The more I observe former neurosurgeon and Republican candidate Ben Carson, the more inclined I am to believe he's slyer than a fox named Sylvester. Prior to the two (varsity) Republican debates, I had heard some of Carson's extreme views. Here's just a snippet of those views:
- "You know, Obamacare is really, I think, the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery. And it is, in a way, it is slavery in a way because it is making all of us subservient to the government."
- "They've (ISIS) got the wrong philosophy, but they're willing to die for what they believe, while we're busily giving away every value and every belief for the sake of political correctness."
- "Because a lot of people who go into prison go into prison straight and when they come out, they're gay. So, did something happen while they were in there? Ask yourself that question."
- "You know, we live in a Gestapo age, people don't realize it."
- "I mean, [our society is] very much like Nazi Germany. And I know you're not supposed to say 'Nazi Germany,' but I don't care about political correctness. You know, you had a government using its tools to intimidate the population. We now live in a society where people are afraid to say what they actually believe."
Yes, this is that same Ben Carson. Like I said, some of his views are quite extreme. But while I and a few others may have read and heard such quotes uttered by Carson, I'd say a solid majority hasn't, so their impression of him has mostly (or entirely) been formed from his debate performances. Ben Carson's demeanor is not suited for a 10- or 11-person debate. The man is quiet, a slow talker, and doesn't have a tendency to interrupt people. So when Carson newbies watched him at the debates, they probably thought to themselves, "Wow, what a smart and nice man who doesn't come across like most other politicians, because he's an outsider!" Yet they likely haven't heard much of him in a one-on-one setting where he's much more prone to letting his extreme views fly like the plastic bag in American Beauty. Like I said, he's slyer than a fox named Sylvester.
Following his second debate performance, Carson decided to let the crazy words fly again. On Sunday's Meet the Press, when asked whether or not he believed Islam to be consistent with the Constitution, Carson said this:
"No, I don't, I do not. I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that."
After receiving the inevitable backlash for his comment, Carson eventually tried backtracking, by saying this:
"If someone had a Muslim background and they're willing to reject those tenets and to accept the way of life that we have and clearly will swear to place our Constitution above their religion ... I would then be quite willing to support them."
Yes, Constitutionalist Ben Carson may want to read the Constitution again, for it says in Article VI that "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."
Then just three days later, Carson made the following statements:
- "I find black Republicans are treated extremely well in the Republican Party. In fact, I don't hear much about being a black Republican. I think the Republicans have done a far superior job of getting over racism."
- "When you look at the philosophies of the two parties now, what I have noticed as a black Republican is that Republicans tend to look more at the character of people. And Democrats tend to look more at the color of their skin."
- "It was founded as an anti-slavery party, an abolitionist party. The Republican Party worked very, very hard to abolish slavery and after it was abolished to try to gain rights for the freedman including the right to bear arms."
- "If you're black and you don't think a certain way as far as they are concerned, you're an Uncle Tom, a sellout, a traitor, you hate yourself (in reference to Democrats)."
- "They're (blacks) seeing that 50 years of these (Democratic) policies have not resulted in improvement and has really resulted in worsening the situation. A lot of people in the minority community -- contrary to popular opinion, all they want is a fair chance. All they want is an opportunity to succeed."
So, let me get this straight; on Sunday, Ben Carson, a Republican, said he feels Muslims shouldn't be president, and then on Wednesday said that Republicans focus more on character than skin color, the polar opposite of Democrats, and that Republicans have gotten past slavery easier than Democrats. Did I get that right? Three days after making racist remarks against Muslim-Americans, Ben Carson has the gall to say Democrats focus more on skin color than Republicans? Seriously? I swear, the more I hear this man talk outside of debates, the more I think he belongs in a loony bin.
Ben Carson may want to exchange his apparently foggy glasses or have a fellow neurosurgeon check his brain for any unusual activity, because he appears to be progressively drifting further into never-neverland.
