In October, Dr. Ben Carson told conservative radio talk show host Mark Levin that: "Before Obama, people barely noticed skin color; that goes back 150 years. Blacks were happy and grateful for what we were given."
Vigorously opposed to Obamacare, calling it "the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery?" Check. Think America is "very much like Nazi Germany?" Check. Think Michael Brown may have caused his own murder? Check. If you need an opinion or a controversial remark from an African American conservative, Dr. Ben Carson has a quiver full. If you haven't yet heard of Dr. Ben Carson, that's probably because you're not watching the Fox News Channel often enough.
But have no fear, the major news networks are liable to be discovering him in the very near future. Mainstream appearances are likely to be triggered by: a) the networks' desperately seeking a conservative African American voice; and/or, b) Carson may be seriously considering a run at the White House in 2016.
Carson, who in late 2013 was added as a Fox News contributor, is a 62-year-old retired neurosurgeon, who, according to Wikipedia, is credited with being the first doctor to successfully separate conjoined twins at the head. Carson is emeritus professor of neurosurgery, oncology, plastic surgery and pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. According to an amazon.com bio, he "serves on the corporate boards of the Kellogg Company, Costco Wholesale Corp., and American's Promise, among others, and is an Emeritus Fellow of the Yale Corporation."
He is the author of several books including his latest, One Nation: What We Can All Do to Save America's Future (May 2014), which is currently on the New York Times bestseller list. Carson, on tour with this book, recently drew huge crowds at several appearances in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Carson is also the author of America the Beautiful: Rediscovering What Made This Nation Great (January 2012) and Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story (co-authored with Cecil Murphy – November 1996).
Just about every presidential election cycle has the Republican Party trucking out a conservative African American who will share the stage with the Party's mostly white male candidates. Last time around it was Herman Cain, the former CEO of the Godfather's Pizza chain, who boasted about his lack of political experience, and later was derailed by charges of sexual improprieties. Alan Keyes, the former diplomat and controversial conservative radio and television talk show host, made several runs at the GOP's nomination (1996, 2000, 2008). He was the darling of the Religious Right, and was always the most articulate man in the room. The Illinois Republican Party even drafted Keyes to run against Barack Obama for the U.S. Senate, a race in which he was overwhelmingly defeated.
Carson's USA First PAC
According to CBS News' Washington, D.C. affiliate, Carson is in the process of raising money through a super Political Action Committee called USA First PAC. Appearing on Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor," Carson said: "We've started the USA First PAC to do exactly that, but also to raise funds to help other candidates," Carson stated. "I think if we don't have a significant impact in November of this year, we're going to have lost the race so we really need to have a big impact now."
"There's no question that I haven't spent a lot of time in government, but it doesn't mean you can't make sure you have people around you who have spent that time," Carson added. "I think the thing that is actually more important is wisdom and understanding and knowing how to use facts."
Carson's interest in making the run may have been buoyed by his recent victory in the Polk County, Iowa Republican Party Dinner Straw Poll where he won 62 percent of the vote, handily defeating Senator Ted Cruz, who came in second with 7 percent.
If he is going to give it a go, Carson may have to reckon with some of his over-the-top rhetoric. In March, he talked about living "in a Gestapo age." He was asked by Fox News' Mallory Factor to explain. As quoted by Mediaite, Carson said: "I mean, [we are] 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."
Late last month, Carson spoke at the "Defending the American Dream Summit" sponsored by Americans for Prosperity. While he was not ready to declare his candidacy, Carson once again took on political correctness.
"I hate political correctness so much," he said. "I'm not a politician and I don't believe in political correctness. I may say something that may offend someone. I frankly never plan on becoming a politician. That doesn't mean I won't do something in political office, but I won't become a politician in the process. The reason I hate political correctness so much is because it's antithetical to the founding principle of our nation – freedom of speech and freedom of expression. We have reached the point in this country where the average citizen is afraid to express himself. "
He continued: "Is it absurd that anybody who is pro-life is now called anti-woman? Does that make any sense at all? If you believe in traditional marriage, then you're anti-'gay,' you're a homophobe? If you're a white person and you disagree with a progressive black person you're a racist? If you're a black person and you disagree with a progressive white person you're crazy? It's all about intimidation. And it only works if you're afraid of them. And if you're not afraid of them, it doesn't work. I hope you will join me in not being intimidated by them."
Carson supporters have launched a National Draft Ben Carson for President Committee to raise the retired neurosurgeon's national profile.
A recent Carson column essentially blamed Michael Brown for his own murder.
Carson is scheduled to receive $43,000 to speak at Valdosta State University on September 11, in an event called "An Evening with Dr. Ben Carson," and "billed as a non-partisan fundraiser," according to the vsuspectator.com.
In reality, Carson is another in a long line of black conservatives that have no standing or following in the black community. They are mostly supported by white organizations and right-wing media outlets, and are very popular in gatherings of white conservatives.