Even with Florida Republicans Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio in the race, Dr. Ben Carson has the Sunshine State in his sights.
Surging in the polls, Carson released a new book Tuesday and Florida will play a prominent role in his tour to promote it. After retiring from his celebrated medical career at Johns Hopkins in Maryland, Carson moved to South Florida.
On Tuesday the doctor promoted “A More Perfect Union: What We The People Can Do To Reclaim Our Constitutional Liberties."
“I wrote it to help people understand the common sense that the Founders put into the Constitution, and to realize how their common sense has been distorted over time,” Carson explained. “I believe that in our age of political correctness, it's especially important to defend the Bill of Rights, which guarantees our freedom to speak, bear arms, practice our religion, and much more.
“As someone who has performed brain surgery thousands of times, I can assure you that the Constitution isn't brain surgery. It was written for ordinary men and women, and it's short enough to read in a single sitting and carry in your pocket,” Carson added. “I hope you'll enjoy learning about the fascinating ways that the Founders established the greatest democracy in history -- and the ways that recent presidents, congresses, and courts have threatened that democracy.”
TJ Helmstetter, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee (DNC), fired back Tuesday, noting that Carson expresses his opposition to abortion, President Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration and same-sex marriage in the new book.
“Today, Ben Carson has released a great summary of the entire Republican field’s talking points. Thanks, Ben Carson,” said Helmstetter. “Our children’s freedom is threatened by abortion. Immigrant families should be deported. Gays shouldn’t be allowed to marry. We’ve heard it all before from the Republican field, and now we’re reading it in Ben Carson’s book. Carson, Trump, Bush, Fiorina, Rubio and the others -- it’s no coincidence that they agree on so much. They would shut down the government to defund Planned Parenthood, and they’d all take our country backwards.”
On Friday, in Washington, D.C., Carson kicks off a book tour with plans to visit 10 states, including Iowa and South Carolina, with more than 40 stops planned. Carson is clearly targeting Florida in his book tour with 13 stops in the Sunshine State. On Sunday, Nov. 1, Carson will hit Pensacola and Panama City before traveling to Tallahassee, the Villages and Orlando the next day. On Tuesday, Nov. 3, Carson will visit Tampa, Lakeland before going to Sarasota, Fort Myers, and Naples on Nov. 4 and Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton on Nov. 5.
Carson has not been announced as a speaker at the Republican Party of Florida’s (RPOF) Sunshine Summit in Orlando later in November. Ten candidates have already been announced as scheduled to attend.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
