Dr
Carson Comments (Time
allowed his seven comments)
From the ninth debate in South Carolina, Saturday 13, 2016, with
Republican candidates.
DICKERSON: Dr.
Carson. Dr. Carson, you, like others, put out a statement after the death was
announced, and you said the president should delay.
You've written a book
on the constitution recently. What does the constitution say about whose duty
it is here to act in this kind of a situation?
CARSON: Well, the current constitution actually
doesn't address that particular situation, but the fact of the matter is
the Supreme Court, obviously, is a very important part of our governmental
system. And, when our constitution was put in place, the average age of death
was under 50, and therefore the whole concept of lifetime appointments for
Supreme Court judges, and federal judges was not considered to be a big deal.
Obviously that has
changed, and it's something that probably needs
to be looked at pretty carefully at some point. But, we need to start
thinking about the divisiveness that is going on in our country. I looked at
some of the remarks that people made after finding out that Justice Scalia had
died, and they were truly nasty remarks. And, that we have managed to get to
that position in our country is truly a shame. And, we should be thinking
about how we could create some healing in this land.
But, right now, we're
not going to get healing with President Obama. That's very United Nationsclear.
So, I... (BELL RINGING) ... Fully agree that we should not allow a judge to be appointed during his time.
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DICKERSON: Dr.
Carson, I want to ask you a question... (APPLAUSE)
Dr. Carson, you said
you've had more two a.m. -- two a.m. phone calls than anybody up on this stage.
But when those two a.m. phone calls came, you operated on a foundation of all
of that amazing medical work that you did, all of that learning. So if you were
to be president, though, you wouldn't have the political foundation that hones
those instincts when the two a.m. phone call comes. So isn't that a liability?
CARSON: No, it isn't. First
of all, let me go back to your first question for me. It wasn't phrased as who
gets to nominate Supreme Court appointees, of course that's the
president. So I know that there are some left wing media who would try to
make hay on that.
Secondly, thank you
for including me in the debate. Two questions already. This is great. Now, as
far...
(LAUGHTER) (APPLAUSE)
As far as those two
a.m. phone calls are concerned, judgment
is what is required. And the kinds of things that you come up with are some
sometimes very, very difficult and very unique. One of the things that I was
known for is doing things that have not been done before. So no amount of
experience really prepares you to do something that has never been done
before. That's where judgment comes
in.
And that, I think, is
a situation that we're in right now, a situation that we have never been in
before with the kinds of threats that
pose real danger to our nation, and it comes in very handy in those
situations.
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DICKERSON: All right.
Well, Dr. Carson, I have got a question now for you. You have said, Dr. Carson, that -- referring
to yourself that people bought into the idea that, quote, "A nice person
can't be tough on terrorists." You have called for loosening the rules of engagement for the military, which
could lead to more civilian casualties. So, explain why those casualties would
be acceptable in the fight against ISIS?
CARSON: Well, first of all,
let me just address the Iraq question.
You know, I was
not particularly in favor of us going to war in Iraq, primarily because I have
studied, you know, the Middle East, recognizing that those are nations
that are ruled by dictators and have been for thousands of years. And
when you go in and you remove one of those dictators, unless you have an appropriate plan for replacing them,
you're going to have chaos.
Now, fortunately, we
were able to stabilize the situation, and it was the current administration
that turned tail and ran and destabilized the situation.
(APPLAUSE)
Now, having said
that, in terms of the rules of engagement, I was talking about, you know, Obama
has said, you know, we shouldn't bomb tankers, you know, coming out of
refineries because there may be people in there, or because the environment may
be hurt.
You know, that's just asinine thinking.
And the fact of the matter is...
(APPLAUSE)
You know, we --
obviously, you're not going to accomplish all of your goals without some
collateral damage. You have to be able to assess what is acceptable and what is
not.
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DICKERSON: Dr.
Carson, before we go to break, could you give us your sense of this
conversation about either MedicAid, or economic growth through taxation?
CARSON: Well, first of all,
let me just mention on the tax issue. BenCarson.com, go read about it
because my tax plan has been praised by Kato, by Wall Street Journal. Forbes said it is the best, the most
pro-growth tax plan, and it's based on real fairness for everybody. Starts at
the 150% poverty level, but even the people below that have to pay something
because everybody has to have skin in the game, and the millions of people
can't, you know, talk about what other people have to pay and have no skin in
the game.
And, it deals with
corporate tax rate, and makes it the same as everybody else...
(BELL RINGING)
CARSON: ... Everybody pays
exactly the same.
DICKERSON: Doctor...
CARSON: ... And, as far as
Medicare and MedicAid, my main goal is to get
rid of Obamacare, and put the care back in the hands of (INAUDIBLE)...
[private sector].
GARRETT: ... Dr.
