If you stay home, it won’t matter,” he said.

Cain said giving time and money can also help the Republican cause.

“Encourage people to use a little bit of their time to change things,” he said. “Work on someone’s campaign. Hand out some flyers. Knock on some doors.”

“I’ve known Mr. Cain for many years, and I like the way he speaks,” Linda D. Herren, the Republican National Committeewoman for Georgia, said after Cain’s speech. “Herman has a way of bringing [his message] to the people, so they can understand. Instead of a bunch of facts, figures and platitudes, he tells you exactly what’s going on, and exactly what you need to do.”

According to a biography on his web site, Cain is a FOX News business commentator and columnist with World Net Daily. He is also president and CEO of THE New Voice, Inc., a business consulting company, and is a past chairman of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

Cain served as CEO and president of Godfather’s Pizza, Inc., from 1986 to 1996, and bought the business from The Pillsbury Company in 1988.

Cain said when he and a business partner bought Godfather’s Pizza, Pillsbury management expected the company to go out of business.

“They said it was not going to survive. It was supposed to go bankrupt, and it never did,” he said. “The top management didn’t think it would make it.”

Cain said he and his business partner helped the restaurant recover by getting “back to basics.”

“In any business, when you’re in trouble, get back to basics,” he said. “They were trying to do too many things that weren’t part of their fundamental, basic operations.”

Cain said the same principles can be applied to national government. “It’s called ‘Let’s get back to the Constitution of the United States of America,” he said.

“It was very inspiring,” Christy Marr, another admirer. “It was a good message for conservatives. As conservatives, we can win. We’ve gotten away from our founding principles of George Washington and James Madison. We need to keep our freedoms, and stand up for our freedoms, or we’re going to lose them.”