Not an oxymoron: Ben Carson, black conservative Republican
Jonah Goldberg points out something that the MSM has been purposely ignoring:
Carson has the highest favorables of any candidate in the GOP field. But…most analysis of Carson’s popularity from pundits focuses on his likable personality and his sincere Christian faith. But it’s intriguingly rare to hear people talk about the fact that he’s black. One could argue that he’s even more authentically African-American than Barack Obama, given that Obama’s mother was white and he was raised in part by his white grandparents…
He was a towering figure in the black community in Baltimore and nationally ”” at least, until he became a Republican politician. And that probably explains why his race seems to be such a non-issue for the media…
How strange it must be for people who comfort themselves with the slander that the GOP is a cult of organized racial hatred that the most popular politician among conservatives is a black man. Better to ignore the elephant in the room than account for such an inconvenient fact. The race card is just too valuable politically and psychologically for liberals who need to believe that their political opponents are evil.
Not strange at all. The left and much of the MSM has been slandering black conservative figures for a long time (Condoleezza Rice and Clarence Thomas, for example) as not-black, Uncle Toms, traitors to their race, or worse. The only surprise with Carson is that the media hasn’t gone that route yet.
That they haven’t is probably a tribute to several things. The first is that he’s so soft-spoken and obviously a nice guy. Secondly, his poll numbers are not so high yet that they have to take him seriously, and seriously take him down (watch for it, though, if he becomes the frontrunner or the nominee). And thirdly, he occupies the odd position, as Goldberg has pointed out, of being someone the media had already lionized for his accomplishments before they realized his conservative politics. It would be hard to turn on him too viciously now; the contradiction would be noticeable, although they’d do it anyway (and ignore the discrepancy) if they felt they needed to. Easier, though, to ignore the fact of his blackness and the extent of his GOP support.
One would think that, in a sane world, the fact that Carson is black and is one of the GOP leaders would make liberal pundits admit that GOP voters must not be as bigoted as the MSM and the Democrats previously thought (or previously claimed) they were. Now, that’s a story. But it isn’t a story you’ll hear much about. In fact, the leftist line about Carson and bigotry is that Carson is a bigot for criticizing Muslims who want sharia law.
Ben Carson is not an outlier by any means. There are many conservative blacks in this country. In fact many of them are well known spokespersons for conservatism. I don’t want to take the space to list them all here. Here’s a link to a list of prominent black Republicans (some no longer living). Going through it will help you realize that well known black Republicans are well represented in our society.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_African-American_Republicans
Ben Carson has become the Great White Hope of cuckservatives.
vanderleun:
“Cuckservatives”—the silly/trendy political appellation du jour.
But I don’t even think it’s correct that that’s the group Carson appeals to. I think he appeals to a slightly-different-than-the-Trump-supporter section of the same group from which Trump draws his support: those who are very disaffected with and angry at the establishment GOP.
Progressives also need to believe that the Right dislikes Obama because he’s black not, as the Right insists, because he’s terrible. That doesn’t logically hold if the Right likes Carson.
Actually, I am sort of relieved that the MSM have not pointed out that we have MANY minority candidates running: 2 hispanics, 1 black, 1 woman, 1 indian-american (did I forget anyone?).
Why?
Because it shows that the Republican party is not about identity politics. We don’t label our candidates or need the press to label them. They are just conservatives.
By not having the MSM ‘label’ it makes the Republican candidates appear more modern and more post-racial than the Democrat party…who are woefully stuck in 1960s racial identity politics.
We Republicans just put up good candidates. We don’t care who they are or what race background they have. We just care that they have good, conservative ideas. Isn’t that the whole point of Dr. Martin Luther King’s ‘Dream’ speech?
I think so. And I think many younger people recognize that.
