The Washington Post‘s right-wing blogger Jennifer Rubin harshes on Dr. Ben Carson, saying he tops the GOP presidential field for buffoonery. The most unfit GOP candidate isn’t Trump:
Donald Trump wants to round up 11 million people in two years for deportation. He approves of Russia’s incursion into Syria. He has a tax plan that adds at least $10 trillion to the debt. And with all that, he is not the most ignorant or unfit GOP presidential contender. That distinction goes to Ben Carson.
Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that the Holocaust would have been “greatly diminished” had Jewish people in Europe been armed with guns.
“I think the likelihood of Hitler being able to accomplish his goals would have been greatly diminished if the people had been armed,” Carson said. “I’m telling you there is a reason these dictatorial people take guns first.”
This follows his jaw-dropping response to the Oregon mass shooting: “I would say, hey guys, everybody attack him. He may shoot me but he can’t get us all!”
The Anti-Defamation League roundly condemned his remarks. (“The small number of personal firearms available to Germany’s Jews in 1938 could in no way have stopped the totalitarian power of the Nazi German state.”)
Carson’s ignorance is not limited to the Nazis, although he continues his appalling comparisons of trends and people he dislikes to the fascist, genocidal regime.
He does not, it seems, grasp the difference between the debt limit and the budget.
He thinks “diplomacy” was an alternative to a military response to the slaughter of nearly 3,000 people on Sept, 11, 2001. (New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie retorted that “these people were out to kill us.”)
He insisted that a Muslim should not be president, only begrudgingly backpedaling to say only those intent on imposing sharia law shouldn’t hold office.
And there was this telling exchange from the first debate, which largely escaped notice:
MEGYN KELLY: You’ve suggested that the Baltic States are not a part of NATO, just months ago you were unfamiliar with the major political parties and government in Israel, and domestically, you thought Alan Greenspan had been treasury secretary instead of federal reserve chair.
Aren’t these basic mistakes, and don’t they raise legitimate questions about whether you are ready to be president?
CARSON: Well, I could take issue with — with all of those things, but we don’t have time.
But I will say, we have a debate here tonight, and we will have an opportunity to explore those areas, and I’m looking very much forward to demonstrating that, in fact, the thing that is probably most important is having a brain, and to be able to figure things out and learn things very rapidly.
(Wait. He thinks the Baltic states are not part of NATO?)
Conservatives have a dangerous habit of excusing ignorance or offensive comments so long as they come from someone attacking liberal elites. One does not need to elevate ignoramuses to cultlike status simply because they also happen to attack the media or liberal dogma. In doing so, Republicans wind up getting behind crank candidates and losing elections to mediocre candidates. (Anyone recall the “I-am-not-a-witch” Christine O’Donnell?)
There is a Chauncey Gardner-like quality to Carson. He speaks softly, smiles a lot and lulls his audience into the belief he possess great insights and wisdom. He is an esteemed neurosurgeon and a lovely dinner speaker. He is, however, entirely unfit for the presidency, seemingly oblivious to basic historical facts, constitutional concepts and world events. Surely conservative Republicans, especially some in the right-wing media who have fawned over him, should have figured this out by now.
Dr. Carson continues to add to his buffoonery today after Rubin’s column. When asked about raising the federal debt ceiling in November — the means by which the federal government tells its creditors that it will honor its debts already incurred — Dr. Carson responded “It’s the same crap every year. Why do we keep doing it?” Carson suggests he wouldn’t raise debt limit.
Because, Doc, the Congress has an obligation to ensure the full faith and credit of the United States in the repayment of its debts, and defaulting on those debts will result in a downgrade of credit worthiness, increased borrowing costs, and an economic catastrophe. Carson dismissed this saying “a warning about the U.S. defaulting on its debt if the ceiling isn’t raised is ‘absurd Washington spin.'”
Dr. Carson also does not like the more critical media scrutiny he is receiving now as a top-tier candidate in GOP polling. He is used to the friendly confines of FAUX News. Rupert Murdoch’s Tweets Suggest a New Favored Candidate: Ben Carson.
So today Carson declares war on the press:
Speaking at a gathering of reporters and communications professionals at the National Press Club in Washington, Carson lashed out at the press, citing several instances where he believes his views have been misrepresented.
“Many in the press will say I’m sensitive and that I should not be thinking about running for office, because I get offended by what they do,” he said. “But the reason I expose the press is because I want the people of America to understand what they’re doing. It’s not because I’m sensitive.”
* * *
Carson’s frustration with the press is boiling over as the presidential candidate, who is soaring in the polls and raising tens of millions of dollars from grassroots conservatives, has battled weeks of controversial headlines.
Carson believes his views on guns and religion have been intentionally distorted by reporters eager to sink his presidential hopes.
“The good thing is that a lot of people in America are on to them and understand what they’re trying to do, and that’s one of the reasons we’re doing well,” Carson said. “It seems like the more they attack me, the better we do.”
This week, Carson said that if he had been at Umpqua Community College, the site of a recent mass shooting, he would have stood up to the gunman. Many people interpreted the remarks to mean that the victims didn’t do enough to protect themselves.
Carson this week also called for arming officials on school grounds, described an encounter with a gunman at a Popeye’s restaurant and said that the Holocaust would have been less likely if the Jews in Germany had been armed.
Carson on Friday defended his remarks on the Holocaust but said that in several other instances, his words had been taken out of context or overblown.
“Everything needs to be looked at in context, and when news media picks one word or one phrase and they run with it and try to characterize people like that, I gotta tell you guys, that’s why people don’t trust you anymore,” he said. “I mean you’re down there with used car salesmen.”
