Uncle Ben’s Fried Rice – Congressional Hearings on Chumph Budget

Uncle Ben Carson had a tough day in Congress between the Chumph’s obscene Puerto Rico comments,  and the Chumph Budget cuts….

 

Uncle Ben Gets Trashed

As one of the most disposable members of the Chumph Cartel, you know this day had to come for Uncle Ben Carson…The Journey from House Negro to pariah.

Conservatives target Ben Carson: Why is the HUD secretary, once a right-wing darling, under attack?

Is there a traitor in the Trump administration? Yes, say some hard-right conservatives — and it’s Ben Carson

Ben Carson, Donald Trump’s secretary of housing and urban development (a position that Carson initially claimed to be unqualified to hold), recently said he was “glad that Trump is drawing all the fire so I can get stuff done.” While few people may have noticed when he wandered off and got stuck in an elevator a couple of months ago, Carson shouldn’t be so quick to assume that he isn’t being watched amid the chaos that has consumed the Trump administration.

At one point during the Republican primary campaign, Trump implied his then rival might be a child molester. Then he appointed Carson to his Cabinet, and now the retired surgeon has come under increased criticism from conservative Republicans, who complain he has been too slow to roll back Obama-era policies on housing discrimination. The Conservative Review blasted Carson last week for failing to combat what senior editor Daniel Horowitz described as “Obama’s war on the suburbs.”

The regulation that Republicans want Carson to roll back is known as the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule, finalized by Obama’s former HUD Secretary Julián Castro in 2015. This rule requires 1,200 cities and counties, which get $3 billion of annual community development block grants from the agency, to examine their local housing patterns for racial bias and to design a plan to address any measurable bias.

 Carson recently told the Washington Examiner that he plans to “reinterpret” the controversial fair housing rule — enraging conservatives. His explanation to the Examiner has only served to further upset right-wingers who have fought against the promulgation of the rule for years. Carson pointed to a recent 5-4 Supreme Court ruling that upheld the validity of disparate-impact claims under the Fair Housing Act, a notion conservatives have long opposed.

“I probably am not going to mess with something the Supreme Court has weighed in on,” Carson told the Examiner. “In terms of interpreting what it means — that’s where the concentration is going to be.”

Carson did not provide any detail how exactly the rule will be “interpreted,” but his statement came just days after nearly 20 congressional Republicans asked the secretary to repeal the rule entirely. These GOP lawmakers complained that the rule “would extend reach of the federal government beyond its authority and could take away state and local governments’ ability to make local zoning decisions.”

 HUD is easily one of the most vital federal government agencies, not just for people of color or the poor who need housing assistance in the form of direct subsidies, but for many Americans who want to own a home. The Obama administration didn’t pass any new housing laws. Still, conservatives saw that administration’s attempts to enforce the Fair Housing Act as radical overreach. Republicans like Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona bemoaned the 2015 rule as an unconstitutional federal power grab over local zoning. Frustrated by what they perceived as the Trump administration’s sluggish response, they led a group of Republicans in petitioning Carson to reconsider the rule.

“If any aspect of a community’s housing and demographic patterns fails to meet HUD bureaucrats’ expansive definition of ‘fair housing,’ the local government must submit a plan to reorganize the community’s housing practices according to the preferences and priorities of the bureaucrats,” said Lee, who has been on a years-long crusade against the anti-discrimination effort, in a Senate floor speech last year.

 “This rule can’t be reinterpreted or rehabilitated. Rescission is the only sensible solution,” the conservative National Review recently argued. A Republican member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights also wrote a letter to Carson calling for the rescission of the rule.

In his own 2015 editorial, Carson also blasted HUD’s rule as a “government-engineered attempt to legislate racial equality.” He has not addressed the issue, however, since taking control of HUD. (Lynne Patton, a Trump family party planner turned HUD administrator, did please some Republicans when she acceptedWestchester County, New York’s analysis of its racial disparities –which had been rejected 10 times under the Obama administration.)

Some conservatives now view Carson as a traitor.

