Fox Wants Dr. Benjamin Carson To Run For President, No Save America

Memo to Republican presidential hopefuls: Forget Iowa (for now, anyway). Find a way to embarrass President Obama on national television, maybe at the National Prayer Breakfast, throw in some right-wing shibboleths like the “war on Christmas” and “death panels” and voila! Not only can you get all the face time on Fox News you could hope for, you might even get an hour-long special on Hannity called, “Saving America” complete with focus group and cheering Q&A segments designed to promote your candidacy. Political experience optional. Minority ethnicity probably helpful.

If you don’t know who neurosurgeon Dr. Benjamin Carson is, you have not paid much attention to Fox News lately. Otherwise, you can’t miss him. To call him this year’s IT guy would be so five days ago. As of Friday (2/15/13), when the “Saving America” special first aired, Carson had been elevated from internet video sensation/President Obama embarrasser to official Fox News Republican savior.

As the right wing slobbers over Carson and daydreams that God will “grab him by the collar” and push him into politics, I can’t help but think he’s the "moderate" Fox's 2016 version of Donald Trump. Good-bye birth certificate, hello medical savings accounts and personal responsibility. Even Juan Williams is calling Carson “my hero.”

It’s hard to encapsulate the Carson love-fest on Hannity Friday night. But I think the video below of the Frank Luntz focus group is a good place to start. It just so happens that Luntz “recently convened” a group of Los Angeles “swing voters” to offer their thoughts on Carson’s potential candidacy.

Luntz sounded almost awestruck as he announced that Carson “has really struck a chord with a lot of Americans.” I noticed that Luntz never said the political makeup of those “swing voters” with him. In the past, he has slyly and deceptively tried to pass off Republican-heavy groups as reflective of the electorate. But I digress.

“Before we go to (the group) let’s go to a clip that dialed particularly well,” Luntz began, referring to his method of having his groups record their reactions. “On the deficit and debt, man does this guy score well!” Luntz gushed. After playing the clip, he asked the group to tell him in “one word” what was so powerful.

“Is this the kind of guy that you want to see in politics?” Luntz later "asked." Then, although we didn’t see how many people nodded, Luntz quickly went to two people and asked, “Why yes?” If anyone disagreed, we never heard about it.

“What is it about him that cut across partisan lines?” Luntz suggested asked. Most of the rest of the discussion was similarly designed to elicit positive responses.

Notice that Luntz never mentioned the word “qualifications.” For all his admirable credentials, Dr. Carson has none in politics or public policy.

Luntz closed with, “Sean, there aren’t many people right now who have the language to connect to the American people… but there’s something about the doctor’s message and delivery that really does connect across partisan lines. Very impressive.”

“Sounds like Frank may have found some – well, Carson campaign volunteers,” Hannity said.

But if the focus group voters are destined to be future campaign workers, the studio “audience” members are Carson’s current groupies. Check out their fawning “questions” if you have the stomach for it.

But there’s more to this than just Fox’s sudden beatification of Carson, and that is Carson’s seemingly willing partnership with Fox. Carson is a very impressive man whatever you think of his politics. As David Zurawik wrote in a terrific column in the Baltimore Sun about this astounding show:

What I wonder is how far Dr. Carson is going to run with this political football. I have interviewed him, and I know his history and career well. I have tremendous admiration for him. I am surprised to see him looking so comfortable within the smarmy embrace of Sean Hannity.

…I am not a brain surgeon, but I have been studying and writing for decades about how seductive, blinding and culturally dangerous the bright lights of prime-time TV can be.

Unlike Donald Trump, there is nothing that smacks of hucksterism in Carson. I question how much of Fox News he really watches. Somehow, I have a hard time picturing him as a Hannity or No Spin Zone habitué. Whether this is a political hookup or a marriage remains to be seen. Regardless, the outcome is sure to be worth watching.

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Showing 23 reactions

mj - the same one commented 2013-02-18 16:58:40 -0500 · Flag

@ Joseph West: Not only that, it was the XIII Amendment that actually declared slavery illegal, not the Emancipation Proclamation.

