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Explaining the appeal of Ben Carson: Outsider + Christian
In this summer of Donald Trump, there's another
political outsider is now surging in the polls: Ben Carson. In addition
to Saturday's Des Moines Register poll that showed him a close second to Donald Trump in Iowa, a Monmouth poll released yesterday
finds the former neurosurgeon tied with Trump in the Hawkeye State.
What's going on here? Well, part of Carson's appeal can be explained by
his outsider status. Remember, the Des Moines Register poll found that 75% of Republican Iowa caucus-goers
said they were unsatisfied or mad as hell at their own party in
Congress. But what sets Carson apart from the other GOP outsiders --
Trump and Carly Fiorina, who is in third in that Monmouth poll -- is his
explicit Christian faith. Here was Carson talking about taxes at last
month's Cleveland debate: "What I agree with is that we need a
significantly changed taxation system. And the one that I've advocated
is based on tithing, because I think God is a pretty fair guy," Carson
explained. "And he said, you know, if you give me a tithe, it doesn't
matter how much you make. If you've had a bumper crop, you don't owe me
triple tithes. And if you've had no crops at all, you don't owe me no
tithes. So there must be something inherently fair about that. And
that's why I've advocated a proportional tax system."
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