The end of Dr. Ben Carson’s presidential campaign elaborate book tour unfortunately did not mean an end to Carson’s involvement in the Republican primary race. Following in the calculating and self-serving footsteps of also-ran Gov. Chris Christie before him, Carson discarded what few principles he had left and endorsed Donald Trump to win the nomination, in an obviously play for personal gain and political influence that could be dredged out of whatever remains of the Republican Party. He confirmed as much today when he announced that Trump had promised him a position in his “administration” should he win the election, “certainly in an advisory capacity…we haven’t handled out all the details but it is very important that we work together in this country … Again, I’m not going to reveal any details about it right now because all of this is still very liquid.”
It is a puzzling move on the part of the eternally nonsensical Carson, who promptly abandoned the millions of black Americans who admired for his achievements as a surgeon by endorsing Trump, which in itself is an endorsement of the bigotry and discrimination against minorities that characterizes the Trump campaign. It also makes one question his judgement once again, considering that Trump one compared him to a “child molester” and called him a pathological liar.
Given Carson’s well-demonstrated ignorance of the laws of the United States, it should come as no surprise that he may not have understood that his endorsement in exchange for a position, apart from being appalling from a moral standpoint, is also potentially illegal.
18 U.S. Code § 599 states that “whoever, being a candidate, directly or indirectly promises or pledges the appointment, or the use of his influence or support for the appointment of any person to any public or private position or employment, for the purpose of procuring support in his candidacy shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if the violation was willful, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.”
Accusations of being a opportunistic Uncle Tom who has abandoned his commitment to anything but his own personal gain have dogged Carson throughout his “campaign.” He has blatantly reinforced negative stereotypes about African-Americans with his bizarre and fabricated stories about his childhood aggression and purported violence. He delegimitizes the very real concerns of race in regards to police brutality and social discrimination, asking blacks to “de-emphasize race and emphasize respect for each other” while calling the Black Lives Matter movement “silly” and “sickening bullies.” He even hired known racist and Jim Crow advocate Charles W. Pickering to be his Mississippi campaign chair and compared women who abort the babies of their rapists to “slave owners.”
He is a traitor of the most despicable kind in a time of deep racial tension; instead of using his position of prominence in the Republican Party as the sole African-American candidate to provoke a real discussion on race in his party, he continually laid down and spouted the FOX News version of racial relations in America, consistently portraying black Americans to second-class citizens addicted to welfare and entitlements despite the public safety net’s critical role in his own successes and heavily implied that the systematic repression of black Americans in this country is due to their own moral deficiency. If it wasn’t clear enough before, this announcement proves that he is a man of no principles and no conscience.
Post by claudiajean on Mar 16, 2016 10:51:11 GMT -5
It is a puzzling move on the part of the eternally nonsensical Carson, who promptly abandoned the millions of black Americans who admired for his achievements as a surgeon by endorsing Trump, which in itself is an endorsement of the bigotry and discrimination against minorities that characterizes the Trump campaign. It also makes one question his judgement once again, considering that Trump one compared him to a “child molester” and called him a pathological liar.
Given Carson’s well-demonstrated ignorance of the laws of the United States, it should come as no surprise that he may not have understood that his endorsement in exchange for a position, apart from being appalling from a moral standpoint, is also potentially illegal.
I had to QFT. Had to.
I also will be posting this on my facebook for all my friends (okay, fine. It was only two) who insisted last week that Carson was the most moral in the race, so for him to endorse Trump couldn't be that Trump promised him anything but that Trump was really the best candidate.
At first I thought VP, but I don't think two abrasive loudmouths from the NYC metro area would be a balanced ticket.
Although, at this point I think that people are either 100% with or against Trump so maybe it really doesn't matter who he picks for his running mate. I don't think that choosing a Southerner/a woman/a non-white person/etc. will really pick up more voters for him at this stage in the game. I can't imagine that a Trump supporter would suddenly say, "Oh, gee, I don't think Christie would be a good VP so I won't vote for Trump after all."
The people who'd be most put off by a Christie VP possibility would be New Jersey residents - (a) NJ is probably going to go Democrat regardless, and (b) Christie's NJ approval ratings are in the toilet anyway.
DH and I were talking about the long shot possibility of a Trump presidency and became more worried about who his running mate may be. Especially since Drumpf has shown such disdain for the law and being held accountable that I am pretty sure he would end up doing something which results in impeachment in the first 100 days. Then we would be stuck with whatever nutjob he picked as a running mate.
DH and I were talking about the long shot possibility of a Trump presidency and became more worried about who his running mate may be. Especially since Drumpf has shown such disdain for the law and being held accountable that I am pretty sure he would end up doing something which results in impeachment in the first 100 days. Then we would be stuck with whatever nutjob he picked as a running mate.
It's hard for me to imagine him picking anyone. His ego is way too big to allow anyone into the spotlight with him!
Post by onomatopoeia on Mar 16, 2016 11:56:29 GMT -5
Why would Carson and Christie even believe Trump if he promised them a position anyway? He's not exactly a man of his word. All Trump has to do now that they've endorsed him is say What? I never promised them anything. That's illegal. They're crazy.
I mean, he could even cut ties with them completely and just not say anything at all - they've already given him what he wanted. Neither have any political capital to continue to give him, so they can't really help him anymore.
To further detail the thread, my favorite FAVORITE lines:
"Meeting is adjourned. Oh! I'm sorry sir, I didn't mean to overstep my bounds. You should say that." "What?" "Meeting is adjourned." "It is?" "No, you should say that." "What?" "Meeting is adjourned." "It is?"
onomatopoeia, agreed - there's no doubt in my mind that Trump promised Carson and Christie something, and he'll throw them both under the bus the first chance he gets.
Hillary Clinton was actually caught on a hot mic recently, wondering WTF Christie owes to Trump to give him his endorsement:
CHARLOTTE — It isn't often that Hillary Clinton lets her guard down about what she really thinks about the Republican presidential race.
But during a commercial break while taping an MSNBC town hall on Monday, Clinton and host Chris Matthews chatted it up about the state of the race.
Clinton scolded the media for its constant coverage of the GOP front-runner Donald Trump, speculated about New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's political future and his motivations for endorsing Donald Trump.
"You guys can’t stop covering him," Clinton told Matthews. "He is a dangerous presence."
"It’s just like candy by the bushel."
Matthews followed up by acknowledging that his network has a "progressive audience, obviously."
"But nobody can tell what people want to watch," he said.
"People must think they want to watch him," Clinton replied.
"They laugh at him," said Matthews.
The subject quickly turned to Christie, and Clinton wondered: "Why did he support him?"
Matthews explained that Christie and others who support Trump "want a future" politically.
"Did he have a debt?" Clinton mused.
Matthews added that New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, a Democrat, "isn't going anywhere," which leaves Christie "nowhere" to go in New Jersey politics.
"I don’t think he would win right now," Clinton chimed in.
"I don’t think he can win as a Senate candidate either," Matthews agreed.
The two chatted and chuckled about "Tommy Smothers" and "Ed Sullivan" for a minute more.
The audio cut out just before Clinton could answer Matthews's final question: "Did you watch the end of Downton Abbey?"