MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Montgomery, Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has placed rumored Presidential hopeful Dr. Ben Carson on its “Anti-LGBT Extremist” watch list.
The SPLC named his pro-traditional marriage stance, opposition to ObamaCare, and support for a flat tax as reasons for placing him on the list.
The former world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon vaulted onto the conservative political scene in 2012 when he criticized President Obama’s policies during the National Prayer Breakfast while President and Mrs. Obama looked on from just a few seats away.
Dr. Carson spoke out against the SPLC’s designation, saying, “When embracing traditional Christian values is equated to hatred, we are approaching the stage where wrong is called right and right is called wrong. It is important for us to once again advocate true tolerance. That means being respectful of those with whom we disagree and allowing people to live according to their values without harassment. It is nothing but projectionist when some groups label those who disagree with them as haters.”
Dr. Carson’s place on the SPLC extremist list errantly puts him beside truly violent and hate-filled groups and individuals such as the KKK, Neo-Nazis, and the Westboro Baptist Church.
In 2013 Yellowhammer named the SPLC one of the top 5 liberal groups in the state.
The Montgomery-based SPLC is known nationwide for utilizing the courts to move the country further and further to the left.
Most recently they filed a suit in federal court against Alabama’s first school choice bill. Ironically, SPLC deputy legal counsel Jerri Katzerman told MSNBC that they are “fighting for all children who are in failing schools and don’t have an option to escape them.”
Because stopping school choice legislation gives kids and families more choices, of course.
Dr. Carson was raised by a single mother in a poverty-stricken inner-city Detroit neighborhood. In his bestselling books he describes starting out as a horrible student who eventually learned the value of education. He went on to graduate from Yale, then the University of Michigan Medical School before starting a medical career that culminated with being named the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.
Some conservative groups have been trying to draft Dr. Carson to run for President in 2016, though he has has been reluctant to be forthcoming about a potential presidential run.
Last summer Dr. Carson told Newsweek magazine, “Every place I go, people are saying I got to do this. I certainly can’t just turn my back on my nation that is in so much trouble,” signaling that he may be warming to the idea of running.
His compelling life story has quickly made him a favorite among conservatives, even if questions about his readiness for the national scene linger.
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— Elizabeth BeShears (@LizEBeesh) January 21, 2015
