Posted on 08/20/2015 6:15:52 PM PDT by markomalley
Ben Carson has his sights set on Donald Trump.
The retired neurosurgeon is surging in the polls, but faces a huge hurdle in overcoming Trump, the runaway leader of a pack of 2016 presidenital candidates looking to tap into the anti-establishment fervor that is energizing the Republican base.
Trump still holds a big lead in the polls, but several recent surveys show Carson taking second place nationally and in Iowa.
In an interview, The Hill asked Carson if he believes he can convince those currently backing the celebrity businessman to give him a look.
Carson responded by taking his first implied shot at the front-runner, saying that voters would consider a host of matters — including temperament — in making their decision.
“I believe the American people are smart enough to figure out what’s real, what’s not real, and what kind of temperament and intellectual endeavors are necessary to be president,” Carson said.
When pressed on whether he believes Trump has the temperament and intellectual curiosity to be president, Carson replied: “If he does have it, voters will be able to decide that and they’ll vote for him. If not, they’ll figure that out too.”
Carson has largely flown under the radar of the Washington political class, and few pundits believe he’ll make a serious run at the nomination.
His Aug. 6 Fox News debate performance was dismissed as unmemorable by political watchers on a night punctuated by Trump’s defiant posturing and party infighting between Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie over the federal government’s spy programs.
Yet interest in Carson is soaring.
According to a Fox News survey released over the weekend — the first major national poll conducted since the debate — Trump still holds a lead of more than 2 to 1 over the field with 25 percent support, but Carson was the biggest gainer, picking up 5 points to move into second place at 12 percent support.
If Trump were removed from the equation, Carson would have been tied for first place in the poll with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), at 14 percent each. Carson leads in the poll as the candidate Republicans rate as the most likable.
Furthermore, A CNN-ORC poll of Iowa showed Carson all alone in second place and trailing only Trump. In several recent Iowa polls, Carson has caught or surpassed Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who spent months atop the field in the state.
Carson’s rise has stoked increased attention from the media. He was booked on two Sunday news shows over the weekend: ABC’s "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos and "Fox News Sunday" with Chris Wallace.
The early success has those close to Carson believing he’ll be in good shape to capitalize on the political momentum if Trump-mania ever subsides.
“The emergence of Donald Trump is very helpful for us,” said Terry Giles, who briefly managed Carson’s campaign but has left to help him raise money. “When I was actively involved in the campaign and traveling the country, I couldn’t believe the groundswell against the establishment. Trump has brought out that anti-establishment fervor.”
“Now, Trump may very well end up doing very well in the race,” Giles continued. “But if any Trump followers are going to leave him for another candidate, I think chances are good that person could be Dr. Carson.”
While both Carson and Trump are running as pure Washington outsiders pledging to upend the status quo, their styles could not be more different.
Trump is riding a media frenzy sparked by his bombast, wealth, celebrity, refusal to apologize and populist straight-talk. Carson, meanwhile, is calm and quiet, methodically making the argument that the nation needs a more thoughtful, rather than politically experienced, leader.
“Voters are tired of the same old,” Carson said. “They know that any politician can get in front of them and talk a beautiful game, but they want people who have actually accomplished something. They see it as the only way out of this morass.”
The Carson campaign says it raised more than $1 million in less than a week following the debate and added tens of thousands of names to its email list.
Giles, who is raising money for a group that will likely one day become a pro-Carson super-PAC, said it’s a struggle to convince big donors to get on board with an unknown commodity like Carson, but that a few more rounds of strong polling could be a tipping point in his efforts.
Still, Carson faces considerable challenges.
Trump’s support has proven to be surprisingly durable, and there’s no evidence yet that he’s begun to fade.
And Carson will face competition from two other anti-establishment candidates who are similarly gaining traction.
Businesswoman Carly Fiorina was the consensus winner of the undercard debate earlier this month. She has since seen her standing improve in the polls nationally, as well as in Iowa and New Hampshire, and could be elevated from the early debate to the prime-time stage for the second GOP debate next month.
Cruz has raised more hard campaign dollars than any other candidate. He’s attracting big crowds on the campaign trail and barnstorming the South, setting up what he’s calling a “firewall” in the states that will vote in the early March 1 primaries.
Meanwhile, Carson’s momentum has shifted the bright political spotlight onto the newcomer — and he’s at times struggled to handle it.
For instance, Carson was critical of Planned Parenthood after videos surfaced of officials negotiating the cost of donated fetal tissue for medical research. Carson blasted the agency and has called for it to be defunded, but one of his former colleagues revealed last week that as a neurosurgeon, Carson used fetal tissue in his own research.
And Carson has stumbled on the question of abortion. Last week, he said he believes life starts when the heart starts beating, and he advocated the use of RU-486 — which anti-abortion-rights groups have dubbed a “chemical abortion pill” — in cases of rape and incest.
This week, Carson said he believes life starts at conception and that he’s opposed to abortion even in cases of rape and incest.