One of the most foolish and most widely held notions on the left is that blacks (and other minorities) who adhere to traditional and conservative principles have sold their soul to the bigoted rightwing for financial gain, when, in fact, the easiest path to fame and riches for any member of a minority is to adopt the pose of victim of (usually imaginary) grievances in order to exploit the burden of guilt borne by educated white progressives. The success of TNC’s new book, which is entirely without merit, and the spurious claims of the Muslim clock boy, provide all the proof needed.
Since the calumny about conservatives as racists was not based on reality, why should we expect that reality will remove it?
I agree that “cuckservative” is silly but it fit so well with “Great White Hope.”
I don’t know what “cuckservative” is even supposed to mean.
It means you’re a cuckoo bird in the conservative nest.
Look up what a cuckoo bird is.
It’s also a pejorative that borrows heavily from the cuckholded context.
This is the main reason I’m voting for Carson in the primary:
DR. BEN CARSON (ON TAPE): Obamacare is really, I think, the worst thing that has happened in this nation since slavery. And it was never about health care, it was about control.
Recognize what I said, “in a way.” In a way, anything is slavery that robs you of your ability to control your own life. And when you take the most important thing that you have, which is your health care, and you put that in the hands of government bureaucrats, I think you have done the wrong thing. This is not what America is about. Do I believe in health care for everybody? Absolutely. But I think there are much better ways to get there, which leave the care in the hands of patients and of doctors.
http://www.ontheissues.org/2016/Ben_Carson_Health_Care.htm
I don’t care what church he belongs to, what his opinions of gays are, or if he joined the Republican Party last month. This man understands freedom, has lived it, and wants its benefits restored in this country.
Oh, and I almost forgot. I don’t care about his skin color – it is so beside the point.
Carson grows ever larger IMO. But I do not see him as the eventual nominee. However, I would gladly vote for him 11/16. I will caucus for Fiorina or Cruz, I have a few months to decide.
Carson is a Seventh Day Adventist. This is like holding a crucifix for the Vampire Left.
It is wrong, it is no merely suspect, but evil. If Carson becomes a primary contest winner, their heads will explode with rage and he will be cast out as a Devil because he isn’t really black (unlike Bill Clinton).
Dr. Carson has the Left terrified.
IMHO, we may learn who the “new” racists are.
I have neighbors who were heavily involved in the local Tea Party in 2009 and 2010 who have had a Ben Carson sign on their lawn for most of this last year. I’ve seen his yard sign in about half a dozen other yards as well. He might be more popular than anyone in the media realizes.
Ben Carson represents the kind of man that many of us conservatives would like to see in public office. Intelligent. Respectful. Respectable. Thinks and speaks clearly.
Now, if only he had some experience running a government…
Also…if only there were a party in this country that represented conservative values so he wouldn’t have to be stuck being a Republican.
They can’t criticize him and point out he is black because Black Lives Matter.
Gary Harkness,
Your discription, of Dr Carson, applies to the majority of Republican candidates. In the past this has been a weak point, to be immorally attacked, and not responding in kind. Dr Carson is a Republican by choice, because he mostly agrees with their aims. No associations can be perfect.
Government is never efficient and seldom effective. Why on earth would you what him to possess such experience? He has spent a lifetime being both efficient and effective in the most delicate life or death situations.
Government is necessary, not necessarily good, and more government is almost always bad.
I watched an episode of the Jeffersons the other day that I believe was called Uncle Tom. This television show (and this is a Norman Lear show – huge liberal, and the cast is almost all black) treats the issue with more intelligence than the entire media/liberal complex does today. Liberals have slid backwards, to knee jerk reactionaries, for no reason other than to keep blacks on the D reservation. It’s sad.
Since reading Norman Lear’s biography I’ve been revisiting his shows. That guy had stones (though he was mostly wrong about everything) and was far fairer than our political media today (consider the implications of that – a liberal comedy TV show producer from the 70s is fairer than the ‘unbiased’ media of today). To open season 2 of Maude he did a 2 part show on alcoholism. It wasn’t even dramedy, it was all but straight drama. And of course Rob Reiner looks the dummy plenty of times (though Archie is trashed more of course).