Ben Carson: Obamacare Is Worse Than 9/11 And Nickelback Combined

Fresh off his explanation of how Obamacare is the worst thing since slavery and also claiming that food stamps helped his mom get out of poverty but government assistance just makes other people lazy, Dr. Ben "I know as much about economics as Paul Krugman does about neurosurgery" Carson scored another rhetorical triumph in an interview with Evan Gahr in the Daily Beast:

“You said Obamacare was the worst thing since slavery. Why do you think it was worse than 9/11?” I asked him.

“Because 9/11 is an isolated incident,” he answered.

It's a fair comparison: where 9/11 caused hundreds of first responders and clean-up workers in one state to get screwed after Congress refused to pay for their healthcare, the Republicans now want to repeal healthcare for millions of people across the country. So yeah, much bigger.

And then Carson spent a whole bunch of time not giving much of an explanation of how providing health care to tens of millions of people -- which will, yes, cost money -- is actually worse than an attack that killed 3000 Americans, and led to two wars that killed another 8000 Americans and counting (plus a few hundred thousand dead Iraqis and Afghans, who don't count because they're at least free of the burden of Obamacare).

Carson's business manager Armstrong Williams, who was also helpfully hosting the radio show where Gahr interviewed Carson, ran interference for the good doctor, as Carson insisted that "you have to take a long term" view of the issue, and recognize that, compared to a couple of gigantic buildings collapsing and subsequent trillion-dollar military adventures that have destabilized an entire region, there are also much bigger problems that come from creating dependency on government:

Me: “Who do you think caused families more pain—Obamacare or Osama bin Laden?”

Carson: “Let me explain.”

Williams: “Let him answer the question!”

Carson: “Things that are isolated issues as opposed to things that fundamentally change the United Sates of America and shift power from the people to the government. That is a huge shift.”

Me: “Right. But what do you think caused specific families more pain — Obamacare or Osama?”

Carson: “You have to take a long term.”

Me: “You’re not answering the question.”

Carson: “Will you listen? You have to take a long-term look at something that fundamentally changes the power structure of America. You have to be someone who reads. Who is well-read. I want you to go back tonight and pull out what Saul Alinsky says about health care under the control of the government.”

And then Williams ended the interview, because once you've said "Saul Alinsky," you have proven your point conclusively and there is literally nothing more to say, so shut up you rude liberal.

[ Daily Beast via alert tipster "B"]