@ M M: The teabaggers don’t like too much of that fancy book larnin’; that’s why they embraced Sarah Palin — therefore, they won’t embrace Dr. Carson.

.

mlp ! commented 2013-02-18 16:55:32 -0500 · Flag

@ M M:
" (Unlike Cain, I highly doubt there are any skeletons in his closet.)"
Pun intended???

M M commented 2013-02-18 16:25:30 -0500 · Flag

Antoinette, I agree with your basic premise, but I don’t think it’s the Tea Party that will reject Dr. Carson; I think they’ll embrace him. I think it’s the general population will come to find, that although he’s an extraordinary surgeon and role model, his political views are outside of the mainstream. He doesn’t believe in evolution, for example. I think, that like Herman Cain’s 999 proposal, his economic ideas won’t stand up to scrutiny. (Unlike Cain, I highly doubt there are any skeletons in his closet.) I have no problem with religion shaping a candidate’s views, but you also need data and facts. I don’t want to hear that Carson is running for Pres because God “grabbed him by the collar,” although that may be true; I want to hear that he is running b/c he’s qualified, and IMO making speeches and writing books isn’t qualification enough. I’m not a hypocrite here; I’d had trouble supporting any Presidential candidate who hasn’t held political office. When Obama ran in 2008, I voted for him, but I wished he’d had more political experience, and I think most of his missteps stemmed from a certain political naivete. (That’s why I’m hoping his 2nd term will be even better; I think he’s learned some political lessons. )

Joseph West commented 2013-02-18 14:50:13 -0500 · Flag

sandman1: As a technicality, Lincoln did NOT free the slaves. He delivered the Emancipation Proclamation but not one slave was freed as a result of it. In fact, the contents of the Proclamation applied ONLY to areas “still in rebellion” after Jan 1, 1863, and specifically excluded CSA territory that was under Union control when Lincoln delivered the Proclamation (notably, the Hampton Roads area of Virginia and the New Orleans area) as well as the states of Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland and Delaware (in fact, Delaware didn’t formally ratify the 13th Amendment until 1901 and Kentucky didn’t do so until 1976).

The real effect of the Proclamation was propaganda. Since the CSA’s major trading partners at the time were Britain and France, both of which had abolished slavery within their empires* at least 20 years previously, Lincoln relied on the “will of the people” in those countries to protest their “support” of slavery. Somewhat ironically, during the Revolutionary War, the British offered freedom to any slaves who would rebel against their masters and join the British side; of course, the British didn’t offer freedom to slaves in any of their other colonies—only the 13 North American colonies in a state of rebellion. The American “patriots” (including Washington, Jefferson, and all the other Southern, and handful of Northern, Founding Fathers) who owned slaves didn’t recognize this offer as valid and threatened to kill any slave who dared join the British side. Historians in the last couple of decades have uncovered records documenting the killing of hundreds of slaves, especially in more rural areas of the Carolinas, simply because of the existence of the offer (not that there’s any evidence that any slaves actually joined the British side).

*The term doesn’t refer to style of government but the fact they held overseas possessions.

sandman1 commented 2013-02-18 12:29:48 -0500 · Flag

@ed, Lincoln freed the slaves, GWB freed the bankers. Not that similar IMO. If Lincoln had mistakenly went to war with Canada(instead of the South), you’d have a better comparison.

truman commented 2013-02-18 11:12:16 -0500 · Flag

CrazyTrain Cain without the pizza stain.

Beverly Robinson commented 2013-02-18 08:15:01 -0500 · Flag

they are all nuts about a black person who disagrees with the president. It makes these low lifers appear unbaised

ez commented 2013-02-18 07:03:14 -0500 · Flag

Uh Ed, does anyone at Vishay know how wacked out their security guard is?

Antoinette commented 2013-02-18 02:20:08 -0500 · Flag

The GOP is desperate to get a minority (Rubio, Cruz, Carson) to run for president. This recent action is part of the GOP’s plan to attract more minorities and women to the party.

However, their plan will backfire because the extremists right-wingers in the Tea Party will not support the new change. Wait and see. It’s coming down the pipe.

