Ben Carson on Principles & Values Tea Party challenger in Republican primary

Sub-sections under Principles & Values:
• Personal Background
• Political Philosophy
• Religion
• Other issues under Principles & Values

Our nation is heading off the abyss of destruction

2AM phone calls are about presidential judgement

Islam is inconsistent with the Constitution

CARSON: I said anybody, doesn't matter what their religious background, if they accept American values and principles and are willing to subjugate their religious beliefs to our Constitution. I have no problem with them. But right now, when you have something that is against the rights of women, against the rights of gays, subjugates other religions, and a host of things that are not compatible with our Constitution, why in fact would you take that chance?

I had no relationship with Mannatech but I take the product

A: I didn't have an involvement with them. I did a couple of speeches for them, I do speeches for other people. They were paid speeches. Do I take the product? Yes. I think it's a good product.

I'm the only one on this stage who separated Siamese twins

CARSON: Well, I haven't said anything about me being the only one to do anything, so let me try that. I'm the only one to separate Siamese twins. The only one to operate on babies while they were still in mother's womb, the only one to take out half of a brain, although you would think, if you go to Washington, that someone had beat me to it. But I'm very hopeful that I'm not the only one who's willing to pick up the baton of freedom, because freedom is not free, and we must fight for it every day. Every one of us must fight for it, because we're fighting for our children and the next generation.

Raised in inner-city Detroit; poor student in grade school

His mother, though undereducated herself, pushed her sons to read and to believe in themselves. Carson went from being a poor student to receiving honors and he eventually attended medical school. Both Ben and his brother experienced difficulty in school. Ben fell to the bottom of his class, and became the object of ridicule by his classmates. The poverty he lived in and the difficult times he experienced in school seem to exacerbate the anger and rage.

Neurosurgeon who specialized in separating conjoined twins

DIRECT: Deny, Ignore, Resist, Exempt, Conform, Transform

At some point, it becomes easier for a ruler to EXEMPT an unruly but powerful subject from punishment than to suffer defeat. As those formerly in power desert, they began CONFORMING to the ideology and actions if their previous enemies. The final phase is the TRANSFORMATION phase, in which the ideology of the resistance movement becomes the mainstream philosophy.

If one were to make an acrostic of the first letters of each of these phases, one gets the word DIRECT.

Naively committed plagiarism in college psychology course

When the professor asked me to make an appointment to discuss my paper, I was befuddled. When I stepped into his office, he pointed out that I had plagiarized and told me that the consequence for doing so normally included expulsion. I could see all of my dreams of becoming a doctor dashed by my stupidity. Even though I did not know the implications of plagiarism, I certainly should have known inherently that what I was doing was wrong. I had done it before without consequences and probably would have continued doing it if I had not been caught. Fortunately for me, the professor was very compassionate, realized that I was naive, and gave me a chance to rewrite the paper.

We need to recognize again that there IS right and wrong

America designed for citizen-statesman as commander-in-chief

CARSON: You should see the eyes of some of those children when I say "we're going to have to open your head up." They're not happy about it. Later on, they realize what's going on. And by the same token, you have to be able to look at the big picture and understand that it's actually merciful if you go ahead and finish the job, rather than death by 1,000 pricks.

Q: So you could be ruthless in prosecuting war?

CARSON: Ruthless is not necessarily the word I would use, but tough, resolute, understanding the problems, and understanding that the job of the president is to do what is necessary in order to get it done.

Q: Does neurosurgery prepare you to command troops?

CARSON: There's a false narrative that only the political class has the wisdom and the ability to be commander-in- chief. But if you go back and you study the design of our country, it was really designed for the citizen statesman.

Don't give away values for the sake of political correctness

A Muslim president would not stay true to American values

CARSON: Well, I guess it depends on what that faith is. If it's inconsistent with the values and principles of America, then of course it should matter. But if it fits within the realm of America and consistent with the constitution, no problem.

Q: So do you believe that Islam is consistent with the constitution?

CARSON: No, I do not. I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.

I was a radical Democrat but then I listened to Reagan

I see us allowing people to divide us, when in fact our strength is in our unity. I see people exercising the most irresponsible fiscal habits that anyone could possibly do. And hiding it from the American people, so that the majority of people have no idea what our financial situation is.

So, when someone comes along and says, "free college, free phones," free this and that, they say, "wow, that's nice," having no idea that they're destabilizing our position.

