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November 06, 2015 11:44 AM UTC

Is Ben Carson Hosed?

  • 43 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols
Ben Carson.
Ben Carson.

The big story in the 2016 Republican presidential primary hunt today is an apparent major “factual error” (euphemism for “load of bullshit”) in the bio of Ben Carson, the retired Detroit neurosurgeon who recently overtook Donald Trump in national polls. Politico:

Ben Carson’s campaign on Friday admitted, in a response to an inquiry from POLITICO, that a central point in his inspirational personal story was fabricated: his application and acceptance into the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

The academy has occupied a central place in Carson’s tale for years. According to a story told in Carson’s book, “Gifted Hands,” the then-17 year old was introduced in 1969 to Gen. William Westmoreland, who had just ended his command of U.S. forces in Vietnam, and the two dined together. That meeting, according to Carson’s telling, was followed by a “full scholarship” to the military academy.

West Point, however, has no record of Carson applying, much less being extended admission.

“In 1969, those who would have completed the entire process would have received their acceptance letters from the Army Adjutant General,” said Theresa Brinkerhoff, a spokeswoman for the academy. She said West Point has no records that indicate Carson even began the application process. “If he chose to pursue (the application process), then we would have records indicating such,” she said.

When presented with these facts, Carson’s campaign conceded the story was false.

Needless to say, it’s a huge problem for Carson to have lied about this, and the real question is how much damage this will do in a presidential race so far dominated by the bombastic and often factually-challenged Trump. Carson has paid considerable attention to Colorado Republican caucusgoers/primary voters in recent months, and has been rewarded with support–even being called “Christ-like” in his oratorical style by a local conservative. In August, Carson drew a large crowd to a park in Durango to vilify the Environmental Protection Agency in the aftermath of the Animas River minewater spill.

What say you, Polsters? Has Carson cooked his own goose with this not-so-little embellishment, or might GOP primary voters be willing to overlook it to keep a Trump alternative in contention?

Don’t worry, your anonymity is safe with us. So speak your mind, Carson won’t be able to shank you.

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43 thoughts on “Is Ben Carson Hosed?”

    2. My husband's cousin went to the Airforce Academy. He obtained the appintment through his members of congress. And, you're right. It was free but you  graduate with a service obligation.  Figured it wpuld be the same for West Point and realized I didn't know if congressional appointment was the only route(it's not) so I googled it. Surprised nobody bothered to challeng Carson's story a long time ago. Here's how you get into West Point. The man seems to have some form of mental illness.

      Nominations

      After determining that you meet the basic requirements to become a cadet, you should begin seeking nominations. In order to be considered for admission at West Point, you need to be nominated. There are two types of nominations, theCongressional Nomination and the Service-Connected Nomination.

      We understand this may be an unfamiliar process to you, so it is important you learn what to do and by when. Below is additional information on how to obtain a Congressional Nomination and/or a Service-Connected Nomination. Please read this carefully and contact an Admissions Officer for further questions.  Forms are available to fill out by clicking on the links under the respective information sections.

      Our online viewbook, or “Prospectus,” is a great source of information. You can find sample request letters and mailing addresses there. Below are some more tips that will help you get started.

      Congressional Nominations – Who Can Nominate?

      The Vice President

      U.S. Senators

      U.S. Representatives

      Delegates to the House of Representatives from Washington, D.C., the Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands

      The Governor of Puerto Rico

      The Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico

      The Secretary of the Army

      What to Do:

      Apply for every nomination for which you are eligible. At minimum, send a request to the two U.S. senators from your state, your congressional representative in the House of Representatives and the Vice President.

      Begin seeking nominations in the spring of your junior year, or as soon as you apply to West Point. Do not delay! The nomination deadlines vary, but they are deadlines, not suggested or preferred dates. If you miss a deadline, there are no exceptions. Applicants must complete the online VP nomination application during the application period of March 1 to January 31 preceding the year of entrance to the academy. Don’t take a chance on missing a deadline. Start early!

      Find out whether you are eligible for nominations related to military service. For example, sons and daughters of career military personnel may be eligible for presidential nominations. Please check the online Prospectus for more information.

      Return to MenuService-Connected Nominations – Who Can Apply?

      The category "career military personnel" refers to members of an armed force (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard) who are on active duty (other than for training) and currently serving with at least eight years of continuous service on active duty, or who are, or who died while they were, retired with pay or granted retired or retainer pay. Also included are service members currently serving in the reserve component who are credited with at least eight continuous years of service computed under section 12733 of Title 10, United States Code. Finally, reservists who would be, or who died while they would have been, entitled to retirement pay except for not having attained 60 years of age are also included in this category.

