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 14 reactions

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.

.

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???

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.

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

CrazyTrain Cain without the pizza stain.

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.

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 . . .

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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.

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.

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.

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

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

commented 2013-02-17 19:32:19 -0500 · Flag

Carson has the cred as a doctor; he seems to be both popular and reputable. But his politics seem to be out of the book of Bush. ABC News was talking about him last night, they pointed out that literally every tough question aimed at him was answered with some form of “Well, that’s up to God.”

Um, excuse me? I know religion trumps race with the Republicans, and Carter laid it on thick enough that he could have been an ebony Chinese man with a Mexican accent, and still gotten a few passes…

But there’s a limit. If it was as simple as “God,” Bush would be univserally praised, instead of many countries thinking he’s the worst non-dictator leader since 1776. He wouldn’t have created the financial mess we’re in now. He wouldn’t have given us such a clusterfuck policy dealing with our enemies.

Carter wants where “God” gets you? He can look at Bush. When he starts acting like a real candidate, I’ll take him seriously- In the meantime, he’s a smart man with dumb politics that’s famous with the right for shooting off his mouth.

commented 2013-02-17 19:13:10 -0500 · Flag

Fluff up your favorite with one of Frank’s phony focus groups.

NewsHounds posted about Fox Wants Dr. Benjamin Carson To Run For President, No Save America on NewsHounds' Facebook page 2013-02-17 18:23:51 -0500

Whether this is a political marriage or just a hookup remains to be seen.