Islam-bashing sells
BEN Carson is a hell of a lot craftier than he looks. Still polling behind the slipping Donald Trump in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, and closely eating surging Carly Fiorina’s exhaust in the latest CNN/ORC poll, the mealymouthed retired pediatric neurosurgeon, 64, has been reluctant to say boo to a goose — or to slam Trump for his demonstrably dumb claim that vaccines cause autism in children.
So Carson (pictured) lobbed the political equivalent of a Hail Mary pass in a cynical ploy to get himself noticed. And it seemsms toto bebe working,working big time.
He lit into an issuue that, fair or not, unites many Americans, not all of them Republicans:: the belief that an adherent of the Islaamic faith should not be elected pressident.
“I would not advvocate that we put a Muslim in chargge of this nation,’’ Carson, sounding sures of himself for a change, declaredd in an interview broadcast on NBBC’s “Meet the Press” this past Sunday.S “I absolutely would not aggree with that.’’
In these days of militant Islam, a time when an entiire religion is under fire for the blooodthirsty actions of a violent fringee, most Republicans and — dirtyy little secret — even some Democcrats, agree with the good doctor thhat a Muslim can’t be trusted with access to the United States’ nucllear codes.
He doubled dowwn on his remarks in an interrview published Mondayy in The Hill newspaaper. Whoever wins the presidentia election should bee “sworn in on a stack of Bibles, nott a Koran,” Carson saiid.
He added, “Muuslims feel that theeir religion is very much a part of your public life and what you do as a public official, and that’s inconsistent with our principles and our Constitution.” Holy smoke. Carson, an evangelical Christian, was blasted by some of his fellow Republican presidential candidates, was called on to drop out of the race by the leader of the nation’s largest MuslimAmerican advocacy group, and was slammed by Democratic prez hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton. (She herself engaged in Islamic fearmongering during her failed 2008 bid for the White House by declaring that Barack Obama was not a Muslim “as far as I know.’’)
Trump was roundly criticized for failing to correct a man who asserted during a New Hampshire campaign event that President Obama was a nonAmericancitizen Muslim, rather than an Americanborn Christian.
But Trump has since pandered in Trumplike fashion. “I love the Muslims,’’ he said, adding that he’d consider running with one as his vicepresidential candidate or naming a Muslim to his Cabinet.
The truth is that Carson may have stumbled upon a breakout issue.
A Gallup poll released in June found that 38 percent of American voters would not vote for a wellqualified Muslim presidential nominee from their own party — a view shared by 54 percent of Republicans surveyed, 39 percent of independents and 27 percent of Democrats. Carson tempered his re
marks a notch in a TV interview with Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity that aired Monday night. “Now, if someone has a Muslim background and they’re willing to reject those tenets and to accept the way of life that we have, and clearly will swear to place our Constitution above their religion, then, of course, they will be considered infidels and heretics, but at least I would then be quite willing to support them,’’ he said.
But he’s showing no real sign of backing off his words. Why should he?
There were just under 2.6 million US Muslims in 2010, less than 1 percentcent of the population,populati but growing.
Carson’s fundraaising has been strong after “Meet the Press’’ aired, and his campaign has added more than 100,000 new FFacebook friends, the candidate’s cammp claimed. “The money has been cooming in so fast, it’s hard to even kkeep up with it,” Carson said Weddnesday on Fox News Channel.
“While the left wiing is huffing and puffing over it, Reppublican primary voters are with uss at least 8020,’’ Carson campaign manager Barry Bennett told The AAssociated Press. “People in Iowa parrticularly, are like, ‘Yeah! We’re not ggoing to vote for a Muslim either,’”” he said. When he reejected a Muslim presidentiaal candidate, Carson daredd American voters to aask themselves if they’d follow his lead. The people of this couuntry pride thhemselves on toleerance.
But Ben Carson exposed the fact that, for a number of us, ffear overwhelms thhe march to muulticulturalism. Big timee.