Tag: GOP

Huffington Post has the details:

Celebrated neurosurgeon Ben Carson has officially announced his intention to run for president.

“I’m willing to be part of the equation and therefore, I’m announcing my candidacy for president of the United States of America,” Carson told Ohio’s WKRC.

A darling of the conservative movement, Carson enters a crowded Republican field vying for a position ahead of what is expected to be a very competitive primary. He maintains a large following with grass-roots conservatives, which is likely to put him on a collision course with other potential rivals who are popular on the right, such as Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

You’ll recall In April, Carson had a disastrous Chris Cuomo interview in which he claimed that it’s possible to prove that homosexuality is a choice because some people are gay when they leave prison:

“Because a lot of people who go into prison go into prison straight — and when they come out, they’re gay. So, did something happen while they were in there? Ask yourself that question.”

He’s also compared being gay to bestiality and pedophiles: “Marriage is between a man and a woman. It’s a well-established pillar of society and no group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA, be they people who believe in bestiality—it doesn’t matter what they are, they don’t get to change the definition.”

In America the Beautiful: Resdiscovering What Made This Nation Great, a 2012 book written with Candy Carlson, he said marriage equality could bring about the end of the United States:

“[I]f we can redefine marriage as between two men or two women or any other way based on social pressures as opposed to between a man and a woman, we will continue to redefine it in any way that we wish, which is a slippery slope with a disastrous ending, as witnessed in the dramatic fall of the Roman Empire.”

So far, we have Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio announcing runs for the Republican nom for prez in 2016, with Scott Walker, Jeb Bush and Chris Christie stills waiting in the wings.

And yesterday, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson said he will make a “major announcement” come May 4th in Detroit. Of course, we assume it will be HIS initial prez pitch.

The retired neurosurgeon has been traveling the nation over the past six months, giving paid speeches and meeting with supporters to gauge interest in a bid. He recently traveled to Iowa and New Hampshire, and spoke last weekend at the National Rifle Association’s meeting in Tennessee.

Carson’s relative political inexperience, however, hasn’t turned him away from the campaign — if he runs, he’ll look to make it an asset, framing himself as a common-sense alternative to the broken policies of Washington politicians.

Carson’s inexperience has reared it’s head by opening him up for criticism over several misstatements to the press.