      To request a nomination under this category, submit your commander's endorsement, which is included in your application. Please provide your commander with the following Commander's Guidance that can be used during his interview with you. Soldiers who are not offered an appointment to West Point are automatically considered for enrollment in the United States Military Academy Preparatory School (USMAPS).

      This category is for sons and daughters of deceased or 100% disabled Armed Forces veterans whose death or disability was determined by the Veterans' Administration to be service-connected, and for sons and daughters of military personnel or federally employed civilians who are in a missing or captured status.

      Sons and daughters of Medal of Honor winners are eligible under this category.

      Applicants currently enrolled in an Army Junior or Senior Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program or an ROTC program from another branch of service that has been designated as an Honor Unit with Distinction are eligible for a nomination in this category. A request for a ROTC Nomination should be made through your Professor of Military Science or Senior Instructor who must fill out and submit a Request forROTC Nomination (Form 5-497) to the Director of Admissions, U.S. Military Academy.

      NOTE: You must have Adobe Reader installed on your computer to view the Sample Statement below. A free version of the Adobe Reader software is available for download at the Adobe website http://www.Adobe.com    

      Sons and Daughters of "career military personnel" (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard)

      Must furnish a statement of service, retirement orders, or casualty report

      A stepparent's military service is applicable for this category only if the applicant was adopted.

      Regular Army and Reserve Components (Army, Army Reserve, and Army National Guard)

      Sons and Daughters of Deceased or Disabled Armed Forces Veterans

      Include a brief statement concerning the date, place and cause of death or the details of disability together with the claim number assigned to the veteran parent's case by the Veteran's Administration (if appropriate).

      Sons and Daughters of Persons Awarded the Medal of Honor

      Include a brief statement of the date and circumstances of the award of the Medal of Honor, if applicable.

      Army Junior and Senior ROTC Programs and Honor ROTC Units of Other Services

      Applicants currently enrolled in an Army Junior or Senior Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program or an ROTC program from another branch of service that has been designated as an Honor Unit with Distinction are eligible for a nomination in this category. A request for a ROTC Nomination should be made through your Professor of Military Science or Senior Instructor who must fill out and submit a Request for ROTC Nomination (Form 5-497) to the Director of Admissions, U.S. Military Academy.”

       

      http://www.usma.edu/admissions/sitepages/apply_nominations.aspx

    1. Yep, the Republican Iowa caucus-goers are already building pyramids to store grain, and wondering why they didn't think of this sooner.

      I do think it's a special kind of accomplishment that Carson has been involved in TWO pyramid schemes.

      2. A few years ago, a Republican Party official in New Hampshire was decrying how Iowa was eclipsing the Granite State as first-in-the-nation to vote. He argued that NH was a more accurate bellweather since most of the Iowa caucus-goers wore tin foil hats. 

  3. West Point is not only free, the Cadets are paid and the four years counts toward their pensions if they stay in.  I used to be editor of the post newspaper, the Pointer View.  The cadets work very hard but are free of the financial worries besetting other college students and their families. 

  4. It's a high-tech lynching engineered by the liberal media to trash a good man of God who has a compelling, albeit at least partially fictional, narrative to tell.

    2. Still, a GOPer hero! I mean this assclown has already admitted to trying to shank his best friend, and asking a robber to shoot a store clerk instead of himself, who gives a fat FOX if he lied about any or all of his accomplishments — hell, that's what GOPers are expected to do!!

      The only way Carson goes down is if he admits to being a closet atheist, or says he believes in gravity or science, or something else that's truly unforgivable …

      1. Gotta give it to ol' Doc Carson, he certainly does have a "fertile" (or is that fertilizer?) imagination.

        But seriously, if it starts a debate among the candidates and media over who is the biggest fibber, that can only help cull the GOP clown herd.

        CarLIE FIBorina and The Donald — we're lookin' at you!

         

        1. Absolutely not….. If push comes to shove in the GOP, and it's a credibility showdown between these clowns with their overactive imaginations and the mainstream media, most True Believers will find in favor of clowns and reject what is being reported in the NY Times or on CNN.

           

          1. My hope actually is that the other candidates will start using all these whoppers against each other in the quest to climb up the polls.  

            Leading perhaps to a Pyrrhic victor who will go on to get crushed in the general.

        2. Seriously, though the difference seems to be that the lies of other candidates serve a purpose. They are mainly misinformation to attack others or embellish their own accomplishments. Carson just seems to be a compulsive fabulist who lives in a self created fantasy world.

