DAMN!! I'm shocked I had no idea this man was an Conservative

[bigdarryl]

So much talent and he experienced lots of racism when he went to med school Should have known though he's a rich guy so he wants his tax cuts under the rethugs http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/16/ben-carson-cpac-speech-2013_n_2891318.html

[Rosa Luxemburg]

1. Another loony

[bigdarryl]

2. He's to stupid to see that he has no chance of ever getting the nomination in that crazy party

[onpatrol98]

3. Ben Carson is a registered independent.

Ben Carson is a registered independent who says he also wouldn't mind speaking at a Democratic conference. That isn't likely to happen. But, he's not a republican.

[Swede Atlanta]

4. I consider "registered" status as non-existant.....

First of all I think it is inappropriate for anyone to have to register as one party or another.

Second, whether someone is "registered" as an Independent or not is irrelevant. What is important is their view on a variety of important issues.

This guy is a rabid tea party Republican, regardless of his official status as an "independent".

Independent in my mind means "wuss", unwilling to commit to a party. The MSM claims that elections are determined by "independents" is a lie.

[onpatrol98]

5. Interesting...

First of all I think it is inappropriate for anyone to have to register as one party or another.

(Okay. I guess I don't really have an opinion about whether or not its appropriate or not. I haven't thought about it.)


Second, whether someone is "registered" as an Independent or not is irrelevant. What is important is their view on a variety of important issues.

(I don't know much about what he believes. I see he spoke at CPAC. But, since I didn't care to follow their little get together, I don't have a clue as to what he said.)

This guy is a rabid tea party Republican, regardless of his official status as an "independent".

(Since he says he's an Independent, I assumed that meant he wasn't a Republican or a Tea Party member. As to whether or not he has rabies...that remains to be seen, he hasn't mentioned it.)

Independent in my mind means "wuss", unwilling to commit to a party.

(Independent to me means he doesn't identify as either a Republican or Democrat.)

The MSM claims that elections are determined by "independents" is a lie.

(I guess the claim implies that if Democrats votes for Democrats, and Republicans vote for Republicans, then the Independents become the deciders. But, if one side has more than the other, all bets are off.)

*I do believe Ben Carson is sympathetic to conservative issues or he wouldn't have agreed to speak at CPAC. Since he's been given all this attention from the right, I don't think he should expect an invite from the left anytime soon.*

[former9thward]

6. Depending on your area independents can decide elections.

In my area Rs have about 30%, Ds have about 30%, and Indies have about 40%. When they swing one way or the other nothing the two parties can do about it.

[southernyankeebelle]

12. It would be nice if everyone were an independent.

[littlewolf]

36. Bernie Sanders is an Indie, as is Angus King. nt

[cali]

34. He's hinted that he'd run for President as a repub

[TexasBushwhacker]

7. He's 7th Day Adventist

He said he's going to let God decide if he should run for President.

[locks]

8. Ben Carson

Ben Carson's life story is an honorable one and he has a fine reputation as a surgeon at Johns Hopkins. But since he spoke out so critically and rudely against Obama's health care policies at the Prayer Breakfast while Obama was sitting there he is now the darling of the right wing. Some of that is because conservatives are always looking for an African-American to spout their crazy ideas like the flat tax. Watch his interviews on Fox; he's not crazy like Allen West but is very conservative and really wants to run for president.

[SunSeeker]

9. Sad. A doctor with no empathy. nt

[TexasTowelie]

10. He has received at least two pushes from Mr. Conservative in Lubbock:

http://lubbockonline.com/interact/blog-post/may/2013-02-17/two-black-men

http://lubbockonline.com/interact/blog-post/may/2013-03-17/might-ben-carson-be-our-next-president

[geek tragedy]

11. Herman Cain pt 2. nt

[Jamaal510]

31. As if America really needed another one...

he might be a wingnut, but hopefully this guy at least won't be as embarrassing to the Black community or as offensive as Herman Cain or Allen West. Honestly, I would love to see him get the Republican nod if he were to run for president, just so I can see the racists' heads explode on the Right over having to settle with him or the Democrat.

[geek tragedy]

32. Carson talked about how Obama is trying to destroy the country.

So much for that hope . . .

