There seems to be a cascade of reporting and opining on Ben Carson and some of his anecdotal stories of his rise to “fame.” This seems to go along with the conservative chorus that he and other conservatives are the “victims” of “the media” when their claims go to the fact checkers.
“There’s no question I’m getting special scrutiny, because there are lot of people who are very threatened,” Carson said in a “Face the Nation” interview Sunday. “The whole point is to distract, distract the populace, distract me.”
That’s rich, given how Carson’s own mouth has proved to be such a powerful weapon of mass distraction. His “personal theory” that the pyramids of Egypt were built by the biblical patriarch Joseph as grain silos — rather than by Egyptians as pharaonic tombs — is but one example.
The retired neurosurgeon and novice politician, one of the leaders in the GOP presidential race, is aggrieved that journalists are looking into his background. Was he really “offered a full scholarship” to West Point, as he has claimed? Not exactly, it turns out. Was he really as much of a juvenile delinquent as he says?
Maybe yes, maybe no…Most absurd of all is Carson’s assertion — supported by an amen chorus of prominent conservatives — that Republicans are generally subjected to tougher vetting than Democrats. This supposedly explains why Carson is being raked over the coals while President Obama somehow was given a free pass eight years ago.
“I do not remember this level of scrutiny for one President Barack Obama when he was running,” Carson said Friday. “In fact, I remember just the opposite. I remember people saying, ‘Oh, we won’t really talk about that. We won’t talk about that relationship. Well, Frank Marshall Davis, well, we don’t want to talk about that. Bernardine Dohrn, Bill Ayers, well, we don’t really know him. You know, all the things that Jeremiah Wright was saying, oh, not a big problem.’ ”
Well, Dr, Carson got in few of the “non-troversies” regarding President Obama that, by the way, were created by the the Right. But, Dr. Carson is upset that “the media” is scrutinizing things that he has claimed in speeches, motivational talks, and his books.
Cruz’s tirade and Carson’s complaining fit neatly into the conservative narrative of victimization by the liberal media. The idea seems to be that the conservative worldview would surely be adopted by more Americans if not for the dastardly intermediation of leftist reporters and editors…
Imagining some kind of media conspiracy will not help the conservative movement. Instead, Republicans should try coming up with policies that voters see as reasonable, inclusive and fair.
And as for Carson: Stop complaining, already, and start making sense.
It don’t really see the appeal of Dr. Carson. His anecdotal tales do not persuade me to believe he is suitable for Commander in Chief, but, I might, MAYBE purchase some vitamins or something. One thing I can tell you, there are plenty of people that support him here in Georgia.
If all these revelations regarding Dr. Carson’s claims and stories have turned someone away from him, I would have to question one’s overall sanity. He always seems kind of nutty to me.
Don’t you just love the way he whines about the scrutiny he’s being subjected to with one breath, then with the next breath he repeats the baseless conspiracies about Obama? Next thing you know the media will be questioning whether he really earned those Purple Hearts or his claim that he invented the internet.
I’m not defending Carson here, but I do remember how fawning the press was of Obama. They hated Clinton with the fire of 10,000 suns.
Having said that, Carson is a raving lunatic if he thinks what he says and writes in his book isn’t going to be questioned. He has zero political experience and has no clue how government works – something the press has yet to capably point out.
I hope he comes out with something really cringe-worthy tonight that kills his presidential aspirations.
Carson should never have run; no, not because he has no political chops, because (like Trump) he’s has no idea of what governance in this country should look like. He falls into the political heap of those who’s mama said he’d be a great president——even though mama got the shit beaten out of her with a hammer 30 some-odd years ago: “my son should be prez, my son should be prez, my son should be prez”, and me?, I should be in the local mental hospice!