First off, Carson needs to research the signing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 by Democrat Lyndon Johnson and check out the two parties and their supporters pre-'64 and post-'64. The Republican Party WAS the progressive, anti-slavery party pre-1964, while the Democratic Party was the conservative party. However, after the signing of that bill in 1964, the two parties slowly swapped identities and supporters. Democratic support moved from the Southeast to the Northeast and West, while Republican support moved from the Northeast to the South. In other words, the conservative Democratic Party became the progressive party and the progressive Republican Party became the conservative party. Technically speaking, yes, the Republican Party was the party which fought hardest to abolish slavery, but that was 150 years ago. The Republican Party of that day and age is the Democratic Party today and the Democratic Party of that time is the Republican Party of today. Yes, just a few things have changed in the past 150 years, Mr. Carson, but keep on trying to play that misleading card.
Secondly, Carson might be slightly accurate in saying the Democratic Party may not see a person as a true Democrat if they don't agree with the majority of the party on certain issues, but that has nothing to do with race, and the Republican Party is even worse on that front. Studies indicate that while the two parties are progressively moving further left and right, the Republican Party is moving at a much quicker pace toward the far-right end of the spectrum than Democrats are to the far-left end. What mammal was recently placed on the endangered species list? Moderate Republicans. John McCain was called out by many in the right-wing media as being too liberal to be the Republican nominee in the run up to the 2000 election. Yes, John McCain... Sadly, the party has progressively been moving further to the right ever since then. Outside of a handful of Congresspeople, it seems that the rest of Congressional Republicans are in lockstep with one another. On the Democrat's side, however, much to the chagrin of many self-described liberals and progressives, they have so much diversity in opinion, it's often times difficult for them to agree on something. So while Ben Carson is partially right here, he certainly isn't looking at the larger picture, and with that, is presenting a rather distorted reality to listeners.
Thirdly, did Carson really just go THERE in saying Democrats focus on skin color more than Republicans and haven't gotten over racism as well as the GOP? If that's the case, why does Carson not believe Muslim-Americans should be president? Why does Donald Trump insinuate that a large number of Mexicans are rapists? Why are Republican governors so eager to pass voter restrictions to limit the minority vote come election day? Why do many Republicans feel Muslims shouldn't be able to build and worship in mosques in this country? Why are some conservatives labeling the Black Lives Matter movement as a terrorist group? Why did a number of conservatives question President Barack Obama's birthplace and religion? Why does it feel when an unarmed black man gets shot and killed by police, a decent percentage of Republicans' first two comments are, "What was his criminal record?" and "He probably had it coming."? Why have I heard jokes from and been sent photos of the Obamas by conservatives, comparing them to monkeys? So, give me a break, Mr. Carson; just because Republicans largely want to ignore the struggles minorities face in this country doesn't mean they're less quick to judge based on the color of people's skin than Democrats, or that they've gotten over racism more easily. As a matter of fact, on one front, Carson's comments are rather humorous. For many years Democrats have dominated the minority vote, the black vote in particular, and long before Barack Obama ran for president. Many conservatives seemed to forget this fact after hearing the detailed election results from 2008 and 2012, claiming African-Americans only voted for Obama because he's black and that they're the main reason he won both elections. Yet little do they seem to remember that Al Gore and John Kerry both won around 90% of the black vote in the previous two elections, and last I checked, they're about as tan as Casper the friendly ghost. The GOP has also tried making it a point to present a more diverse field of potential presidential nominees in recent years, thinking the skin color of the candidate is of greater importance to certain voting demographics than policy ideas. If Ben Carson is the nominee, does the GOP really think he and his extremely conservative ideas are going to win over a large portion of the African-American community simply because he's black? I don't think so. So who focuses more on skin color than character again, Mr. Carson? That's what I thought...