In a desperate attempt to boost his sagging ratings, High End Hannocchio invited Carson to appear on his little show.

Carson, unaware of Hannocchio’s past close friendship with neo-Nazi Hal Turner, a man who’s hatred of blacks is legendary, agreed to appear on his show. Hannochio’s buddy, bigot Pat Buchanan should also be noted.

mj - the same one commented 2013-02-18 01:12:49 -0500 · Flag

@ Edward Gijanto (https://twitter.com/ejg315):

“You liberal propoganda cowards. I made an account so I could tell you assholes what I think of you . . . Your president is a lying sack of shit who won’t even release his records . . . George Bush looks like Abraham Lincoln next to that jug-eared clown.”

Poor Eddie; so angry that Barack Obama is in the White House while he works two jobs and drives an ’03 Ford F-150 (per his Twitter feed.)

Then again, per his Twitter, he follows Michelle Malkin — perhaps that explains the anger.

Ed, if you can calm down a moment: if the records you’re referring to are President Obama’s college transcripts, there’s a reason he hasn’t “released” them — Columbia and Harvard are private institutions, and, as such, do. Not. Release. Records. To. Anyone.

Now, OT . . .

“Notice that Luntz never mentioned the word “qualifications.” For all his admirable credentials, Dr. Carson has none in politics or public policy.”

Neither did/does Herman “999” Cain — that didn’t prevent Fox from fawning over him during the early GOP primaries nor hiring him to replace Lady Blah Blah.

Dr. Carson is, like the President, an intelligent, well-spoken, and accomplished African American male, who just happened to have a mild disagreement with President Obama. For Fox, that’s like manna from heaven . . .

.

M M commented 2013-02-17 23:53:57 -0500 · Flag

Yeah, Ellen, I wish someone who has more experience in health policy/economics that me would analyze the HSAs. It may have some merit, but IMO it’s is not an cureall for our healthcare problems. (Neither is Obamacare, but it’s a pretty good start.) Some health plans do have HSAs and Obamacare doesn’t get rid of them.

Aria Prescott commented 2013-02-17 23:46:19 -0500 · Flag

Getting back to the topic myself, while replying to MM…

That’s not only a good question, but it’s also where Carson would have started if he was politically competent. Like I said, he seems to have a good standing as a medical professional, he could have gotten himself a strong foothold on these things talking healthcare issues.

The way he’s behaved thus far toying with the idea of going political is showing that he’ll just be a suit that says what his people tell him to. And it’s not hard to guess who’s picking said people, given their zeal to get him in the ring.

Aria Prescott commented 2013-02-17 23:38:42 -0500 · Flag

Edward… I actually followed the Dorner story, beginning to end. Anyone who doesn’t think Dorner was guilty and dangerous is a friggin’ idiot. The reason he got supporters anyways was because of many of the extreme actions the LAPD did during the manhunt.

There’s even a shirt/sign/bumper sticker they sell in LA that says “Not Chris Dorner- Please do on’t shoot!”. That’s how far the police crossed the line.

http://newsone.com/2204122/dorner-signs/

Fox News completely ignored that part, opting instead to pretend that it was some kind of race card issue. There was a point where I actually said to exclude their coverage because they couldn’t put up segments that didn’t support that angle.

Same with the drones- I might be wasting my time trying to say this someone who says “King Obama”, but here’s a few facts Fox News didn’t feel fit to say on their network:

1) The laws justifying drones on Americans were passed, and with non-existent limits under Bush. When they had to be intentionally employed for the first time under Obama, Congress approved.

2) Obama has presented the White Paper and target list to Congress, who found no legal fault, and defaulted to it being a morality issue.

3) Brennan and Obama have worked to resolve the concerns in the parameters they’re trying to set (see #1 again).

Fox News ignored these points because they don’t fit the “Tyrant” narrative. They even tried to claim NBC/MSNBC were ignoring it to try claiming they were giving Obama a pass, when in reality NBC broke the story. Like Dorner, I’ve begun to disregard their coverage because even the supposedly “in the tank for liberals” channels are being more legitimately critical of Obama- while paying attention to the parts like I listed.