Carson...
DICKERSON: ... Dr.
Carson, I'm sorry we have to go to a commercial. The free market wants what it
wants.
Back soon with the
2016 Republican debate in Greenville, South Carolina. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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STRASSEL: Moving
subjects. Dr. Carson, this week Morgan Stanley agreed to pay a $3.2 billion
dollar fine to state and federal authorities for contributing to the mortgage
crisis. You have a lot of Democrats out saying that we should be jailing more
executives, so two questions.
Should financial
executives be held legally responsible for financial crisis, and do you think
fines like these are an effective way to deter companies from future behavior
like that?
CARSON: Well, first of all,
please go to my website, Bencarson.com and read my immigration policy, OK?
Because it actually makes sense.
Now, the -- as far as
these fines are concerned, you know? Here's the big problem. We've got all
these government regulators, and all they're doing is running around looking
for people to fine. And, we've got 645 different federal agencies, and
sub-agencies. Way, way too many, and they don't have anything else to do.
I think what we
really need to do is start trimming the regulatory agencies rather than going
after the people who are trying to increase the viability, economic viability
of our society. Now, that doesn't mean there aren't some people out there who
are doing bad things. But, I'm not sure that the way to solve that problem is
by increasing all the regulatory burden. You know, when you consider how
much regulations cost us each year, you know? $2 trillion dollars per family, $24,000 per family, that happens
to be the same level as the poverty level...
(BELL RINGING)
CARSON: ... For a family of
four. If you want to get rid of poverty,
get rid of all the regulations.
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Dr. Carson, I have a
question for you. Candidates are...
CARSON: Before you ask the
question, can I respond to the -- you know, they mentioned my name a couple of
times.
DICKERSON: Alright.
You have 30 seconds, Doctor.
CARSON: Alright. Well,
first of all, you know, so many people have said to me, "You need to
scream and jump and down -- jump up and down like everybody else." Is that
really what you want? What we just saw? I
don't think so.
And you know, I --
when I got into this race, I decided to look
under the hood of the engine of what runs Washington, D.C., and my
first inclination was to run away, but I didn't do it because I'm thinking
about our children and fact that we are the United States of America. And
anybody up here is going to be much better than what's going to come on the
other side. And what happened tonight with -- with Justice Scalia tells you
that we cannot afford to lose this election and we cannot be tearing each other
down.
(APPLAUSE)
DICKERSON: Dr.
Carson, I -- let me ask you a different question. When you were -- you were the
first one, really, to talk about political correctness. Everybody now talks
about it, but that was really what sparked your -- your rise. Politicians
are often accused of glossing over any hard choices people have to make, just
always selling happy, nice things. So in the -- in the spirit of saying
something that might be politically incorrect, tell the voters something that
they need to hear but that might be politically incorrect?
CARSON: Well, first of all,
I'm not a politician, so I'm never
going to become a politician. But here's what -- here's what people need to
know. People need to know that free college
is not -- it's a non-starter. You know, you have to look at our economic
situation. We're on the verge of economic collapse and, you know, we're --
it's not just the $19 trillion, but it's
also the $200 trillion in unfunded liabilities.
What we need to think
about is what does that do to the average person? When we have a debt of that
nature, it causes the Fed to change their policy, it causes the central bank to
keep the -- the rates low, and who does does that affect? Mr. Average, who used
to go to the bank every Friday and put part of his check in the bank and watch
it grow over three decades and be able to retire with a nice nest egg, that's
gone. That part of the American dream is gone.
All of these things
are disappearing, and Bernie Sanders and people like Hillary Clinton blame it
on the rich. They say those evil rich people, if we take their money we can
solve the problem. It's not the evil
rich people. It's the irresponsible evil government.
(APPLAUSE)
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DICKERSON: Dr. Carson
-- Dr. Carson, you're next.
CARSON: This is the first generation not expected
to do better than their parents. Some people say it's the new normal,
but there's nothing normal about it in an exceptional American. I, like you, am
a member of we, the people, and we know that our country is heading off the
cliff.
Joseph Stalin said if
you want to bring America down you, have to undermine three things: our spiritual
life, our patriotism and our morality.
We, the people, can stop that decline, starting right here in South Carolina.
If all the people who say, "I love Ben Carson and his policies, but he
can't win," vote for me, not only can we win, but we can turn this thing
around.
You know, we have
this manipulation by the political class
and by the media telling us who we're supposed to pick and how we're
supposed to live. We, the people, are the only people who will determine that.
And if you elect me as your next president, I promise you that you will get
somebody who is accountable to everybody and beholden to no one.
Thank you. (APPLAUSE)
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STRASSEL: We'll be
back with a few final thoughts in a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DICKERSON: So that's
nine republican debates knocked down and at least three to go. [12 total]
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