“With all the talk of Russian collaboration, I think we have finally found the smoking gun,” wrote Horowitz at the Conservative Review. “This administration is adopting the Stalinist social engineering of local communities. If this administration cannot categorically eliminate such an odious program overnight, it is perhaps a bigger scandal than anything Robert Mueller could ever uncover.”

 

Uncle Ben’s Poor State of Mind

Uncle Ben Carson is as loony tunes as the Chumph and much of his cabinet. How anyone could believe this clown belongs in charge of a Federal agency defies belief.

Yeah, I was listening to one of my old favorites, “New York State of Mind” by Johnny Maths…Gus I’ll be moving into that $30m penthouse on the Park in a day or two!

 

From Renowned Brain Surgeon to “Super Tom” – Ben Carson’s Fall

People in the Baltimore area are well aware of Ben Carson’s mental issues. Now the whole country knows…

Ben Carson’s infinite fall from grace

If we use Ben Carson’s logic on enslaved “immigrants,” Frederick Douglass made it big after a plantation internship

“There were other immigrants who came here in the bottom of slave ships, who worked even longer, even harder, for less.”

That’s a quote from Secretary Ben Carson’s address to Department of Housing and Urban Development employees on Monday. I normally can’t tell when he talks if he’s sleepwalking, delusional or out to lunch, but this is low, even for him.

Watching Ben Carson is becoming more and more painful. As black kid growing up in Baltimore, Dr. Carson, the world-famous pediatric neurosurgeon, was hand delivered to me and my peers as a hero. Not anymore. All his accomplishments in science are diminished now, overshadowed by his infinite fall from grace. Carson’s gone from top doc to Donald Trump’s boy.

I’m not sure where the Republican Party found Ben Carson, but I’ll be glad when they send him back, and I’m not alone. His comments on slavery and immigrants have sparked an explosion of social media backlash, from memes to rants. Pundits are also chiming in on how confused Dr. Carson is about the difference.

On “Anderson Cooper 360″ last night, CNN’s Angela Rye pushed back against Carson’s comments: “Ben Carson said black people worked for less. I have breaking news for Ben Carson today,” she said. “We built this joint for free. We didn’t build it for less.”

Rye said, “So many things about black history, including our last black president, have been trivialized. Maybe I would just throw this away as a mistake, and maybe he just had a gap in his judgment and a gap in his memory, but he also has compared Obamacare to slavery. This is an analogy that Ben Carson tosses around.” Rye added, “He may have some severe misunderstandings about what American slavery really was and how it impacted lives including those of us who sit here today.”

If we use Ben Carson’s logic, Frederick Douglass made it big after his plantation internship, Harriet Jacobs went into servitude for the sole purpose of memoir research and Harriet Tubman was the best tour guide of her time. Carson’s actions have prompted many, including myself, to label him as an Uncle Tom. But we might be wrong about that: “Uncle Tom” may be too good of a title for the HUD secretary.

The term Uncle Tom originates from Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” The title character is portrayed as a God-fearing martyr who is fully dedicated to protecting his fellow enslaved brothers and sisters — so much so that he continuously exploits himself, sacrificing his own freedom and ultimately his life, for their well-being. We clearly know that Carson is a martyr for nothing but his own dwindling reputation and he has yet to display any of these characteristics, so that’s out of the question.

Let’s jump to the more modern definition of Uncle Tom: the sellout, a black person who goes above and beyond to praise, celebrate and honor whiteness; a person who would exploit self, family and friends all in an effort to gain acceptance from white people. Yes, Carson fits that description and has definitely earned the Uncle Tom title. There is one more layer, however, that must be acknowledged: Most Uncle Toms become Uncle Toms out of necessity­­. They develop these behaviors as a coping mechanism, as survival skills needed to excel in a racist society. (People constantly forget that slavery went on for more than 400 years and legally ended only 165 years ago.)

