Ben Carson pays a price with evangelicals for the two things he's said that made some sense
Ben Carson has served up a veritable smorgasbord of ridiculousness on the campaign trail—from comparing abortions to slavery to asserting that the Egyptian pyramids were built to store grain. But that's not what's causing him to tank in the polls among evangelicals. His downfall has been admitting that some anti-abortion advocates have engaged in "hateful rhetoric" and suggesting that doctors should have worked to make Terri Schiavo's passing more peaceful.
Here's his November undoing, reported by Kyle Cheney:
On Face the Nation last Sunday discussing the Planned Parenthood shooting
Carson said that "hateful rhetoric" from the right and left is "detrimental to our society."
"No question the hateful rhetoric exacerbates the situation, and we should be doing all we can to engage an intelligence, civil discussion about our differences," he said. Pressed further on whether abortion opponents should "tone down their rhetoric," Carson said. "I think both sides should tone down their rhetoric and engage in civil discussion."
In a mid-November Tampa Bay Times interview regarding Terri Schiavo
"I said at the time, 'We face those kinds of issues all the time and while I don't believe in euthanasia, you have to recognize that people that are in that condition do have a series of medical problems that occur that will take them out. And your job is to keep them comfortable throughout that process and not to treat everything that comes up,'" Carson said.
Sorry, Ben, you're toast. Saying something even remotely reasonable about abortion or the Terri Schiavo tragedy is apostasy among America's right-wing social conservatives.
In a national Quinnipiac poll released Tuesday, Carson's evangelical support dropped 13 points. Last month, he was running second overall, only one point behind front-runner Donald Trump. But now Carson is tied with Ted Cruz for third place, while both Trump and Marco Rubio garner more support.
Meanwhile, social conservative "leaders" like Troy Newman—Ted Cruz endorser and advocate for government-sanctioned executions of people who perform abortions—are celebrating Carson's demise following his comments on the Planned Parenthood shooter.
"Doctor Carson just ended his presidential candidacy," Troy Newman, who leads the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue and recently backed Sen. Ted Cruz, told the conservative news site Breitbart, which posted a litany of blistering statements from anti-abortion advocates panning the retired neurosurgeon for the implication their fervor had any connection to the shooting.
Carson's erstwhile supporters are now flocking to Ted Cruz, as he wholeheartedly embraces extremists like Troy Newman.