Move Over, Trump

by Justin Soutar

Billionaire real estate tycoon and casino owner Donald Trump's unduly long stretch as the leading Republican presidential candidate is finally nearing its end, thank goodness. After enjoying a remarkably solid two and a half months in the mainstream media limelight standing head and shoulders above the rest of the gradually shrinking GOP field, public opinion polls now indicate that Trump's lengthy popularity surge has finally begun to abate. Meanwhile, the polls are also registering a remarkable development that has shocked the mainstream media and startled the Republican Party establishment: Trump not only has a challenger, but a robust challenger at that, in an independent Tea Party candidate with steadily growing grassroots support who was widely dismissed as a longshot just five months ago when he entered the race: retired neurosurgeon, author, speaker, and philanthropist Dr. Benjamin S. Carson. Furthermore, these same polls reveal that Donald Trump is no longer the undisputed leader of the GOP pack in the race for his party's presidential nomination. Ben Carson is now tied with him and--according to some of the latest polls--he actually surpasses Trump in popularity, making him the new front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.

How did this happen? How did a relatively unknown, somewhat older, mild-mannered, intelligent and compassionate world-class neurosurgeon from Middle America whom few took seriously as presidential material five months ago--a grassroots Tea Party candidate with no previous political experience, no Washington connections, little mainstream media attention, and no financial backing from large corporations--manage to travel from relative obscurity to the head of the pack? The answer is that for a number of years, through his well-written books and straightforward, easy-to-understand talks, Dr. Ben Carson has been quietly winning the hearts and minds of millions of Americans all over this country with his inspiring story of personal achievement, his devout Christian faith and traditional moral values, his irreproachable character as a man of honesty and integrity, and his hope-filled vision for America's future based on our country's founding principles. Furthermore, Dr. Carson's brilliant and courageous impromptu address at the 2013 National Prayer Breakfast revealed him to the public as the most articulate conservative since Ronald Reagan, catapulting him into the political spotlight and unwittingly igniting a nationwide grassroots movement to get him to run for president. Over the next two years, that movement to draft Ben Carson into the Republican presidential contest continued to grow, slowly but steadily, until the persistent clamoring finally convinced the reticent Dr. Carson to enter the race this past May. Ever since then, his name recognition and grassroots support have continued to grow steadily, albeit at a somewhat accelerated pace.

The saga of Ben Carson's rise from oblivion to prominence as a Republican presidential candidate within a remarkably short period of time is unlike that of any other candidate for the GOP nomination. Wealthy contenders like Jeb Bush and Donald Trump have spent buckets of cash to rocket their way into the limelight virtually overnight, but they have been unable to sustain their lead in polls because they are not trustworthy conservatives to begin with. Two other candidates, Senators Rand Paul and Marco Rubio, may enjoy stellar Tea Party credentials, but for one reason or another, both seem to have reached their plateau in the polls and cannot get above third or fourth place. Several other candidates including Rick Santorum and Carly Fiorina have temporarily surged to second or third place by performing well in a debate, only to lose momentum and drop behind because they had failed to firmly connect with their audience. And all of the other candidates have either dropped out of the race or remained more or less stuck in the longshot category, watching their single-digit popularity rise and fall with changing winds of public opinion. Only Ben Carson has made slow but steady progress towards clinching the GOP nomination. As the old saying goes, "Slow and steady wins the race." The 2016 Republican presidential nominee won't be the candidate who made the biggest flash in the pan; it'll be the one who has made the best and most thorough preparation at the grassroots level among primary election voters in key states. That unique candidate is Dr. Benjamin Carson.

Based on the excellent progress he has made so far, it is quite realistic to expect that Dr. Carson's popularity will continue to rise even further in the coming weeks, allowing him to emerge as the clear and undisputed front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination. Whether he will maintain that solid lead over the rest of the GOP field for the next three months until the first presidential primary elections begin to take place in January 2016 remains to be seen, of course, but it is possible that he will achieve just that, leading the Republican Party to coalesce firmly around his candidacy and make him their presidential standard bearer as the GOP nominee.

We Americans are getting very sick and tired of the corrupt, well-connected, politically correct establishment politicians and candidates who are incessantly fawned upon by the equally corrupt mainstream media, candidates who promise to look out for our nation's best interests and then betray us for the sake of their own careers once they arrive in Washington. We want a trustworthy candidate for president--a God-fearing citizen statesman who will govern wisely in accordance with our Creator's law and the Constitution, a true leader who will speak the truth (or what he believes to be the truth) and who will make the right decision (or what he believes to be the right decision) in each situation regardless of corporate pressure, public opinion, or political considerations. And we the people, tens of millions of us, are coming to realize that Dr. Carson is exactly the trustworthy leader our country needs for president at this crucial moment in our history. He has the impeccable character, the religious and moral values, the respect for our Constitution, the real-life experience, the unique talents, and the inspiring vision required to return our country to greatness. That's why we are uniting to rally around him for president--and that's why we the people are going to nominate and elect Dr. Benjamin Solomon Carson as the next president of the United States.

Go Dr. Carson!


Copyright 2015 Justin D. Soutar. All rights reserved.