Well Jennifer Rubin, are you going to take this from the Doc?
Let’s be honest. We all know that this GOP clown car presidential primary is just an audition for getting a paid gig on FAUX News or right-wing hate radio. Dr. Carson will land on his feet with his own show and book/speaking tours to shake down the rubes and relieve them of the money in their wallets. That’s what the conservative media entertainment complex is all about.
The best way to understand Dr. Carson and how he got to be where he is as a popular Republican candidate would be to watch the movie, “Being There”, in which Peter Sellars plays a character that foretells the coming of “politicians” like Carson.. Beyond that, there is the framework of clinical psychiatry, which however is not nearly as interesting, funny, or insightful as “Being There”.
Dr. Carson was on Charlie Rose this week. He does a have a soft way of speaking, but he says the most insane things. He was talking about the Supreme Court decision(s) on Obamacare. His first point was that it was a 5-4 decision, so somehow this made it invalid. Then he said basically that the Supreme Court has no jurisdiction to rule laws constitutional or not. Charlie Rose was clearly finding it hard to take Dr. Carson very seriously.
There is sometimes this streak in America to want to have political leaders with no experience in governance. I always wonder if these same people would want to have their surgery performed by a brand new doctor with no experience. Or their lawsuit handled by a brand new lawyer. I doubt it.
Important read…may I add that every single Republican rep from AZ is a member of this wrecking crew…and agrees with this mind set. They need to be voted out. Should have never been voted IN!
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/10/09/3711011/this-document-reveals-why-the-house-of-representatives-is-in-complete-chaos/
“Many people interpreted the remarks to mean that the victims didn’t do enough to protect themselves.”
That is one stupid statement. What did the victims in the Community College due to protect themselves? Everything I have seen shows that they just laid down and waited to be killed.
Question: So when did this right wing blogger that you have found so ignorant in the past become so wise that you are now listening to, and quoting her, as if she were the Oracle of Delphi?
Answer: Because she is saying something bad about a Republican candidate.
Saying the victims didn’t do enough to protect themselves is to blame the victims. In a similar way, Carson is blaming the Jews for the Holocaust.
Steve, by defending Carson, even if that defense is just a byproduct
of your questioning the author’s logic, you embarrass yourself. Carson is a joke. The guy didn’t know the difference between the Fed Chair and the Treasury Secretary, yet he considers himself ready to be President.
I was teasing AZBlueMeanie about suddenly finding wisdom in a conservative blogger who had bad things to say about Ben Carson. I agree that. like Trump, Carson is NOT qualified to be President. The job requires a basic level of understanding of how government functions and a basic understanding of national and international politics. Neither Trump nor Carson have either.
As to the victims of the Community College shooter in Oregon, I guess in a small way I do blame them for lying there and accepting death so easily. It wasn’t their fault they were picked out by that nut job, but to just lie there and be shot one by one and do nothing to defend themselves was just wrong. Would their efforts have made a difference? More than likely it would have…there is a chance it wouldn’t have but that is far less likely. It takes a great deal of courage to resist, but that is surely better than just waiting to be killed.
When the three Americans and one Frenchman jumped a would be mass murder, we labeled them heroes. I think they deserved that label. It was heroic.
But it can’t work both ways. If we’re going to expect everyone to react to a mass murder situation in that manner, then those four weren’t heroes, they just did what was expected. If, on the other hand, they were heroes, then the Oregon victims should not be criticized, because the mere failure to act heroically cannot be the basis of criticism, as that would undermine the concept of heroism.
So, which is it? Did the guys on the train act heroically, or were the Oregon victims cowards? It can’t be both.
I have pondered your response because, to me at least, this subject is important. I disagree with you that the expectation people will behave courageously somehow diminishes that courage into commonality. Or that, conversely, failure to act courageously diminishes the plight and suffering of the victims in our eyes.
Human beings trapped in a situation such as those people in the Oregon Community College can be expected to behave as they did. The overwhelming fear they experienced can paralyze a person into meek timidity where they just accept death. I understand that and I feel very badly that their last few minutes on earth were held hostage by a nut case who wanted his 15 minutes of notoriety. They didn’t deserve that…no one does.
But I also feel just a tiny bit of anger at them because they didn’t do anything. I understand that is a normal human reaction, but having been in a somewhat similar situation in Israel, I also know that you have to overcome that initial panic and decide to do something to stop their killing or you will die. I feel you have almost an obligation to try and defend yourself.
I don’t think it is a matter of having it both ways. If people in a killing situation do nothing but accept death, they are victims and we should feel sorrow at their passing. Even if you feel as I do that they should make an attempt to save themselves, they are still victims and deserving of our compassion. On the other hand, if they do rise up and defend themselves, they deserve to be called heroes. And if it should become common and expected that they rise up and defend themselves, they are still courageous and worthy of the title hero.
I will close by quoting some praise bestowed on the Marines who stormed Iwo Jima’s beach heads: “Where uncommon valor was a common virtue”. Heroism, no matter how common is still to be admired and respected no matter how common it might be.
Just once I would like to see an MSM interviewer repeat to Carson the question Bill Maher asked Ann Coulter: “Do you actually believe the crap coming out of your mouth?”
That isn’t a question, it is a cheap shot from someone who is not really interested in answers.
So you believe the crap that comes out of Ben Carson’s mouth?
It doesn’t matter whether what I think about Carson. I was commenting on the smart ass “question” Maher asked and how it is not really a question at all, it is simply “show biz”.
His lack of knowledge about the debt ceiling-some of his other comments and not aware of the workings of government make him unacceptable to be president.