          And of course his real world, the world of an African American man having become a rich successful top of his field famous brain surgeon/hero, is not exactly the kind of world you'd think a rational person would feel the need to flee from into a fantasy world in the first place. It's a pretty great world. So why the Walter Mitty fantasy world?

          There is something seriousy wrong with this man.  

      2. Turns out he probably lied about trying to knife his best friend, too.  Or changed the friend's name to protect the innocent (or more likely protect himself from yet another lie being debunked).  Lying isn’t going to hurt him with the Repub base. What will bring him down is the fundies finding out what SDAers are all about.

        TPM had a piece up about Carson's ignorance–easily accounted for, they go to SDA schools from kindie through medical school, so they are not exposed to a lot of differences in opinion.  I happen to like the SDA approach to life, but as a former fundie, I can promise you once the fundies get a load of the SDA belief system, Carson is toast.  Just like Rmoney was toast for being Mormon.

    1. Herman was just garden variety ignorant of the facts. Carson makes stuff up all over the place for no strategic reason. When confronted with incontrovertible proof that his story is fiction, as with the West Point story, he doesn't seem the least perturbed or ashamed. 

      Carson isn't just a blowhard like Trump or Cain. His flat emotionless demeanor and lack of shame or embrrassment on being caught in a whopper as big the West Point fairy tale make me think he has some constellation of mental abnormalities probably including being a true sociopath. 

      In a Republican universe where he and Trump are alternating in first place do I think any of this hurts him with GOP primary voters?  Not so much.

      1. " . . . makes stuff up all over the place for no strategic reason" is a pretty good definition of pathological liar.

        And, I agree – probably a true sociopath.

    1. Yeah, Rubio really needs the $400k salary to get right-side up with his personal finances.  Plus all the post-Pres perks.

      But there is the little matter of Rubio's own origin story:

      In October 2011, Senator Marco Rubio revised the biography that appears on his office website. He had no choice. Throughout his political career, he deceived Floridians, adoring Republican audiences and donors, journalists, fellow officeholders and others by claiming that his parents fled the Cuba of Fidel Castro. This is a lie exposed by hard journalism in the Washington Post.

       

      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arturo-lopez-levy/marco-rubio-cuba-family-story_b_7058486.html

      So, Moddy, pick your favorite pathological liar — you have plenty to choose from.

      1. But what good is an origin story based on his parents fleeing the repressive Batista regime we supported three years before Castro took over?  Don't be such a buzz kill. Next you'll be wanting us to include Saudi Arabia in the Axis of Evil.cheeky

    2. Perhaps he'll look to a real Colorado Republican and choose Scott Gessler as his running mate.

      Rubio-Gessler, 2016!  Why settle for mere graft, when you can get incompetence too?!

    3. I'm sure that suit that's making him look so Presidential was bought with a credit card, perhaps his own but who knows, that has a hefty balance being carried at a ridiculously-high interest rate …

      … either that, or was a "gift" from some billionaire (who, not coincidently, Rubio also owes a hefty repayment at a ridiculously-high carrying charge) ???

    7. Moddy, is that an endorsement of Marco Rubio on your part? Isn't he a little too liberal for your taste?

      I have to say that out of that group that is the front of the GOP pack (Trump, Carson, Fiorina, Cruz and Rubio), Rubio does look relatively good. Once you get past the personal finance stuff and the not liking his current day job. Oh, and his support for immigration reform will go over well with Joe Arpaio, Steven King and Tank (although Tank may no longer be a member of the GOP). 

  10. I am enjoying (way too much) watching Ben Carson melt down in his press conference about the West Point matter. Covered live on MSNBC at 5.  Talk about shrill?  Carson's voice goes up into the falsetto range. He looks ready to jump over those microphones and smack somebody.

    He is attacking the media while he is being questioned by the media. His aide is chewing the inside of his cheek.

    I'm sure his base will give him big points for "standing up to teh librul mediazz”.

    1. Rand Paul is interviewing for the VP slot on Carson's ticket. Chris Matthews is interviewing Paul, who is defending Carson: "Sometimes we make a mountain out of a molehill," etc, and bringing up his own lil white lies (e.g., that he completed college with a biology degree.) So it's a proxy interview.

      I can't stand Chris Matthews. He's every bit as rude and arrogant as Bill O'Reilly – interrupts, talks over, and finishes the sentences of his guests. Matthews is much truthier, however. Otherwise, he'd just be that big jerk who can't stand to hear any voice but his own.

      I want to see Chris Matthews interview Ben Carson. I bet Carson would jam the microphone up Matthews' nose. It would be very entertaining.

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