I understand where that mentality comes from. I don’t agree with it, but I understand the reasons why some black people code switch, wear golf pants and suppress parts of their culture with the hope of being accepted as the only black person on campus, the only black person to get that scholarship, the only black person on that cable news show or network. Again, I don’t agree with those actions under any circumstances, unless the person is doing it to create mass opportunities for others — which is rare.

Such people do have an agenda. Those Toms are launching their careers, unlike Carson who is already rich and accomplished. So why is he working for Trump’s administration, making these false and stupid statements about black history? Do we need a new phrase for guys like Carson?

Why would a person so accomplished and considered by many to be a hero — a genius even — use his remaining years on Earth to be a Trump slave? He’s trying to rewrite history and further dehumanize blacks, just like Texas textbooks. I never saw a person so hung up on white validation in my life­­. Carson has surpassed being an Uncle Tom: He’s now a Super Tom, and he can’t sink any lower than that.

 

Uncle Ben Carson Recognizes His Limitations – Refuses Position in Trump Admin

Wow…I honestly didn’t think self-introspection would win over ego. Might just be that even Uncle Ben sees the coming Train Wreck.

BTW Dr Carson – If being a christian means support racist asses like Trump and his fellow republican gestapo…Sign me up for Islam, or Hinduism, or…

Now move on back there to the back of the bus!

Carson not interested in serving in Trump administration

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson has told President-elect Donald Trumpthat he isn’t interested in serving as secretary of Health and Human Services, a Carson ally confirmed to The Hill on Tuesday.

Business manager and close friend Armstrong Williams said Carson won’t join the incoming Trump administration and would only serve as an unofficial adviser.

Circa on Tuesday reported that Carson had been offered the position, citing Williams. But Williams told The Hill that no specific offer had been made.

“Dr. Carson was never offered a specific position, but everything was open to him,” Williams told The Hill in a phone call.

“Dr. Carson feels he has no government experience, he’s never run a federal agency. The last thing he would want to do was take a position that could cripple the presidency.”

The renowned neurosurgeon was one of Trump’s first primary opponents to jump on board his campaign. He was viewed as one of the likely picks to lead the agency that will work to roll back ObamaCare in the new administration.

Reports also pegged him as a candidate for secretary of Education.

Earlier this month, Trump described Carson as a “brilliant physician” and said he hoped Carson “will be very much involved with my administration.”

But Williams said Carson would only advise the president-elect unofficially.

Carson has been looking for ways to be influential outside of government, including his My Faith Votes, a group that looks to motivate Christian voters.

 

Uncle Ben Endorses Trump…”Because he offered me a job”!

Uncle Ben will impress the guests wearing that tux and bow tie in the White House… And pouring the wine after setting the tables.

Got just the job for you, boy!

Ben Carson: I Didn’t Want To Endorse Trump, But He Promised Me A Position

Dr. Ben Carson, who endorsed Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy on Friday, appears less than enthusiastic about that decision. And the real reason the unsuccessful GOP presidential hopeful endorsed his former rival could be a violation of federal law.

Carson told the conservative online site NewsMax TV on Monday that he backed Trump based on a practical calculus.

“I didn’t see a path for [John] Kasich, who I like, or for [Marco] Rubio, who I like. As far as [Ted] Cruz is concerned, I don’t think he’s gonna be able to draw independents and Democrats unless has has some kind of miraculous change… Is there another scenario that I would have preferred? Yes. But that scenario isn’t available.” Pressed to clarify, Carson said he meant he’d prefer to have backed one of the other candidates.

Carson then said that Trump had promised him a role in his administration, “certainly in an advisory capacity.” Asked by NewsMax’s Steve Malzberg whether this meant a cabinet position, Carson declined to “reveal any details about it right now, because all of this is still very liquid.”

Federal law expressly prohibits candidates from directly or indirectly promising “the appointment of any person to any public or private position or employment, for the purpose of procuring support in his candidacy.” The penalty for violations could include fines or a year in jail — two years if the violation was willful.

 

Uncle Ben Gets a New Gig Shilling for “christian” Super Pac

Follow the money, Ben…Is uhhhhh Armstrong going to be your advisory?

