Pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson speaks to an audience in Central Michigan University in October 2009. (Jeffrey Smith/Flickr)
Posted on 02/12/2013 7:10:22 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson speaks to an audience in Central Michigan University in October 2009. (Jeffrey Smith/Flickr)
If conservatives are looking for a political outsider with an inspiring rags-to-riches story and who could effectively challenge President Obama’s policies on health care and taxes while also quoting Scripture and criticizing political correctness, look no further than Ben Carson.
Carson, raised by a single mother in a poverty-stricken home, who went on to become a top Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon, gave a nearly 30-minute speech at the National Prayer Breakfast last week that indirectly criticized many of the policies promulgated by President Obama -- all while the president sat just to his side.
A YouTube video of Carson’s speech has since racked up more than 1 million views. A Wall Street Journal editorial ran under the headline “Ben Carson for President.” Carson told Sean Hannity on Fox News, “If the Lord grabbed me by the collar and made me do it, I would. It’s not my intention.” Hannity replied, “I would vote for you in a heartbeat.”
In particular, Carson’s views on some of Obama’s most hard-fought-for policies –- health care and income tax levels -- have caused many on the right to talk about his political prospects. On health care, Carson said every child born in the U.S. should receive a medical savings account, which could receive pretax contributions.
"We can make contributions for people who are indigent," Carson said. "Instead of sending all this money to some bureaucracy, let's put it in their HSAs. Now they have some control over their own health care. And very quickly they're going to learn how to be responsible."
When it comes to taxes, Carson pushed for a flat income tax by citing the biblical concept of tithing. "Some people say, 'Well that's not fair because it doesn't hurt the guy who made $10 billion as much as the guy who made 10.' Where does it say you've got to hurt the guy? He just put a billion dollars in the pot. We don't need to hurt him," Carson said. "It's that kind of thinking that has resulted in 602 banks in the Cayman Islands. That money needs to be back here building our infrastructure and creating jobs."
Carson has also endeared himself to social conservatives, blasting the idea of political correctness, saying that it is destroying the nation by silencing conversations.
His life story inspired a 2009 movie starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. Carson grew up in Detroit and didn't do well in school until his mother pushed him, despite her own lack of formal education. Carson went on to become only the 11th African-American board-certified neurosurgeon in the country, and he gained national prominence for his role in a complicated series of surgeries separating five sets of conjoined twins.
Perhaps Carson is primed for a move into the political fray; he’s a regular on the lecture circuit, talks frequently about public education, and came out with a book last year entitled America the Beautiful. There’s certainly a groundswell of support for it. While on Fox News, Carson responded to Hannity’s pledge that he’d get his vote for president by saying, “I have so many e-mails from people saying that, I could probably finance my campaign if each one gave me a nickel.”
AllahPundit of Hotair made this observation:
He’s a phenomenon on the right, but it’s completely unrealistic, needless to say, for a total political novice to contend seriously for a presidential nomination, even one as personally accomplished as Carson.
Senator is a more likely bet, but Carson has the misfortune of living in one of the most reliably blue states in America.
Maryland hasn’t sent a Republican to the Senate in more than 25 years. Ben Cardin just got reelected and Barbara Mikulski isn’t up again until 2016 — and she’s never drawn less than 60 percent in a Senate race. Could be that she’ll retire before her next term (she’s 76 now), but Democratic turnout in Maryland will be strong in ’16 no matter who the nominee is since it’s a presidential election year. He could, of course, move across the border to Virginia and take his chances there, but the next Senate election is in 2014 against Mark Warner — who won with 65 percent of the vote last time. Second look at running for the House instead?
I really liked his speech. If he ran on the principles outlined in that talk I could vote for him. Not for President unless he had an elective executive position first, but for anything short of that. Shame he is in Maryland instead of Texas.
I would think conservatives would like to know more about a candidate before they supported them. Then again, there were some wanting Scott Brown for Prez before he was even a Senator.
RE: I really liked his speech. If he ran on the principles outlined in that talk I could vote for him.
Let’s just hope he isn’t a ladies man like you-know-who...
I don’t want to see the face of Gloria Allred again.
Yes, due diligence is a must. Everything I’ve heard the guy say so far, I’ve agreed with, but that’s not to say he doesn’t have a skeleton or two in his closet. Lord knows the Clinton machine knows how to dig them up if they’re there. I’d also like to hear his thoughts on a wider scope of issues, and who he would suggest as advisers. You can tell a lot about a man by the company he keeps.
FNC was playing this and it was classic the camera focused on Os face when he was being lectured by Ben Carson (who is black.)
This guy should be the response to O rather than Rubio and Paul, he is no Herman Cain.
You can bet everything you have that the leftist smear machine is in top gear trying to discredit this man.
He’s everything they hate -
a minority, out of poverty because of a PARENT, not the government, intelligent, well spoken, likeably.
FNC was playing this and it was classic the camera focused on Os face when he was being lectured by Ben Carson (who is black and in my lib state yet.)
This guy should be the response to O rather than Rubio and Paul, he is no joke like Herman Cain or Michael Steele were/are.
What is Carson’s position on the .2nd Amendment?
He would have my complete support. This is the man conservatives have been clamoring to have arrive on the scene.
Asking for a career politician is something true conservatives should NEVER do.
He would have my complete support. This is the man conservatives have been clamoring to have arrive on the scene.
Asking for a career politician is something true conservatives should NEVER do.
He would have my complete support. This is the man conservatives have been clamoring to have arrive on the scene.
Asking for a career politician is something true conservatives should NEVER do.
My gosh!
One speech does NOT a president make.
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Again, we see names being thrown against the wall to see if any stick.
Every time someone makes noise that the conservatives like, they claim him to be the next frontrunner for 2016.
Did they learn nothing from 2008? 2012? Apparently not.
At least vet the guy some. Find out his credentials. The last thing the GOP primaries needs is another bunch of wannabes who become the frontrunners, only to be forced out by their own undoing.
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These are becoming worse than reality TV.
RE: My gosh!
One speech does NOT a president make.
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Yes, like Barack Obama at the 2005 DNC.
WANTING power should be an immediate disqualification to be elected to any position of power...
I’m sure Gloria Allred has been given an unlimited budget for a bimbo fishing expedition.
Considering Trump was briefly the front runner last year, maybe it's becoming reality TV.
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