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What Dr. Ben Carson is Up To

carson

James Hamblin has published a profile of Dr. Ben Carson in Politico Magazaine called: “Who Is Dr. Ben Carson? And why is he sort of running for president?” For anyone who wonders what the latest is on Carson, his possible run for political office, and his views on the Affordable Care Act, this article sums it up nicely.

Carson continues to deny political aspirations. But not unequivocally. He says he is simply a concerned citizen “unless he receives another call from the good Lord.” He says he believes that there ought to be more doctors involved in politics and policy.

Hamblin introduces readers to Armstrong Williams, Carson’s business manager who manages his media image. He describes Williams as “sternly contrarian and boldly conservative.” It is Williams who has has orchestrated Carson’s many media appearances since his widely publicized Prayer Breakfast speech last year.

Carson is a conservative darling, but if those leaning hard right listen closely, they might be surprised. “Everybody should be insured,” Carson says about healthcare. Carson favors a system in which all Americans have health savings accounts into which federal deposits are made, Hamblin writes.

The article continues:

For all his fiscally conservative talking points and Ayn Rand-level concerns that his home might be taken from him and given to those in need, Carson also espouses hard-to-categorize ideas that range far beyond his health-care critique—so far beyond that conservatives cheering his rise might find them troubling if they listen hard. He did say to me, “Everyone who’s not achieving is a drag on our society,” but he said it with an eye to the work of John F. Kennedy, whom Carson admires. He loves quoting, “Ask not …”

 

“What I prefer is to create mechanisms whereby all people can move upward,” Carson said.

 

And take his thoughts on education.

 

“If you happen to be in an affluent community, there’s a lot more money for the schools, better facilities, everything. All that does is perpetuate the situation,” he told me. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to put the money in a pot and redistribute it throughout the country so that public schools are equal, whether you’re in a poor area or a wealthy area?”

 

Might a wealthy person object to funding a school system in a poor community on the other side of the country?

 

“I have never heard a wealthy person say that,” Carson said. “And I have talked to a lot of wealthy people.”

Read the entire Politico article.

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