“Black Jesus” and Uncle Ben

Christian PAC hires Ben Carson as national chairman

After announcing the end of his campaign for the White House, Dr. Ben Carson announced that he will serve as the national chairman for My Faith Votes (MFV). MFV focuses on getting out the Christian vote in November.

Addressing an audience at CPAC, Carson observed, “Even though I might be leaving the campaign trail, you know there’s a lot of people who love me. They just won’t vote for me. … But it’s okay. It’s not a problem. I will still continue to be heavily involved in trying to save our nation.”

Carson later explained his decision to end his campaign. He said he looked at the delegate count and realized it simply wasn’t going to happen; that being the case, he didn’t want to interfere with the political process. Carson stopped short of endorsing another Republican candidate but defended Donald Trump, saying that Mitt Romney’s attack on Trump would destroy the unity within the party and help the Democrats. “People who think Donald Trump would be the worst thing that ever happened … you make a really big mistake by trying to thwart the will of the people.”

My Faith Votes announced that it will launch a national media campaign that will gain speed heading into the November presidential election. MFV President Sealy Yates released a statement saying that more than 25 million Christians didn’t even bother to vote in 2012. Carson agreed to take on the position on Wednesday, the same day he announced he was suspending his campaign.

 

Clown Bus Update – Ben Carson Toast

Uncle Ben Ends His Campaign

No surprise here from the beginning.

Ben Carson, Seeing No ‘Path Forward,’ Signals End to Bid

Ben Carson, the only Republican to have once threatened the lead of Donald J. Trump in national polls, said on Wednesday he saw no path forward and would skip a debate on Thursday in his hometown of Detroit, signaling an end to his candidacy after paltry performances in the nominating contests.

Stopping short of suspending his campaign, Mr. Carson said he would provide more details in a speech on Friday, but after his dismal showing in the Super Tuesday states, his campaign is effectively over.

A retired pediatric brain surgeon of world renown, Mr. Carson long held Republicans’ favor with an uplifting biography and a quiet manner that belied his strafing critiques of President Obama and liberalism, which delighted grass-roots conservatives.

In the end, Mr. Carson withered under mocking insults hurled at him by Mr. Trump, especially in Iowa, and he suffered from voters’ desire for a candidate projecting strength at a time of anxiety over terrorism.

“Dr. Carson’s favorability ratings have never changed,” Armstrong Williams, a close adviser, said just before the Iowa caucuses last month, when Mr. Carson finished a disappointing fourth. “But after Paris and San Bernardino, his supporters made a different decision. They wanted a war president. Dr. Carson did not have the rhetoric or the competitiveness on the debate stage to say the explosive things, to say, ‘Let’s keep all the Muslims out.”’

Even in a year of fierce anti-establishment leanings, Mr. Carson’s months-long popularity, coupled with the prodigious support of small donors — his $20 million collected last summer led all other candidates – stunned political professionals.

Born into poverty and raised by a single mother with a third-grade education, Mr. Carson remade himself from a wayward teenager into a scholar, winning admission to Yale and medical school. By 33, he was the chief of a major department at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He burst on the political scene in 2013 when he criticized President Obama’s health care plan at the National Prayer Breakfast, a video watched over and over by delighted conservatives.

After his disappointing showing in the Iowa caucuses, Mr. Carson never seemed to regain his political footing. In the round of Super Tuesday contests Tuesday, his hopes for a strong performance in the South faltered, as he ran a distant fourth or fifth in every state.

“I do not see a political path forward in light of last evening’s Super Tuesday primary results,” Mr. Carson said in a statement. “However, this grassroots movement on behalf of ‘We the People’ will continue.”

“I appreciate the support, financial and otherwise, from all corners of America,” Mr. Carson said. “Gratefully, my campaign decisions are not constrained by finances; rather by what is in the best interests of the American people.”

 

Trevor Noah Takes Away Uncle Ben’s Black Card

Trevor Noah eviscerates Uncle Ben’s assertion about who is black…

 

 

Uncle Ben’s Best Sno’ Ho’ Impersonation

Caribou Barbie is known for nonsensical stream of (non)consciousness blathering in front of elderly male right wing fans who are stupider than she is (the Viagra generation).

