Cain, Haley Headline Tea Party Event in Greenville (Video)

Two Republican candidates for president made their way to Greenville on Friday to take their message to tea party supporters. 

Herman Cain, former chairman and CEO of Godfather's Pizza, and former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer joined Gov. Nikki Haley and activists with the Tea Party Express at Magnolia Park on Woodruff Road in Greenville for the first of two planned rallies in the Palmetto State on Friday. The Tea Party Express, a grassroots political activist organization from California, is making its way to Tampa, Florida, where it will host a debate among the Republican candidates for president. 

Cain said aboard the Tea Party Express bus that he felt his answers to the issues facing America were what separated him from a field more interested in rhetoric. 

"I made a conscious effort that on every question that came my way -  and most people recognize I didn't et my fair share, but that's another story - I made a conscious effort to offer a solution on every one of the issues, not more rhetoric," Cain said. "I believe by doing that, it then shows everybody that I'm the only non-politician in the group. Because when they spend more time talking about what they attempted to to, and what they supported, and what they tried to do, and defending some stuff they had done - those are politicians. All you have to do is look at my business record and you'll see problems I solved, businesses I fixed."

Cain again touted his 9-9-9 tax proposal,  which would scrap the current tax code in favor of a flat 9-percent sales, personal income and corporate tax.

"It's simple, it's fair, it levels the playing field and it reduces government's ability to pick winners and losers," Cain said. 

Once on stage, Cain again went after the rest of the GOP field for their strictly political backgrounds, saving a particular jab for top tier candidate Mitt Romney. Some members of the Tea Party crowd, which has had lukewarm view of Romney for his comparatively centrist views, let out audible boos when the former governor of Massachusetts was mentioned.  

"Here's the other big difference between me and the other candidates - I am the common sense voicee on that stage. I'm the only problem solver. The rest are career politicians," Cain said. "Governor Romney said something the other night that I agree with. He said politicians got us into this mess, it's gonna take a business problem-solver to get us out of this mess. I agree with him, but it ain't him. It's me."

Later, Roemer tried to lump the entire GOP field together as taker of special interest money, claiming "they're all the same." Haley, who took the stage last, reiterated she wouldn't be making an endorsement anytime soon, saying the candidates need the endorsement of South Carolina voters more than they need hers.  

"The one thing I've always said to them is 'go ask the people of this state.' Every candidate needs to hit not just GOP clubs - they need to talk to every person, shake every hand, and say 'this is how i'm going to change the state,'" Haley said.