Ben Carson announces he is running for presidential GOP nod

[CloakNDagger]

I asked a guy the other day who said "Obama is destroying our way of life" for an example of how his life was being destroyed. Instead of a list of specifics, he said "well, the country has been going downhill for ages" and "You know we are losing rights" which showed me he was more comfortable attacking the strawman of obama (this particular patriot thinks or at least posts, that Obama is gay and Michelle is a man, that Obama is muslim, etc) So, whatever policies they dislike, many seem more articulate attacking the man than the policies.

Yes, this happens on both sides... but I think it is getting worse and worse throughout our society and lately the most verbal are the anti Obama types.

There are certainly a lot of fools on the internet. If I wasn't convinced of some of my beliefs from study, I would switch sides just because of the number of absolute redneck idiots who profess to believe in the same things, post unbelievably offensive memes, ask dumb questions that could have been answered by two seconds on Google, and make hateful or irrational statements. I hate it when they align themselves with stuff I think is correct.

[formergothardite]

I do think there are a lot of racists in the GOP but there are racist democrats too. One of the reasons I started considering no longer being a republican was how so many rant on about how their freedoms are being taken away and then want to pass laws taking away freedom from people they don't agree with. The hypocrisy is astounding. Don't dare tell them anything about their God and their guns but, I need to give them control over my uterus. OMG!!!!! The Christians are being persecuted and rights are being stripped away from them, yet they want to use the government to force one version of Christian beliefs on everyone, even if that means denying some people and churches the ability to practice their religious beliefs.

This isn't all republicans, of course, but it seems like the majority who are running would never stand up for women's rights or gay rights.

[2xx1xy1JD]

There are certainly a lot of fools on the internet. If I wasn't convinced of some of my beliefs from study, I would switch sides just because of the number of absolute redneck idiots who profess to believe in the same things, post unbelievably offensive memes, ask dumb questions that could have been answered by two seconds on Google, and make hateful or irrational statements. I hate it when they align themselves with stuff I think is correct.

I often get that feeling (with other politics, not American politics). It kills me when good positions have bad supporters. It's like watching a train wreck in slow motion - you see them pulling out that argument they think is a winner, you groan as you slowly watch how everyone destroys their evidence and points out that the logic is hateful/non-existent, you brace yourself for inevitable backlash.

[Coco]

A lot of GOP / Republicans are NOT racist in regards to Obama, they just hate his policies. Where do you see them using his being black as "proof" that he isn't a Christian or a real American? Neither of those issues are race dependent at all. If he was a white guy he'd be just as hated, no kidding. Don't forget that the original "birther" questions came from a Democrat on Hillary's team. The issue of whether or not he is a "Christian" rests on it's own merits as well. I'm not in the "Obama is a Muslim" camp, but he's certainly no evangelical Christian.

It's going to be fun to watch. So much potential for ideological ammo. :lol:

[Coco]

I do think there are a lot of racists in the GOP but there are racist democrats too. One of the reasons I started considering no longer being a republican was how so many rant on about how their freedoms are being taken away and then want to pass laws taking away freedom from people they don't agree with. The hypocrisy is astounding. Don't dare tell them anything about their God and their guns but, I need to give them control over my uterus. OMG!!!!! The Christians are being persecuted and rights are being stripped away from them, yet they want to use the government to force one version of Christian beliefs on everyone, even if that means denying some people and churches the ability to practice their religious beliefs.

This isn't all republicans, of course, but it seems like the majority who are running would never stand up for women's rights or gay rights.

If they could find that person, the dynamic would change overnight. A true middle of the roader. Probably Latino/a, business background, fiscal conservative, willing to compromise, understanding the issues of immigrant integration and safety net welfare, willing to sideline the social issues or provide a clear argument for equal freedom, cultural respect for the world. I'd vote for that kind of Republican. But they all sell out to the big money that hides behind irreconcilable social arguments.

[ILoveJellybeans]

A lot of GOP / Republicans are NOT racist in regards to Obama, they just hate his policies. Where do you see them using his being black as "proof" that he isn't a Christian or a real American? Neither of those issues are race dependent at all. If he was a white guy he'd be just as hated, no kidding. Don't forget that the original "birther" questions came from a Democrat on Hillary's team. The issue of whether or not he is a "Christian" rests on it's own merits as well. I'm not in the "Obama is a Muslim" camp, but he's certainly no evangelical Christian.

Yes, I understand that, and of course not all Republicans are complaining about Obama because of his race, but rather because he is a Democrat and they do not agree with his policies. And not all Republicans are racist.

I just know of people who are Republican and are saying that sort of thing, or are pulling race into political discussions because they don't like Obama, and wondered what they would think about a black Republican president.

[CloakNDagger]

I just know of people who are Republican and are saying that sort of thing, or are pulling race into political discussions because they don't like Obama, and wondered what they would think about a black Republican president.

