Herman Cain launches bus tour to promote 9-9-9 [video]

It’s been a month since Herman Cain dropped out of the GOP presidential race, but the retired pizza chain executive is going back on the road.

Cain, who ended his campaign after being dogged by persistent allegations of sexual harassment and an affair, warned at the time that he wouldn’t fade from the spotlight, pledging to move forward with a “plan b” approach to push his policy ideas.

“The biggest comment that I got when I ended my candidacy was, ‘Keep 9-9-9 alive,’” Cain told Fox’s Sean Hannity in an interview last night.

He was referring to the 9-9-9 tax plan that he proposed as a candidate, which would do away with most of the existing tax code, replacing it with a flat 9% tax on personal income, business income and retail sales.

“The American people, the voters, a lot of the political rhetoric, they are sick and tired of it,” Cain said. “They want to hear about solutions. And the thing that didn’t happen in Iowa … is not enough [was] discussed about solutions.”

Cain said he is embarking on a bus tour aimed at members of Congress and congressional candidates. The idea is to tour the country as part of an effort to get candidates to promise that they will sponsor legislation to enact Cain’s policy proposals, including the 9-9-9 plan.

Cain shied away from discussing his former rivals for the GOP presidential nomination, but said he would support the eventual nominee.

“I’m not going away,” he said.

“I mean, somebody’s going to be doing a town hall meeting and talking about all these general platitudes,” he said. “They might look up and see me across the street doing a rally, talking about 9-9-9.”

kim.geiger@latimes.com