Lastly, Mr. Carson seems to believe that the Republican Party is fighting harder for minorities in this country than the Democratic Party. I'm sorry, but this isn't 1865 anymore; it's 2015. While the Democratic Party has tried to increase voter turnout, the Republican Party has attempted to suppress it, especially for minorities. While the Democratic Party has attempted to pass immigration reform, the Republican Party has been quite reluctant in doing so. While the Democratic Party has tried finding ways to expand healthcare coverage in this country, the Republican Party has done anything but, and not only that, but the GOP is trying to strip funding away from Planned Parenthood, which often benefits low-income mothers. Some Democrats want to provide free college tuition; I haven't heard any Republicans say such a thing. Most Democrats want to pass common sense gun laws, but rarely is that the case for Republicans. Many Democrats want to pass police and prison reforms, not to mention progressive tax reforms; Republicans outside of Rand Paul don't seem too interested in the former, and not many outside of Donald Trump seem to be very interested in the latter.
The Democratic Party may be far from perfect, Mr. Carson, but it consistently stands up for: women's rights, for the LGBT community's rights, for Muslims' rights, Christians' rights, Jews' rights, Buddhists' rights, atheists' rights, Hindus' rights, African-Americans' rights, Latino-American's rights, Asian-American's rights, Arab-American's rights, Anglo-American's rights, Native Americans' rights, the young, the elderly, 9/11 first responders, war vets, the homeless, the disabled, the poor and middle-class - all Americans' rights. The Republican Party used to stand for something similar, but they've gone from standing up for the people to just standing up for corporations and the wealthy. The GOP no longer stands for the Grand Old Party; it stands for the Greedy Old Party.
http://www.vox.com/2015/9/21/9362989/ben-carson-muslims-constitution
http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/23/politics/ben-carson-black-republicans-racism/
http://www.nationaljournal.com/twentysixteen/2015/05/04/9-Ben-Carsons-Most-Controversial-Quotes
http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/21/politics/ben-carson-muslim-sharia-law-presidency/
http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/2015/09/its-the-u-s-constitution-not-my-personal-constitution.html/
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-burt-ben-carson-muslim-president-20150924-story.html
- "You know, Obamacare is really, I think, the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery. And it is, in a way, it is slavery in a way because it is making all of us subservient to the government."
- "They've (ISIS) got the wrong philosophy, but they're willing to die for what they believe, while we're busily giving away every value and every belief for the sake of political correctness."
- "Because a lot of people who go into prison go into prison straight and when they come out, they're gay. So, did something happen while they were in there? Ask yourself that question."
- "You know, we live in a Gestapo age, people don't realize it."
- "I mean, [our society is] very much like Nazi Germany. And I know you're not supposed to say 'Nazi Germany,' but I don't care about political correctness. You know, you had a government using its tools to intimidate the population. We now live in a society where people are afraid to say what they actually believe."
Yes, this is that same Ben Carson. Like I said, some of his views are quite extreme. But while I and a few others may have read and heard such quotes uttered by Carson, I'd say a solid majority hasn't, so their impression of him has mostly (or entirely) been formed from his debate performances. Ben Carson's demeanor is not suited for a 10- or 11-person debate. The man is quiet, a slow talker, and doesn't have a tendency to interrupt people. So when Carson newbies watched him at the debates, they probably thought to themselves, "Wow, what a smart and nice man who doesn't come across like most other politicians, because he's an outsider!" Yet they likely haven't heard much of him in a one-on-one setting where he's much more prone to letting his extreme views fly like the plastic bag in American Beauty. Like I said, he's slyer than a fox named Sylvester.
Following his second debate performance, Carson decided to let the crazy words fly again. On Sunday's Meet the Press, when asked whether or not he believed Islam to be consistent with the Constitution, Carson said this:
"No, I don't, I do not. I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that."
After receiving the inevitable backlash for his comment, Carson eventually tried backtracking, by saying this:
"If someone had a Muslim background and they're willing to reject those tenets and to accept the way of life that we have and clearly will swear to place our Constitution above their religion ... I would then be quite willing to support them."
