Ben Carson is making a lot of noises about running for president in 2016. He’s already firmly established himself as a no-questions-asked conservative–after all, he thinks that Obamacare was worse than 9-11, gays are wasting their time pressing for marriage equality, and that evolution isn’t valid because it cuts God out of the picture. But apparently he thinks his credentials need further burnishing, because late last month he sat down with CBN’s chief political correspondent, David Brody, for an extended interview. Brody’s blog, “The Brody File,” is a must-read among social conservatives–and from the looks of it, Carson is trying to establish himself as the religious right’s favorite candidate (though he may have some competition from Rick Santorum).
The folks at People for the American Way’s Right Wing Watch noticed a pretty revealing snippet from that interview–apparently Carson thinks that President Obama is becoming more and more like Russian president Vladimir Putin. Carson told Brody that if he ever had a chance to sit down with Obama at the White House, he would tell Obama to remember that “you work for the people, they don’t work for you.” He believes Obama has overstepped his authority several times, and it’s up to the Republicans in Congress to “understand what they need to do” to stop him. When Brody asked him what Congress needs to do, Carson told him that it needs to “have a spine,” because Obama isn’t going to let up until someone stops him. For that reason, Carson thinks that “our president is very much like Putin.” Watch the clip here.
Well, that’s interesting. I don’t recall when this country became a virtual one-party state where opposition is barely tolerated. I don’t remember when freedom of speech, press and assembly were essentially rendered meaningless. I don’t recall the press being taken over by presidential cronies. And I don’t recall Obama acquiring so much power that for all intents and purposes, he holds all decision-making authority in the nation. For those who don’t remember, that’s exactly what the situation is in Russia under Putin. Anyone who knows anything about Russia knows that Putin is the definition of an imperial president I know the Republicans want to maintain the myth that those big, bad libruls are persecuting them even though they’re about to take over both houses of Congress next month. But any suggestion that Obama is a Putin clone doesn’t withstand serious analysis.
It’s pretty telling that Brody didn’t bat an eyelash at this comparison. Indeed, Brody described Carson as “a breath of fresh air,” and wrote a much longer piece saying that conservatives love Carson because his “no-nonsense approach” puts him in a strong position to tackle what Carson described as the “absolute absurdity” facing this country. Never mind that Carson contributed to that absurdity by parroting a right-wing shibboleth that is easily debunked.
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Darrell Lucus, also known as Christian Dem in NC on Daily Kos, is a radical-lefty Jesus-lover who has been blogging for change for a decade. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook.