Reagan was also a master at understanding that a pinnacle nation has to be a nation that leads. If we learn to lead in the Middle East right now, a coalition will form behind us, but never they do it if we just sit there and talk about it. Real leadership is what I would hopefully bring to America.

I will not lick the boots of billionaires

Important experience is having a brain, not being politician

CARSON: Well, I could take issue with all of those things, but we don't have time. But I will say, the thing that is probably most important is having a brain, and to be able to figure things out and learn things very rapidly. Experience comes from a large number of different arenas, and America became a great nation early on not because it was flooded with politicians, but because it was flooded with people who understood the value of personal responsibility, hard work, creativity & innovation.

Secular progressives cause our problems; Hillary is epitome

CARSON: If Hillary is the candidate, which I doubt, that would be a dream come true. She is the epitome of the secular progressive movement. And she counts on the fact that people are uninformed, the Alinsky Model, taking advantage of useful idiots. Well, I just happen to believe that people are not stupid. And the way I will come at it is to educate people, help people to actually understand that it is that progressive movement that is causing them the problems. You know, you look at the national debt and how it's being driven up. If I was trying to destroy this country, what I would do is find a way to drive wedges between all the people, drive the debt to an unsustainable level, and then step off the stage as a world leader and let our enemies increase while we decreased our military capacity. And that's what she's doing.

Our brain makes us who we are, not our skin

CARSON: Well, I think the bully pulpit is a wonderful place to start healing that divide. You know, we have the purveyors of hatred who take every single incident between people of two races and try to make a race war out of it, and drive wedges into people. And this does not need to be done. You know, I was asked by an NPR reporter once, why don't I talk about race that often. I said it's because I'm a neurosurgeon. And she thought that was a strange response. I said, "you see, when I take someone to the operating room, I'm actually operating on the thing that makes them who they are. The skin doesn't make them who they are. The hair doesn't make them who they are." And it's time for us to move beyond that. Because our strength as a nation comes in our unity. We are the United States of America, not the divided states. And those who want to divide us are trying to divide us, and we shouldn't let them do it.

President needs common sense understand of Constitution

CARSON: I'm in about five states a week, with huge record-breaking crowds [at book events]--

Q: They tell you, "We've never had a crowd this big"?

CARSON: Yes, they say, "We've never had a crowd this big." And that is always what people want to say, "You've got to do it; you've got to run." It's just everywhere I go. And I think what people really are looking for is common sense and courage and somebody who understands the Constitution and the principles of freedom, innovation, social responsibility. And if someone can come along with those things & really gain a lot of traction, I would be delighted, and if they don't, I would certainly give it serious consideration.

Q: So are you saying you don't want to do it, but you might?

CARSON: I don't want to do it, but if we're left in a situation where there is not a lot of enthusiasm for anybody else, I would never turn my back on my fellow citizens.

PC police make us afraid to say "Merry Christmas"

We've reached the point where people are afraid to actually talk about what they want to say because somebody might be offended. People are afraid to say "Merry Christmas" at Christmastime. Doesn't matter whether the person you're talking to is Jewish or, you know, whether they're any religion. That's a salutation, a greeting of goodwill. We've got to get over this sensitivity. You know it keeps people from saying what they really believe.

Five doctors signed Declaration; we solve problems

We need doctors, we need scientists, engineers. We need all those people involved in government, not just lawyers. I don't have anything against lawyers, but you know, here's the thing about lawyers--what do lawyers learn in law school? To win, by hook or by crook. So you got all these Democrat lawyers, and you got all these Republican lawyers and their sides want to win. We need to get rid of that. What we need to start thinking about is, how do we solve problems?

Our flag symbolizes one nation, under God, indivisible

Raised a Democrat, but became a registered Independent

[By 1976], although I was still a Jimmy Carter Democrat, the speeches of Ronald Reagan appealed to me. Even though I ultimately voted for Jimmy Carter both in 1976 and 1980, my political views were gradually shifting, and by 1984, those views were much more consistent with Ronald Reagan's and those of the Republican Party.

Over the years, I found that no political party really represented my views of fairness, decency, and adherence to the principles set forth by the United States Constitution in 1787. So I became a registered Independent and have remained so until this day.

Democracy was never intended as a spectator sport

Could a government's power truly rest in the hands of the people? Could such an experiment really work? By definition, in legislative- and decision-making processes, a democracy requires full participation of all the people. But most people are so involved and preoccupied with daily duties and routines, they have neither the time nor energy to participate.