Apparently the plan to resuscitate Uncle Ben’s rapidly collapsing campaign is to imitate Palin.

Uhhhhh…Uncle Ben…

“Putin” is not a country…

It is the world’s second most powerful superpower…

And while they make a lot of money on oil and gas…Their economy is still $2 Trillion a year – 9th largest in the world.

 

Uncle Ben …Going Down

Th anticipated implosion of Uncle Ben Carson is accelerating…The rats, they are deserting the sinking ship.

Ben Carson campaign manager, communications director quit

Ben Carson campaign manager Barry Bennett and communications director Doug Watts have resigned.

Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, has struggled in the polls since October when he was rivaling Donald Trump for the lead in the Republican presidential race.

“Barry Bennett and I have resigned from the Carson campaign effective immediately,” Watts said in a statement. “We respect the candidate and we have enjoyed helping him go from far back in the field to top tier status.”

Watts added: “We are proud of our efforts for Dr Carson and we wish him and his campaign the best of luck.”

Carson’s campaign has raised more than $23 million in the fourth quarter of 2015, his campaign said Wednesday, although it would not say how much cash it has on hand.

The resignations were first reported by the Des Moines Register.

 

 

Larry Flynt Goes After Carson’s Hypocrisy

Black conservative Armstrong Williams is Uncle Ben Carson’t chief adviser. Back in the late 90’s Armstrong was outed by the Gay community in Washington, DC, right after he was sued for sexual harassment of his personal trainer. The case was settled out of court. Armstrong had supported anti-LGBT Republicans, and published anti-LGBT pieces in his column to that point. A lot of ugly about Armstrong hit the mainstream press. The point that he was Gay, wasn’t unknown in DC circles long before this came out – the part about him physically forcing himself on other men being an issue.

During the Bushit Administration Armstrong was caught planting favorable articles in his then syndicated Opinion pieces, for cash. The Bushit Administration paid him large sums of money to support their positions favorably. Armstrong is your typical black conservative scumbag, who when you look behind the thin veneer of respectability, has a lot of ugly to hide. Which makes the “Holier than thou”, supposedly anti-gay Carson’s relationship with Armstrong a bit strange…

 

Hustler Has A $1 Million Offer Out On Ben Carson’s Adviser For Proof Of Man-On-Man Harassment

In 1998, Armstrong Williams was accused of sexually harassing his personal trainer.

Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt is offering up to $1 million to anyone who can prove that a top adviser to Republican presidential hopeful Ben Carson is guilty of male-on-male sexual harassment.

In an open letter published Monday in The Las Vegas Review-Journal, Flynt vows to fork over between “$50,000 and $1 million” to anyone with proof that the long-standing claims against Armstrong Williams, who is also a conservative radio personality, are true, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In 1998, Williams was accused of sexual harassment by his former personal trainer, Stephen Gregory, on more than 50 separate incidents, SF Gate reported. Gregory claimed that Williams had “repeatedly kissed him on the mouth, grabbed his buttocks and genitals, and climbed into bed with him on business trips.” When Gregory rejected his advances, Williams allegedly fired him, according to the report.

The case was ultimately settled out of court, but thanks to Flynt, Williams’ sordid past has come back to haunt him and his new boss. Carson, of course, has beenoutspoken in his opposition to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community — a fact that hasn’t gone unnoticed by Flynt, as he pointed out in the open letter.

“Dr. Carson, you claim to be an advocate of traditional family values,” the open letter reads. “You have opposed same-sex marriage, accusing marriage equality advocates of ‘directly attacking the relationship between God and his people.’ Yet, you have partnered with an accused sexual predator.”

Deeming Carson “a hypocrite,” Flynt calls upon the candidate to disavow “any and all” relationships with Williams before the GOP debate on Dec. 15, or else he’ll follow through the offer to “anyone who can provide confirmable information” regarding the claims.

