Carson
used 2014 Election Day to officially change his party affiliation from
independent back to Republican, moving yet another step closer to a possible
2016 presidential run.
Mr. Carson said it made sense to make his party
switch now, well before he decides next spring whether to run for the White
House.“If I make the decision to run, then I clearly don’t want to be
backtracking and do something in a hurry. It’s one of those things I wanted to
be thinking about far ahead.”
In His own word he;s an Independent WATCH VIDEO
“It’s
truly a pragmatic move because I have to run in one party or another. If you
run as an independent, you only risk splitting the electorate,” Mr. Carson
told The Washington Times in an interview Tuesday night shortly after making
the change. “I clearly would not be welcome in the Democratic Party, and so
that only leaves one party.
WATCH VIDEO
“Fortunately, the fit is
pretty good,” he added. “I believe in reasonable sized government. I believe in
personal responsibility. I believe in individual freedom. And I believe in
creating an environment to let free markets grow our economy. And all of that
is very consistent with being a Republican.”
Mr. Carson said he grew up a Democrat but
switched his party affiliation to Republican in the 1980s after listening to
Ronald Reagan.“Like most Democrats who were black I was told most Republicans
were evil, racist people. But then I started listening to Ronald Reagan and I
thought God it just makes so much sense. Let me investigate this,” said Mr. Carson,
who writes a column for The Washington Times.
Mr. Carson said he switched to being an
independent about 15 to 20 years ago after getting a “sour taste” watching Republicans
who had their own personal foibles impeach President Clinton over an
extramarital affair. “I just saw so much hypocrisy in both parties,” he
explained.
