Ben Carson spent a couple months avoiding the
kind of
offensive statements that had
made him a rising Republican star to begin with. But a few weeks ago, he seems to have decided "screw it, I'll compare the U.S. to Nazi Germany if I want to." And it's working out well for him with the Republican base. Here's the
New York Times summary of recent Carsonisms:
In recent days, Mr. Carson seemed to blame the inaction of victims of the massacre at an Oregon community college for their own fate; sounded confused in an interview on public radio on whether there was any difference between the budget deficit and the national debt; and linked the Holocaust to Nazi gun control, later calling an objection by the Anti-Defamation League “total foolishness.”
Don't you love that "seemed" and "sounded"? Try "did" and "was." Carson has then routinely doubled down; for instance:
Mr. Carson also refused to modify a subsequent statement last week about gun control under Hitler. “I think the likelihood of Hitler being able to accomplish his goals would have been greatly diminished if the people had been armed,” he told CNN.
And even as many prominent Republicans are starting to distance themselves from him, Carson's schtick is
working with Republican primary voters. Like Donald Trump, Carson is telling a significant percentage of Republicans what they want to hear, no matter how much their party's establishment—and the media that needs to keep finding a way to treat Republican ideas seriously—want to deny it.