Yes, Constitutionalist Ben Carson may want to read the Constitution again, for it says in Article VI that "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."
Then just three days later, Carson made the following statements:
- "I find black Republicans are treated extremely well in the Republican Party. In fact, I don't hear much about being a black Republican. I think the Republicans have done a far superior job of getting over racism."
- "When you look at the philosophies of the two parties now, what I have noticed as a black Republican is that Republicans tend to look more at the character of people. And Democrats tend to look more at the color of their skin."
- "It was founded as an anti-slavery party, an abolitionist party. The Republican Party worked very, very hard to abolish slavery and after it was abolished to try to gain rights for the freedman including the right to bear arms."
- "If you're black and you don't think a certain way as far as they are concerned, you're an Uncle Tom, a sellout, a traitor, you hate yourself (in reference to Democrats)."
- "They're (blacks) seeing that 50 years of these (Democratic) policies have not resulted in improvement and has really resulted in worsening the situation. A lot of people in the minority community -- contrary to popular opinion, all they want is a fair chance. All they want is an opportunity to succeed."
So, let me get this straight; on Sunday, Ben Carson, a Republican, said he feels Muslims shouldn't be president, and then on Wednesday said that Republicans focus more on character than skin color, the polar opposite of Democrats, and that Republicans have gotten past slavery easier than Democrats. Did I get that right? Three days after making racist remarks against Muslim-Americans, Ben Carson has the gall to say Democrats focus more on skin color than Republicans? Seriously? I swear, the more I hear this man talk outside of debates, the more I think he belongs in a loony bin.
Ben Carson may want to exchange his apparently foggy glasses or have a fellow neurosurgeon check his brain for any unusual activity, because he appears to be progressively drifting further into never-neverland.
First off, Carson needs to research the signing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 by Democrat Lyndon Johnson and check out the two parties and their supporters pre-'64 and post-'64. The Republican Party WAS the progressive, anti-slavery party pre-1964, while the Democratic Party was the conservative party. However, after the signing of that bill in 1964, the two parties slowly swapped identities and supporters. Democratic support moved from the Southeast to the Northeast and West, while Republican support moved from the Northeast to the South. In other words, the conservative Democratic Party became the progressive party and the progressive Republican Party became the conservative party. Technically speaking, yes, the Republican Party was the party which fought hardest to abolish slavery, but that was 150 years ago. The Republican Party of that day and age is the Democratic Party today and the Democratic Party of that time is the Republican Party of today. Yes, just a few things have changed in the past 150 years, Mr. Carson, but keep on trying to play that misleading card.
Secondly, Carson might be slightly accurate in saying the Democratic Party may not see a person as a true Democrat if they don't agree with the majority of the party on certain issues, but that has nothing to do with race, and the Republican Party is even worse on that front. Studies indicate that while the two parties are progressively moving further left and right, the Republican Party is moving at a much quicker pace toward the far-right end of the spectrum than Democrats are to the far-left end. What mammal was recently placed on the endangered species list? Moderate Republicans. John McCain was called out by many in the right-wing media as being too liberal to be the Republican nominee in the run up to the 2000 election. Yes, John McCain... Sadly, the party has progressively been moving further to the right ever since then. Outside of a handful of Congresspeople, it seems that the rest of Congressional Republicans are in lockstep with one another. On the Democrat's side, however, much to the chagrin of many self-described liberals and progressives, they have so much diversity in opinion, it's often times difficult for them to agree on something. So while Ben Carson is partially right here, he certainly isn't looking at the larger picture, and with that, is presenting a rather distorted reality to listeners.
