Over 3,000 people gathered at the steps of the Arkansas State Capitol to welcome GOP candidate Ben Carson, who took the stage after the introduction: “We are proud to have the good doctor in Arkansas; he has a prescription for what ails America.”
An amazing crowd of over 3000 in Little Rock, Arkansas! Thank you so much for the wonderful support. #BC2DC16 pic.twitter.com/ZVKwQRrBkr
— Dr. Ben Carson (@RealBenCarson) August 27, 2015
Carson, famed neurosurgeon-turned-presidential candidate, stood before a crowd holding signs that said “HEAL” and “REVIVE,” and reminisced about history — the history of his childhood and the history of America.
“The early settlers and pioneers, they had a very rough go of it,” he said. “They had what’s known as the ‘can do’ attitude. And they knew how to build roads and constructurally sound bridges and containment facilities and dams. They knew how to invent things when there was a problem. They didn’t sit around complaining about not having something, and you see this is what we must do here in America once again.”
“This is America, and you know we are different,” he said. “We have our own unique culture, we are unique people. Let’s not forget about it, and let’s also not forget that part of our foundation is our Judeo-Christian heritage.”
Carson referenced the First Amendment, saying “people have a right to live by their religious convictions — it doesn’t say freedom from religion, it says freedom of religion.”
“If we continue to throw away the values and principles that made us great for the sake of political correctness, we will go down just as quickly as we rose to the pinnacle,” he said.
Carson said America needs to start looking at things differently, and that in 30 states, people can collect more from government benefits than they can from working a minimum wage job. “A lot of people say, ‘Why should I work, if I can collect all these benefits?’ Well, in the old days, it was a very different attitude,” he said, adding “that’s the thinking that needs to come back today to America.”
Carson criticized America’s fiscal gap, saying most politicians will not talk about it because they want to get reelected, “but I’m not a politician, so I will talk about this,” he said. “If you’re fiscally responsible, there shouldn’t be a gap there. But there is,” he said, “American people have a right to know what we are facing.”
People are playing with our hard-earned money, Carson said. “With the hard-earned money of our parents and our grandparents.”
“We should not tolerate it. We need to get those people out,” he said, “and put people in who are fiscally responsible.”
“There is virtually no business now, particularly small business, that isn’t encumbered by regulations,” Carson said. “Not only does that dampen the spirit of those entrepreneurs, but also every single federal regulation costs you money in terms of goods and services.”
He said that we need to create the right kind of atmosphere so that we can nurture the economic engine of America. “We have to create an environment that encourages entrepreneuristic and capital investment. We have to reform our tax structure.”
Carson said America needs to start treating everyone equally. “I’ll tell you something,” he said, “I grew up as one of those very poor people. And I’ll tell you a secret: poor people also have pride. Poor people also have dignity.” He added that we need to create a ladder so that they can climb up through their hard work “and become part of the fabric of America.”
Carson said there are always people trying to drive wedges between us, but we are not each others’ enemies. Instead, we are all in the same boat. “We are all culturally relevant to each other, and that’s why we’re called the United States of America,” he said. “And all of those people who are trying to drive wedges between us, they are the enemy.”
“If you want a candidate who agrees with you on everything, go look in the mirror, because that’s about the only place you’re going to find them,” he said.
“The problems that face us as a nation right now — they are not Democrat problems, they are not Republican problems, they are American problems. And we as Americans have to solve those problems,” Carson said, adding that we can fix these problems because we are the American people, and we have the “can do” attitude.
@RealBenCarson: We need to build up our military… We are treating our veterans like we don’t know them #arpx #BenCarson
— AR Money & Politics (@amppob) August 27, 2015
“One of the first things that will be done in the Carson administration is that we will once again have the strongest military,” he said, “that, quite frankly, is how we avoid war.”
Carson closed the rally by encouraging the attendees to use their spheres of influence to make a difference and get people to “start talking about: What are they willing to die for? What do they think America stands for?”
“Because freedom is not free,” Carson said, “And you have to fight for it every single day, and now the fight is our fight.”
