Posted on 11/29/2014 6:06:51 AM PST by Kaslin
This column is not meant to endorse Dr. Ben Carson for president, because in my opinion it's too early to endorse him or anybody else at this point.
The vetting process is in its nascent stages, and you don't really know anything about the candidates as potential standard-bearers until you get them out there on a national stage together, and then you can size them up accordingly.
This column isn't even about Carson's looming presidential run. Rather, it's about our response to it as conservatives. Some of which is troubling.
I recently spent a good portion of a Saturday with Dr. Carson. We ate two meals together. One of those was a private lunch, which provided the occasion for a blunt, off-the-record discussion about where the country is at as well as his potential candidacy. I also emceed a fundraiser he spoke at that was packed with key Iowa Caucus activists. So I think I got a fairly good glimpse of Carson's motivations and beliefs.
Carson didn't have any handlers. He came only with his friendly wife Candy, who was very comfortable introducing herself to everyone, and took some time to go and play the violin at a local hospital for some sick kids. If he's a stalking horse for the establishment, which is a theory I've heard posited from some conservatives, Carson did a very poor job of playing his role. He did and said almost all the things the political class says not to do and say, and the crowd ate it up.
Is Carson as winsome a communicator as Mike Huckabee? No.
Is Carson as powerful defending conservative principles as Ted Cruz? No.
Does Carson have a major policy win over the Left like Scott Walker? No.
Does Carson have a track record like a Rick Santorum or a Bobby Jindal? No.
Is Carson surrounded by people who have been preparing to run him for president from the time he first became known like Rand Paul? No.
But what Carson has going for him is a life story that is the very embodiment of the American Dream. As well as a deep desire to end the Left's politically-correct divisiveness, and restore the melting pot of a uniquely American culture that was once our biggest strength as a people.
And that puts Carson in line with how most Americans feel at the moment. They don't like Democrats, and they don't trust Republicans. They don't want the Democrats taking the country any further left, and they don't believe the Republicans will do anything about it. In short, most Americans feel as if they're not represented by either party, and they're tired of being called names just because they disagree with something that's hurting them and their children.
Carson fills that longing Obama first tapped into in 2008 before his Marxism started shining through once he was in office. But while Obama fashioned himself a golden calf for the masses seeking a political savior, Carson earnestly believes that returning to the ideals that turned a black kid who grew up in deep poverty into one of the world's foremost neurosurgeons is our deliverance. Carson wants to use the platform of a campaign not to pander, but to take that message to places most conservatives have either written off or are afraid to enter. His life story of overcoming the odds makes him believe that actually might work.
That doesn't mean Carson should be the GOP nominee in 2016, or that he shouldn't be vetted. In fact, before he spoke at the fundraiser I emceed I encouraged the crowd to look past his exemplary life story and still vet him as they would any other candidate.
But it does mean someone who really wants to be your ally shouldn't be made to be an enemy. While most conservatives are welcoming Carson into the field with open arms, some patriots I really respect immediately jump to his past questionable comments on the Second Amendment. Or his support for Monica Wehby not running as a pro-life candidate in liberal Oregon, even though Carson believes abortion is "murder."
Those things are fair game for thinking he's not ready for primetime, but in case you haven't noticed recently we are lacking for Jonahs willing to go to Nineveh. Heck, we can't even get most Republicans to stand boldly in a room full of conservatives, let alone against the tide of political correctness as Carson is willing to do. Therefore, even if Carson isn't presidential material for you, at the very least he could be a powerful friend in a war for the soul of America that requires all hands on deck.
The harvest is plenty, but the workers are few. Carson has shown up to work while many who claim to be on our side are out to lunch. I say we hand him a hard hat.
I agree with you, but he doesn’t listen to me! LOL
No, analogy fail. And they’ve not done anything to 2A rights.
2 more analogy fails.
There is NOTHING to indicate that Carson would be so radical on guns that he would veto pro gun legislation. At least not yet.
And when Reagan won, Republicans could not possibly win the House. Times are different.
Oh for 2.
Don’t like surprises?
You need to go ahead and set an appt with your death panel then.
you missed my point. I’ll type slower next time.
Me either.
Well, there's a complete non-sequitur.
“he just does not want guns in the inner cities”
Enough said. That makes him against the 2nd amendment.
I agree that the usual political development is not there; but he was head of department in one of the best teaching hospitals in the world, dealing with huge egos all the time. That's at least as good as being mayor of Wasila, and lots better than being a community organizer.
I agree with others above who believe he would make a worthy addition to the cabinet. It may also be that if he were nominated, he would be the lesser of two evils, experience or no. I could never pass him by for someone like Hillary or Warren.
I agree with your observation there. But I think Carson is an "always learning" type of person, and he could learn more about this issue in traveling to areas out West, for instance. He has lived or worked in cities all his life until recently.
The third leg, maybe when it comes to street thugs. Keep them from having numerous offspring on welfare.
He is spot on if the darn LEO would go back to shotguns.
Howard Dean, M.D., former presidential candidate and former head of DNC, did had political experience, but in a relatively small state. Senator Tom Coburn was a doctor when first elected to Congress and has continued to keep his license active. Rand Paul is a doctor who did not run for the junior Senator position until his father ran for president and he participated in speechmaking.
One of the best things about Carson is that he is not a political ideologue and not a radical for the sake of being radical. He is a scientist who believes that there are truthful principles in the universe and in nature, and those truths should not be ignored in favor of political correctness. He has openly disdained political correctness and believes it is on the short list of things that are killing our constitutional system.
no, it’s not - it escaped you perhaps.....
Now that I could support :D
14” barrel no choke!!!
Now that would be quite something.
No one is immune from human failure; however, this man has gotten to where he is by a very disciplined approach to living with humility. He has said that he starts every day by reading the Book of Proverbs. His autobiographical books have always stressed the practical application of Christian principles in life. I've had the privilege of meeting him and his family on a couple of occasions. Very gracious people. He and his wife have run a charity for years to help kids who are struggling. With his proceeds from a career in groundbreaking neurosurgery, he could have spent his money on lavish living; but he has not.
Similar to Ross Perot's position of wanting to go door to door in the black neighborhoods to confiscate the guns from black Texans.
Candidates who want to separate blacks and Americans who live in cities from the second amendment, are revealing a streak of dangerous internal nuttiness, a fatal flaw that should disqualify them from consideration.
Big woop. I get tired of those who wet their pants at the slightest hint of conservatism from a black guy. Who cares? There are a lot more experienced (although 0 wasn't very experienced and he got elected) and solidly conservative white candidates to get excited over Carson. So what if he's black? Blacks are only 12.6% of the population, and frankly even if there were a black conservative Republican candidate 95% of the blacks would vote for the democrat anyway.
I don't want to "reach out" to people who only want to take advantage of me by plundering the fruits of my labor. Screw them. Let them work for a living like I do. Let them get their dirty sh!t hooks off my guns. Let them start reigning in the police excesses that we hear of daily. MAYBE the govt will get the idea that is is the servant of the people, not a collection of elite nobility whom the little people should support their every stupid whim.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.