Thirdly, did Carson really just go THERE in saying Democrats focus on skin color more than Republicans and haven't gotten over racism as well as the GOP? If that's the case, why does Carson not believe Muslim-Americans should be president? Why does Donald Trump insinuate that a large number of Mexicans are rapists? Why are Republican governors so eager to pass voter restrictions to limit the minority vote come election day? Why do many Republicans feel Muslims shouldn't be able to build and worship in mosques in this country? Why are some conservatives labeling the Black Lives Matter movement as a terrorist group? Why did a number of conservatives question President Barack Obama's birthplace and religion? Why does it feel when an unarmed black man gets shot and killed by police, a decent percentage of Republicans' first two comments are, "What was his criminal record?" and "He probably had it coming."? Why have I heard jokes from and been sent photos of the Obamas by conservatives, comparing them to monkeys? So, give me a break, Mr. Carson; just because Republicans largely want to ignore the struggles minorities face in this country doesn't mean they're less quick to judge based on the color of people's skin than Democrats, or that they've gotten over racism more easily. As a matter of fact, on one front, Carson's comments are rather humorous. For many years Democrats have dominated the minority vote, the black vote in particular, and long before Barack Obama ran for president. Many conservatives seemed to forget this fact after hearing the detailed election results from 2008 and 2012, claiming African-Americans only voted for Obama because he's black and that they're the main reason he won both elections. Yet little do they seem to remember that Al Gore and John Kerry both won around 90% of the black vote in the previous two elections, and last I checked, they're about as tan as Casper the friendly ghost. The GOP has also tried making it a point to present a more diverse field of potential presidential nominees in recent years, thinking the skin color of the candidate is of greater importance to certain voting demographics than policy ideas. If Ben Carson is the nominee, does the GOP really think he and his extremely conservative ideas are going to win over a large portion of the African-American community simply because he's black? I don't think so. So who focuses more on skin color than character again, Mr. Carson? That's what I thought...
Lastly, Mr. Carson seems to believe that the Republican Party is fighting harder for minorities in this country than the Democratic Party. I'm sorry, but this isn't 1865 anymore; it's 2015. While the Democratic Party has tried to increase voter turnout, the Republican Party has attempted to suppress it, especially for minorities. While the Democratic Party has attempted to pass immigration reform, the Republican Party has been quite reluctant in doing so. While the Democratic Party has tried finding ways to expand healthcare coverage in this country, the Republican Party has done anything but, and not only that, but the GOP is trying to strip funding away from Planned Parenthood, which often benefits low-income mothers. Some Democrats want to provide free college tuition; I haven't heard any Republicans say such a thing. Most Democrats want to pass common sense gun laws, but rarely is that the case for Republicans. Many Democrats want to pass police and prison reforms, not to mention progressive tax reforms; Republicans outside of Rand Paul don't seem too interested in the former, and not many outside of Donald Trump seem to be very interested in the latter.
The Democratic Party may be far from perfect, Mr. Carson, but it consistently stands up for: women's rights, for the LGBT community's rights, for Muslims' rights, Christians' rights, Jews' rights, Buddhists' rights, atheists' rights, Hindus' rights, African-Americans' rights, Latino-American's rights, Asian-American's rights, Arab-American's rights, Anglo-American's rights, Native Americans' rights, the young, the elderly, 9/11 first responders, war vets, the homeless, the disabled, the poor and middle-class - all Americans' rights. The Republican Party used to stand for something similar, but they've gone from standing up for the people to just standing up for corporations and the wealthy. The GOP no longer stands for the Grand Old Party; it stands for the Greedy Old Party.
http://www.vox.com/2015/9/21/9362989/ben-carson-muslims-constitution
http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/23/politics/ben-carson-black-republicans-racism/
http://www.nationaljournal.com/twentysixteen/2015/05/04/9-Ben-Carsons-Most-Controversial-Quotes
http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/21/politics/ben-carson-muslim-sharia-law-presidency/
http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/2015/09/its-the-u-s-constitution-not-my-personal-constitution.html/
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-burt-ben-carson-muslim-president-20150924-story.html
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