Dr. Ben Carson opened this year's
Conservative Political Action Conference Thursday with a few jabs against "purveyors of division" before turning the subject to a discussion on Obamacare, making a call for Republicans to come up with a healthcare reform policy of their own.
"They need to grasp a healthcare alternative before they remove Obamacare if they really want to gain some traction," Carson told the audience at this year's event, which opened at the Gaylord Nelson Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.
The annual event attracts key conservatives, but this year's is bringing in many potential GOP presidential candidates for the 2016 nomination and giving them a powerful platform to introduce themselves to the party's conservative activists.
In recent years, though, the conference has leaned more libertarian,
reports Politico, allowing Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul to take the straw poll held at the end of last year's event.
Paul will have some powerful competition for attention this year. In addition to a wide slate of potential conservative candidates, this year's CPAC will allow former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to make a first engagement with grassroots Republicans. Instead of speaking, though, Bush will face a tough grilling from
talk show host Sean Hannity.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will also likely use the event to try to attract conservative supporters who have been slipping away, reports Politico.
Carson opened by speaking out against divisiveness, a subject he became all too familiar with this year.
"If you're pro-traditional marriage, then you're a homophobe...if you're black and you oppose the progressive agenda, then you're crazy. If you're black and you oppose a progressive agenda, and you're pro-life, and you're pro-family, they don't even know what to call you," Carson said Thursday. "You end up on some sort of watch list for extremists."
Carson earlier this year ended up on the Southern Poverty Law Center's
extremist watch list, after the civil rights advocacy group accused him of being against gay rights. After his supporters complained, his name was removed from the list.
Carson also spoke to the audience about the meaning of compassion for the poor, saying the welfare system makes people dependent and is not compassionate.
"It is our responsibility to take care of the indigent; it is not the government's responsibility," said Carson.
In a question-and-answer session after his speech — a new feature at this year's conference — Carson pivoted to talking points on terrorism and education.
The retired neurosurgeon, who has said that he'll make a decision this spring on whether he is seeking a presidential nomination, also outlined his stance on several other issues during a question and answer session after his speech,
reports the National Journal.
Carson also has ideas about making the nation less divided.
"We have a nation now where we have people in the highest levels who exacerbate the division. They've created a war on women, race wars, income wars; you name it, there's a war on it," Carson said. "The real enemies are the people who are the purveyors of division...and I think we have to call them out on that."
Carson also spoke out about Common Core, a topic discussed in a panel discussion by experts later in the morning.
Carson said that home-schooled children perform best, followed by those in public and charter schools, with public school students scoring the worst.
"That's why we need school choice," he said. "Common Core is not school choice. Our public schools need to learn how to compete with that, but they don't need some central government telling them how to do it."
In addition to Carson, several other key speakers are set for the CPAC stage through Saturday. The schedule of key speakers,
reports Mediaite, includes:
Thursday:
8:40 a.m. – Dr. Ben Carson
9:00 a.m. – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT)
12:00 p.m. – Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA)
1:00 p.m. – Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ)
1:20 p.m. – Carly Fiorina
1:40 p.m. – Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)
5:00 p.m. – Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)
5:20 p.m. – Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA)
5:40 p.m. – Former Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK)
Friday:
8:00 a.m. – Newt Gingrich
8:30 a.m. – Laura Ingraham
8:40 a.m. – Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)
9:00 a.m. – Former Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX)
10:20 a.m. – Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)
11:00 a.m. – Sean Hannity
11:15 a.m. – Reince Priebus, RNC Chair
12:00 p.m. – Donald Trump
12:20 p.m. – Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)
12:40 p.m. – Phil Robertson, Duck Dynasty
1:20 p.m. – Wayne LaPierre, National Rifle Association
1:40 p.m. – Former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL)
4:20 p.m. – Former Amb. John Bolton
Saturday:
8:30 a.m. – Mark Levin
2:40 p.m. – Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers (R-WA)
2:50 p.m. – Special Guest TBA
3:50 p.m. – Special Guest TBA
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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