Ben Carson’s hot mess of a campaign: A predictably dysfunctional mish-mash of fire-breathing

[FSogol]

rhetoric and insane policy ideas

Ben Carson’s presidential campaign continues to flawlessly meet expectations, which is to say that it is a fiery catastrophe of failure, greed, and embarrassment. There was really no other way this situation could play out. Carson’s political celebrity was never rooted in anything meaningful – conservatives fell in love with him because he insults President Obama and refuses to be “politically correct.” The Wall Street Journal editorial board encouraged Carson to run for the White House for no other reason than his willingness to say things that are “un-PC.” And, not surprisingly, Carson’s attempt to transform this crude, superficial appeal into an actual political movement has been disastrous.

and

As for Carson himself, he’s apparently none too interested in the toxic internal fights that are sabotaging his campaign apparatus. “Carson occasionally drops by his Alexandria campaign headquarters,” the Post noted, “but his main interaction with staffers is once a week, at 10 a.m. on Sundays, when he participates in a conference call.” He’d rather be out on the trail, talking to voters, and proposing bad, confusing policy ideas that aren’t really tethered to any sort of ideology, or even to common sense. Yesterday, according to MSNBC, Carson floated the idea of a “covert division” of government employees that would “monitor what government people do” and make sure they’re doing their jobs, or something.

It’s an idea that’s rooted in a conservative caricature of government employees as parasitic loafers who just sit in their cubicles all day laughing as they count the money they’re stealing from hardworking taxpayers who have real jobs. If you’re a conservative who has a problem with the size and complexity of the federal government, I’m not sure why you’d support an expansion of the federal workforce (and an extra layer of bureaucracy) as a means to fix it. A spokesman for Carson tried to clarify what he meant: “Covert division? More like Secret Shopper, a quality control strategy used worldwide to improve customer service and customer care.” It’s not immediately apparent how a strategy used to improve customer service would apply to people in white-collar jobs, but whatever. It’s an idea.

Rest of the article at Salon:
http://www.salon.com/2015/06/11/ben_carsons_hot_mess_of_a_campaign_a_predictably_dysfunctional_mish_mash_of_fire_breathing_and_insane_policy_ideas/

Bring me more popcorn!

[cali]

1. yum. he and trump are popcorn kings

[underthematrix]

2. LOL!

I guess no one here has figured out yet, he's being to paid to run a primary not to win it. I think Maddow termed it "performance art"

[randys1]

3. He will make a fortune, get famous, sell books, etc

The ENTIRE Republican party uses our political system for personal profit, has for decades

[TwilightGardener]

4. Up until recent years, his contribution to society was far greater than most Republican pols

could ever achieve. Kind of a shame to see him make an ass out of himself.

[underpants]

5. I love how this sentence starts and then makes a hilarious turn

He’d rather be out on the trail, talking to voters, and proposing bad, confusing policy ideas that aren’t really tethered to any sort of ideology, or even to common sense.



Going to read the article now.

[FSogol]

6. Ben Carson: the insane populist!

Federal Bureau of Secret Shoppers

[Siwsan]

7. I'd love to know the real reason he retired from medicine, so (relatively) young

He was a very gifted surgeon and even if, for some physical reason, he could no longer perform surgery, he could have gone on as an instructor or a consultant, and share his knowledge. For him to totally walk away from his profession is really, really odd.

He is NOT a gifted political candidate. His only contribution, in that arena, is to show people how not to conduct a campaign.

[underpants]

9. Good point

The most likely reason is probably burn out but he could have taken a sabbatical. He would still be greatly demanded in that field.

[FSogol]

10. That's a very demanding field. After 36 years, I doubt he would have the manual deterity and

stamina required to continue at that level. Then again, reading how the guy thinks, maybe his brain could use more downtime.

[KamaAina]

8. This sounds like it would make a killer reality show

[FSogol]

11. "My Insane Campaign" tonight at 7 pm EST on TLC!

I'd pitch it as: Dance Moms meets politics!