Although the noble goal of democracy had been tried by other societies, power usually eventually shifted to some central authority and the dream of autonomy died. Therefore, they decided that a republic-type government would be much more efficient, in which elected representatives of the people would make decisions. Also, with a republic there is no limitation on expansion.

Wise voters look at their representatives' voting records

Tea Partiers & Independents reject spoon-fed biased media

There is also the rise of the Tea Party. The very fact that so many people are joining the Tea Party or becoming politically Independent suggests that people are less willing to be spoon-fed by a largely biased media and are thinking for themselves again.

For eagle to fly straight, balance left wing & right wing

In "The 5000 Year Leap," W. Cleon Skousen writes that the founders had many other symbolic reasons for choosing the eagle. But the reason that impressed me the most is that in order for the eagle to fly straight, its two wings must be balanced. If either the left wing or the right wing is too heavy, the bird will veer off to one side and crash. The liberals represent the left wing and the conservatives represent the right wing. The liberals tend to have lots of great ideas that cost a great deal of money and, if left unchecked, would quickly bankrupt the nation. The conservatives simply want to maintain the status quo and are not very adventurous, and if our nation were left solely to their ideas, stagnation would occur. However, when you balance the right & the left wings evenly, the eagle is able to fly high and straight, and the potential for progress is tremendous

B/WA: Best/Worst Analysis for risk assessment

I came up with the four questions for my Best/Worst Analysis (B/WA) formula:
• What is the BEST thing that can happen if I DO this?
• What is the WORST thing that can happen if I DO this?
• What is the BEST thing that can happen if I DON'T do it?
• What is the WORST thing that can happen if I DON'T do it?

Personal religion important, but it's not the law

CARSON: I find a very good measure of correlation between my religious beliefs and my scientific beliefs. People say, "How can you be a scientist, how can you be a surgeon if you don't believe in certain things?" You know, I'm always willing to sit down and discuss things. And people who say, "Well, you have to believe this and you have to believe that," I'm willing to discuss with them why they believe what they believe, and why I believe what I believe. A person's religious beliefs are the things that make them who they are, give them a direction in their life. But I do not believe that religious beliefs should dictate one's public policies and stances. And our laws that we enforce have nothing to do with our own personal beliefs. They have to do with the Constitution of this country.

Bible study overcame youthful violence and anger

Ben realized that much of his anger stemmed from putting himself in the center of everything. Once he took himself out of the equation, he could see that not everything was directed at him and that he wasn't the only one with troubles. He began to see things from other points of view. He soon realized he could control his anger, rather than it controlling him.

Not running for office, but God may call on me

Earlier in his appearance, after bringing the crowd to its feet by setting up a hypothetical with the words, "Let's say you just magically put me into the White House," Carson quickly reversed course: "OK, I take it back. Let's say somebody were there... ."

End the "war on God"

2010: Vetted for Lt. Gov., but decision to run "up to God"

All religions provide beliefs that make us reasonable

When I was asked to deliver the keynote address at the 1997 Presidential Prayer Breakfast, I contemplated the question, "Are we a Judeo-Christian nation or not?" I spoke about integrity, particularly in public office. I finished the speech with my philosophy for success in life, which includes strong faith in God and my Savior Jesus Christ. Out of the thousands of people at the breakfast, and millions of people who heard the address, I received only one negative response for using the name of Jesus. This tells me that the level of tolerance for religious differences is much greater than the politically correct crowd would have us believe.

National Day of Prayer is a suggestion, not a requirement

I believe the problem arises from misinterpretations of what our founders intended with respect to government & religion. They never wanted to see the government endorse a specific religion, but neither did they want to see faith and religion suppressed. There is nothing at all in our founding documents forbidding or denigrating religious expression in public life. The judge in this case was responding to a lawsuit filed by a group of atheists and agnostics called the Freedom from Religious Foundation. They complained that the government did not have the right to tell them to pray, but perhaps they didn't notice that prayer was not a requirement, but rather a suggestion.

God granted me a miracle in passing freshman chemistry

As I tried futilely to memorize my entire chemistry textbook, I fell asleep and entered a dream: I was the only student in a large auditorium, and a nebulous figure was writing out chemistry problems on the chalkboard. I awakened with the dream vivid in my mind. When I opened the test booklet during the chemistry final exam, I was flabbergasted when I recognized each of the problems in the booklet as one of the problems that the nebulous figure was working out in my dream.

I knew that God had granted me my miracle. I promised God I would become a diligent student and make him proud of me.