Carson made a handful of other controversial remarks this week as well, grabbing headlines for saying Planned Parenthood was formed to control the black population and calling the Obama administration’s Iran deal “anti-Semitic.”
Earlier in the cycle, he said he was making a deliberate attempt to put forth a disciplined message, believing that some of his controversial remarks were drowning out his message.
That’s becoming more difficult to control as Carson’s demand among media outlets increases.
Carson blamed the media for obsessing over his views on abortion and race and said he believes he’s a target for his conservative views.
“I’m not terribly surprised,” Carson said. “For months now I’ve been going around the country and pulling large, enthusiastic crowds where people get to hear who I am, not who the media is trying to portray me as.”
“They’ve been coming after me since the beginning,” he said. “They say I’m irrelevant but spend more ink on me than anybody. It’s OK, I’d be disappointed if they didn’t, because it would mean I’m not relevant.”
I agree..
I love Dr. Carson as a person, but the media and the lobbyists and the Chamber of Commerce would eat him alive.
Slowly but surely black conservatives are comming forth accepting the reality that Obama created this hyphenation of Americans using race for his own political purposes.
Here are some of their comments
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3323814/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3324514/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/ficus/f-news/3325168/posts
Supporting what I’ve been posting here in FR’s for years about was employed as a political tactic to defer any constitutional questioning action of the 1st branch by the 2nd branch of government. Where the inflamatory rehtoric has gone unchallanged and has led to scores of attacks by blacks on whites,hispanics, and asians many of which ended in deaths.
The sad part is, we do have a black candidate now in second place in current polling running for POTUS who has yet to speakout on this matter.
Slowly but surely black conservatives are comming forth accepting the reality that Obama created this hyphenation of Americans using race for his own political purposes.
Here are some of their comments
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3323814/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3324514/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/ficus/f-news/3325168/posts
Supporting what I’ve been posting here in FR’s for years about was employed as a political tactic to defer any constitutional questioning action of the 1st branch by the 2nd branch of government. Where the inflamatory rehtoric has gone unchallanged and has led to scores of attacks by blacks on whites,hispanics, and asians many of which ended in deaths.
The sad part is, we do have a black candidate now in second place in current polling running for POTUS who has yet to speakout on this matter.
NO!
Is Soros donating to Carson now?.../s
I think that's because most FReepers aren't rigid ideologues. A man of action who obviously loves America and who can't be bought is exactly what the country needs. The fact that he takes no guff from anyone and has been able to stymie the GOPe and MSN's concerted attempts to bring him down is as good a demonstration of true leadership as anything seen in many a year. The fact that he knocked it out of the park with his first position paper on immigration hasn't hurt either.
He ain’t peelin’ this one off!
Hey. The Hill, if anyone is getting pulled it is that witch from Chappaqua and her Huma! We are through with her.
I have nothing in particular against Carson, nor for him for that matter. But this is not a Mr. Congeniality contest. This country is in dire straits. We need someone to go to the Dist. of Corruption and knock heads. I don’t believe Carson is that guy.
“Carson should cut the intellectual preening.”
My BIL was a hospital executive and has attended meetings with Ben Carson before he got into politics. He said Carson was one of the most humble and unassuming people he’s met. Then when he heard about Carson’s successes he was even more impressed. If there is anyone who could cop an attitude and engage in “intellectual preening”, it would be Carson. He’s just not like that.
Yup...I agree.
He already peeled off my son’s vote but that’s okay.
He seems like a good guy.
He has stated he has never used embryonic cells in research.
What is with this horrible discourse? Dr. Carson is a great candidate and probably got more out of his recent studies as most politicians get in a lifetime. Dr. Carson said he had materials brought to him, he studied them, and it's not that hard.
Not like it's brain surgery. :-)
Dr. Carson seems like a nice man but I have several problems with him. He became a Republican in 2014 when he began considering running. I believe he’s a Seventh Day Adventist which I have a real problem with since I was raised as one. He’s black and I hope to never see another minority as president in my life time. Not a black, a hispanic or a woman.
Dr. Carson is a good man and has a place in an upcoming administration. His speech at the National Prayer Breakfast standing at the podium with Obama squirming in his seat next to the podium was priceless. He is a clear thinker and has a lot to offer the GOP and the country. However, IMO, his persona is not up to the daunting task that faces us economically, internationally and Constitutionally. That is Trump’s baliwick. Dr. Carson, though I understand where he is coming from with his medical background and inner city upbringing, also needs to re-evaluate his position on the 2nd Amendment (it makes no difference where you live with respect to the type of firearms you own) and mandating vaccinations in children with no exceptions for religion or conscience (admittedly, I have not heard him say anything about this after he announced, but prior to that he advocated mandating vaccinations).
Ok, I'll bite. Such as?
That’s what I think. But the purists have been fairly quiet and that’s unusual.
“Dr. Carson seems like a nice man but I have several problems with him. He became a Republican in 2014 when he began considering running”
There’s nothing wrong with that.
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