[Recursion]

13. Who?

Should I have heard of him?

[RussBLib]

14. anyone who talks like this....

...is just another wacko and doesn't deserve to be anywhere near public office.

"Let's say somebody were [in the White House] and they wanted to destroy this nation," Carson said.

"I would create division among the people, encourage a culture of ridicule for basic morality and the principles that made and sustained the country, undermine the financial stability of the nation, and weaken and destroy the military. It appears coincidentally that those are the very things that are happening right now."

I'd never let him operate on me, that's for sure.

[Dawson Leery]

15. I wouldn't let him near me.

[yellowcanine]

16. He is a neurosurgeon who believes his press releases that he in fact is GAWD.

[sakabatou]

17. Never heard of the guy.

[bigdarryl]

18. If you have never heard of Ben Carson your

Pitiful

[Zoeisright]

20. It's spelled "You're".

Who's pitiful now?

[whistler162]

21. Is that you Ben?

Why would anyone outside of the medical/John Hopkins/Baltimore community know about you/him? Did you also write your/his Wiki page?

[Blue_Tires]

23. bigdarryl was a little harsh, but just to elaborate

There is hardly anyone in the Afr'Am community who hasn't heard of Carson...He has had a brilliant, high-profile career (even when I was in high school 20 years ago, he was an annual topic for each Black History Month), and had been an inspiring role model for any of us who ever had dreams of medical school...My dad (who was a doctor himself) had at least one of his books, and so many of us have heard him speak at one time or another before he turned on the crazy switch...

I could go on, but I think you get the point...I never really associated Carson with hardline liberal politics, but seeing him as a CPAC superstar is beyond surreal...It's a surprisingly smart strategic move by the GOP to promote Carson, since for the most part he has flown under the political radar, and unlike every other black conservative the GOP has hyped up in the past, Carson has (or at least had) an immense amount of recognition and admiration from the black community to bank on...

[Hippo_Tron]

28. You don't think Colin Powell had an immense amount of recognition and admiration?

The guy was National Security advisor and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And his support for George W. Bush probably got him the votes of maybe 5 black people who otherwise would've voted for Gore.

[Blue_Tires]

29. Powell is the other name that comes close...

but fwiw, Powell was already immersed in politics, since it goes hand-in-hand with his career...

I was just trying to clear up the "never heard of him" posts...Just because some DUers haven't, it doesn't mean Carson is a "nobody"....

[Hippo_Tron]

33. I was just referring to the second part of your post...

Where you say it's smart that the GOP trots this guy out. Frankly I don't think its any different than any other black person they've trotted out before.

Black people vote 9 to 1 Democratic for the same reason that white people in Mississippi vote 9 to 1 Republican. Doesn't matter that the Civil Rights Act was signed 50 years ago, the Republican Party is still on the wrong side of that issue. If they ever change, they won't be getting 9 to 1 white voters in Mississippi anymore.

[geek tragedy]

22. Are cardiac surgeons household names these days? nt

[Blue_In_AK]

24. Poor, poor pitiful me.

Never heard of the guy.

[Kalidurga]

26. my pitiful what???

More importantly, does it hurt? I never heard of the guy and I think I could have lived my whole life not knowing about him and it wouldn't have made me sad at all.

[RFKHumphreyObama]

35. People access this forum from different lifestyles and backgrounds from around the globe

It's not inconceivable that people out there haven't heard of someone who may be well-known to a group of Americans. As it is, I live across the other side of the world and I've heard of him but that's only because I follow current events rather closely and I vaguely remember that he tried unsuccessfully to operate on those Iranian Siamese twins in Singapore ten years ago (they both died during the procedure). But otherwise I wouldn't have a clue as to his identity

[DFW]

19. Just listening to all these short clips

Reminds me why 1.) Even many Republicans realize their leadership is completely clueless ans 2.) why I'm not a Republican

[Malik Agar]

30. The good thing for dems is...

Since the guy is smart and makes sense, republicans will certainly not stick with him.

[SpartanDem]

25. My mom went to high school with him

but had no clue that he so right wing until he started getting all this press.

[mwrguy]

27. He sold out for filthy lucre

Fuck that guy.