Herman Cain a No-Show at Bradenton Tea Party Event

Manatee County's Tea Party faithful were gathered Monday at to meet Republican candidate Herman Cain before the next GOP debate in Orlando on Thursday.

They listened faithfully to what they thought was a warm-up speech by Col. Michael Steele. But then Steele announced that Cain was "flat on his back" with the flu and would not appear at the Manatee County event, slated to be the first stop on his campaign tour through Florida.

Cain also cancelled an event scheduled for later today in Charlotte County.

He did provide a three-minute audio message about his 9-9-9 plan to improve the economy. The plan calls for a 9 percent flat tax, a 9 percent national sales tax and a 9 percent corporate tax.

But the local tea party was undeterred, selling T-shirts and books to raise money for the local organization and to raise money for Cain's campaign.

As soon as the crowd learned that Cain wasn't coming, some attendees politely trickled out of the event. Some people stayed to hear about volunteer opportunities. Most were focused on getting President Barack Obama out of office.