I honestly think it'd be a non-issue. You'd have some people insincerely voting for him just because he was black (on some sort of guilt trip) and some of the really crazy right wing loons would be exposed for the racists that they truly are (by not voting for him) and a bigger portion of the black population might actually vote Republican instead of straight party ticket.

[formergothardite]

I honestly think it'd be a non-issue. You'd have some people insincerely voting for him just because he was black (on some sort of guilt trip) and some of the really crazy right wing loons would be exposed for the racists that they truly are (by not voting for him) and a bigger portion of the black population might actually vote Republican instead of straight party ticket.

This might be true, but I think that the biggest problem with the Republican party and this is only going to continue becoming a bigger problem, is their views on gay rights, women's rights, and immigration. In the not so distant future it isn't going to matter who they drag out to run, as long as their are trying to force one Christian view on the entire country, downplay rape, and act like immigrants are ruining America most people are not going to vote for them.

[2xx1xy1JD]

If they could find that person, the dynamic would change overnight. A true middle of the roader. Probably Latino/a, business background, fiscal conservative, willing to compromise, understanding the issues of immigrant integration and safety net welfare, willing to sideline the social issues or provide a clear argument for equal freedom, cultural respect for the world. I'd vote for that kind of Republican. But they all sell out to the big money that hides behind irreconcilable social arguments.

The Republicans could actually listen to pundit David Frum instead of seeing him as a traitor, and release that he is absolutely right when he says that the party needs to abandon the wacky windbags on the extreme right, support gay marriage, stop scaring people and attract centrist votes.

It worked for the Conservative government in Canada. The current prime minister, Stephen Harper, originally got his start with the Reform Party. Back in the early 1990s, they were roughly the equivalent of the Tea Party, and despite considerable support in the west couldn't get elected in Ontario due to fear over their social policies and concern about racist candidates. Harper wanted a party that actually got into power, not a bunch of nutbags, so when he returned to politics, he had a style that was about party discipline, avoiding anything that was too polarizing and scary, and focusing on his core message. Later, he started to aggressively court the various ethnic communities that had once been staunchly Liberal. The Liberals, meanwhile, had simply assumed that these groups would always support them and didn't bother with outreach. The result was a Conservative government for the past nine years....that has enthusiastically embraced multiculturalism and immigration, accepted that same-sex marriage is legal, largely avoided doing anything to place legal limits on abortion (Canada has no abortion law at all), maintained and expanded parental leave, sharply criticized Russia for persecuting gays, and placed a firm gag on anyone wanting to be a social conservative crusader.

[doggie]

 

really starting to think he is George bush in black face.  can a black man make himself more white than supporting racists?

Ben Carson Hires Lifelong Racist Who Loved Jim Crow And Hates Civil Rights Act

http://www.occupydemocrats.com/ben-carson-hires-lifelong-racist-who-loved-jim-crow-and-hates-civil-rights-act-2/

The twisted tale of Ben Carson’s increasingly bizarre presidential campaign just keeps getting weirder. Last night, Donald Trump embarked on a ninety minute rant in which he acted out the “stabbing story” which Carson insists on telling in order to give credence to the “anguished youth who found redemption through the love of Jesus Christ” narrative and compared Carson to a “child molester.” The very next day, it was announced that Ben Carson had appointed a known racist and segregationist to be his Mississippi state chair – former judge Charles W. Pickering.

Pickering abandoned the Democratic Party in 1964 when they began pushing for an end to segregation, declaring that the Democratic Party’s decision to fight for the Civil Rights Act an insult to the people of Mississippi, who “were heaped with humiliation and embarrassment at the Democratic Convention. And this has convinced [him] beyond a doubt that Mississippians do not now and will not in the future have any useful place in the National Democratic Party.”

He actively worked to undermine desegregation efforts and used investigation commissions into the Ku Klux Klan to investigate civil rights activists instead. His former law partner was J. Carroll Gartin, who later became lieutenant governor and was a “devoted segregationist.” Salon reports that in a 1967 statement, Pickering wrote that he “wanted to preserve ‘our southern way of life,’ and he bitterly blamed civil rights workers for stirring up ‘turmoil and racial hatred’ in the South.” Pickering’s most notable case involved a trial of three KKK cross-burners, during which he pressured the prosecutors to drop the charges of hate crime and reduce the sentences of those involved, successfully trimming their sentences from the Congress-mandated five years to two and a half.

[sawasdee]

 

really starting to think he is George bush in black face.  can a black man make himself more white than supporting racists?

Ben Carson Hires Lifelong Racist Who Loved Jim Crow And Hates Civil Rights Act

http://www.occupydemocrats.com/ben-carson-hires-lifelong-racist-who-loved-jim-crow-and-hates-civil-rights-act-2/

WTF?