There’s apparently been no word from the Carson camp just yet. Still, we’ll be anxious to see how this shakes out, especially since Carson threatened to leave the Republican party just days ago.

 

Uncle Ben Threatens to Take His Marble and Go Home

Uncle Ben, whose candidacy is now in free fall after being exposed as a fraud is now threatening to leave the Republican Party if he doesn’t win.

Poor Baby!

Ben Carson Threatens To Leave The GOP

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson may consider an independent bid for the White House, angry over a report on Republican Party maneuvering involving this summer’s national nominating convention, U.S. media reported on Friday.

Carson was angry over a Washington Post report that Republican leaders were preparing for a brokered convention to pick their 2016 White House candidate.

“If it is correct, every voter who is standing for change must know they are being betrayed. I won’t stand for it,” Carson said in statement, Politico and CNN reported. If the report was accurate, he said, “I assure you Donald Trump won’t be the only one leaving the party.”

 

Uncle Ben’s Fall

It appears that, for one candidate at least…Things have caught up.

Ben Carson tumbles in national poll

The retired neurosurgeon plummets 7 points from last month, while Trump solidifies his dominating lead.

Ben Carson took a tumble in the latest national poll, falling 7 points from last month in the Quinnipiac University survey, after weathering heavy criticism for his lack of foreign policy expertise and scrutiny about his personal tale of redemption.

After pulling a virtual tie with Donald Trump in the previous poll, the retired neurosurgeon dropped to third place with 16 percent support among Republican respondents. Trump moved up 3 percentage points to dominate the field at 27 percent.

Also enjoying a bump — Sen. Marco Rubio, who moved up 3 percentage points and into second place with 17 percent support, and Sen. Ted Cruz, who also gained 3 percentage points and tied with Carson at 16 percent. The 3-point hikes for Trump, Rubio and Cruz are all within the poll’s margin of error.

Behind Trump and the triumvirate vying for position behind the Manhattan businessman, no other candidate finished in the double digits.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush earned 5 percent, followed by former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina at 3 percent. No other candidate received more than 2 percent support, and 8 percent of respondents were undecided.

Carson’s dip follows a series of unforced errors, including a flap over his assertion that China is involved in the Syrian conflict and his struggle to answer what nations he would call first to form a coalition against the Islamic State. He also has come under increased scrutiny for the stories he has often retold about his violent childhood and his religious redemption that helped him to become a highly successful pediatric neurosurgeon.

After surging in the early fall, nipping at the heels of Trump and even surpassing him in some polls, Carson appears to be settling back down in some surveys.

 

 

Sympathy for the Devil…Black Folks and Ben Carson

In an America where segregation is part of living memory of many over 55, and black periodicals published and lauded many black “firsts” – for some it is very difficult to see past skin color, and look in askance at a fellow black person. The black community has been continuously harmed, time after time in supporting black politicians who are crooks (Kwame Kilpatrick, Ray Nagin, “Dollar Bill” WIlliam Jefferson, Larry Langford ), or have moral failures, DC’s own Marion Barry. Few have accomplished more harm to black communities around the country than the corrupt, the crooked, and the wicked who misuse their positions of trust…

Yet that “skin like me” thing typically provides scant shelter to that class of black folks whose moral and ethical standards allow them to carry the banner for conservative racism. That isn’t to say that being Republican and black makes one persona non grata. We certainly have seen evidence of community support for Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice. The buckdancing Uncle Tom conservative types don’t feel the love, AKA Herman Cain, and Alan West.

Republicans try and counter that in seeking out black folks of “exceptional accomplishment”. It’s a thin wallpaper.

So why are some black folks still confused about Uncle Ben Carson?

Home is where the self-hatred is…Indeed.

Many African-Americans see two sides to Ben Carson

Ayauna King-Baker loved Ben Carson’s “Gifted Hands” memoir so much that she made her daughter Shaliya read it. So when Carson showed up in town to sign copies of his new book, King-Baker dragged the giggly 13-year-old along to the bookstore so they could both meet him.