Now, if you’d like to talk about the topic at hand… feel free.

Ellen commented 2013-02-17 23:23:52 -0500 · Flag

M M, I think you are probably right, though it’s hard to know exactly how Carson envisions his “plan” working. But I know a lot of people who work full time and are barely getting by. These are people who are covered under their employer’s health insurance but can’t afford to pay the extra money to add their family members. I don’t see how they could afford to put enough money in a medical savings account to pay for any kind of expensive illness or procedure.

Average American Patriot commented 2013-02-17 22:51:13 -0500 · Flag

I really don’t care to say much because this is a typical KKKlownnity bitc*in’ fest.

We can go through the list of losers he has had in his show and every single one gets Sean Hannity’s World Famous pornographic jobs, from Sarah Palin, Joe The Plumber, to Donald Trump and toe sucker Morris.

Average American Patriot commented 2013-02-17 22:27:46 -0500 · Flag

Good grief!

There is spittle coming off my screen!

M M commented 2013-02-17 22:16:16 -0500 · Flag

I have soooo many questions about Dr. Carson’s Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) from birth and this probably isn’t that forum for it, but here goes anyway: First, wouldn’t all of those people who say the individual mandate is unconstitutional also think HSAs are as well? And would they be capped at a certain amount? If not, couldn’t they become a tax shelter (expecially since Carson also supports a flat tax). I get Carson’s point about personal responsibility – for example, that if you’re paying for it, you’ll go to a clinic instead of an ER. But if we all were personally responsible, many more people (before Obamacare) would have bought insurance before they needed it. What if someone doesn’t pay into, or pays very little into, their HSA and then needs major medical care? Who would pay for that? But my major concern is that it looks like the rich get all the medical care they need- they can pass on their accounts to their kids. And the poor scape by, ignoring symptoms because they can’t afford to pay for treatment, (and they didn’t inherit anything from their parents.) And what about kids who have serious health problems? Healthy kids can see their (or their parent’s) accounts grow until they reach middle age and start to have health issues. But if you needed a lot of medical treatment as a kid, you’re disadvantaged throughout your life. Possibly there would be some special programs, (SCHIP, etc.), but it sounds to me like the rich get richer and the sick get sicker. I may be missing something here; if so, someone please set me straight.

sandman1 commented 2013-02-17 22:15:04 -0500 · Flag

Fox never stops, the guy that yelled “you lie” was the next big thing, then the tea party crazies of 2010, with the ‘courage of their convictions’, then every Repub in the Primary took turns at being the 2nd coming, then the teabaggers in mizzou and indiana were the gift that keeps on giving. Doesn’t anyone at Fox, other than the toelicker, have any responsibility for always backing the slowest horses in every race??

Edward Gijanto commented 2013-02-17 22:09:14 -0500 · Flag

Ben Carson had the guts to stand up to King Barack 1. Leftist morons were too busy making fun of Marco Rubio who will be our next president, for drinking water. Honestly, have you lefty liberal losers really gotten that pathetic? Have you really nothing else to stand on? YOU ARE ALL PATHETIC! This must be the millionth website made to kiss up to Barack Obama. Obama has failed this country, and in all honesty I don’t think he wants it to get better. George Bush looks like Abraham Lincoln next to that jug-eared clown. Your media is worthless

Edward Gijanto commented 2013-02-17 22:05:33 -0500 · Flag

You liberal propoganda cowards. I made an account so I could tell you assholes what I think of you. Your pitiful attempt to stand up for the racist Marc Lamont Hill for standing up for his friend Dorner is reprehensible. If it were a white man defending a white killer you’d be all over them. You think it’s brave to gang up on Fox with the rest of your lying sack of shit media friends? Did you mention that Obama can kill Americans with drones? I’m all for killing America-traitors, but why don’t you “peace-lovers” say anything? You attacked Bush for pouring water on killer wacko terrorists. If you ask me Bill O’Reilly didn’t slam that little bastard enough. He is paid to play the victim card. You’re all a bunch of cowards. Your president is a lying sack of shit who won’t even release his records. You have nothing to stand on

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