To King-Baker, Carson’s “up-by-your-bootstraps” life story makes him a genuine celebrity worth emulating in the African-American community. But she’s also a Pompano Beach Democrat watching Carson rise in the Republican presidential polls.

For King-Baker and many other African-Americans, the vast majority of whom are Democrats, there are two Carsons: One is a genius doctor and inspirational speaker and writer who talks of limitless horizons; the other is a White House candidate who pushes conservative politics and wishes to “de-emphasize race.”

How they reconcile the two may help determine whether Republicans can dent the solid support Democrats have enjoyed in the black community for decades.

President Barack Obama won 95 percent of the black vote in 2008 and 93 percent in 2012. Carson wasn’t immune to the excitement of seeing the U.S. elect its first black president.

“I don’t think there were any black people in the country that weren’t thrilled that that happened – including me,” Carson told The Associated Press in a recent interview when asked about Obama’s first victory. “Everyone had hope this would be something different. It was nice having that hope for a little while.”

Carson has since become an aggressive critic of Obama. Carson rose to prominence in the tea party movement after repudiating the president’s health care law in front of Obama during the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast. Today, Carson charges that Obama’s performance has actually set black candidates back.

“I don’t think he’s made my path any easier,” he said. “So many people said there’d never be another black president for 100 years after this.”

Carson has not gone out of his way to court black voters this year. He insists he won’t change his message to attract specific audiences, although his campaign tried a rap-filled ad this month.

He already has one convert – King-Baker. She says she plans to change her registration to vote for the doctor in the Florida primary. “He has the momentum, he has the conversation, he’s very serious, he’s speaking to the people, and I just think he would be a very good president,” she said.

None of this will matter unless Carson survives the primaries, where he’s been leading in early preference polls.

Black votes aren’t a major factor in GOP primaries. Only about 16 percent of African-American voters affiliated with the Republican Party in 2012. But they will be a factor in the November general election.

African-American voters are one of the few growing segments of the voting public. The percentage of black voters eclipsed the percentage of whites for the first time in 2012, when 66 percent of blacks voted, compared with 64 percent of non-Hispanics whites and about 48 percent of Hispanics and Asians.

Carole Bell, a professor of communication studies at Northeastern University, estimates that Carson could attract as much as 25 percent of the African-American vote if he’s the GOP candidate. “That would be a tremendous accomplishment for the GOP at this stage,” she said.

Carson is better known by African-American voters than were other black Republicans who ran for president, such as businessman Herman Cain, who achieved passing prominence in the 2012 race, and former ambassador Alan Keyes before him.

Carson was a celebrated figure before he entered politics because of his work as a neurosurgeon. Carson led a team that successfully separated conjoined twins, which led to movie appearances, best-selling books, a television biography and a motivational speaking career that crossed racial lines.

“Black people were proud that Carson had become a famous surgeon and had accomplished what no one else ever had in separating the twins,” said Fredrick Harris, director of the Institute for Research in African-American Studies at Columbia University.

That’s part of his appeal, said Rebecca Britt, 43, a registered Democrat who also came to see Carson in Fort Lauderdale and buy his most recent book. “He’s one of the heroes in our community, with what he’s been able to accomplish in the medical field,” she said.

But can that translate into many black votes?

Carson has said he would not support a Muslim for president, a position his campaign says helped him raise money and attract conservative support. He’s been critical of the Black Lives Matter movement, which drew its name from protests that followed the death of an unarmed black 18-year-old, Michael Brown.

The retired neurosurgeon told the AP that Americans should take the focus off of race during a recent trip to Brown’s hometown, Ferguson, Missouri.

Carson may draw support from conservative African-Americans and those already in the GOP, but it’s unlikely that he would make major inroads in the Democratic Party’s dominance among blacks in a general election, said D’Andra Orey, a political science professor at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi.

Given the GOP’s fraught history with African-Americans, it could be “nearly impossible for blacks to support a Republican who espouses what they deem to be racially conservative rhetoric,” Orey said. “Put short, it’s an uphill battle for any Republican who seeks out the black vote.”