Carson’s trip to Colorado for the Republican debate provides a reminder of Coffman and Carson’s striking similarities
Mike Coffman is a big fan of GOP frontrunner Ben Carson – a fact that was made clear when Coffman shelled out $15,000 for Ben Carson to come to one of his campaign events last cycle. Beyond the fact that it’s just plain sad that Coffman had to pay for supporters, it’s far more troubling that he wanted Carson to serve as a spokesman for his campaign.
“Ahead of the Republican debate tonight, it’s worth a reminder that Mike Coffman and Ben Carson are two peas in a pod – saying bizarre and offensive things at every turn,” said DCCC Spokesman Tyler Law. “The sad part is Coffman had to pay Carson to be in the pod with him.”
BACKGROUND
VIEWS TOWARDS MUSLIM-AMERICANS
Carson: U.S. Shouldn’t Elect A Muslim President. “Ben Carson says the United States should not elect a Muslim president. ‘I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that,’ the retired neurosurgeon and Republican presidential candidate said Sunday on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press.’” [CNN, 9/21/15]
Carson: Muslim Unfit To Be President Because Islam Is Inconsistent With Constitution. “Carson, meanwhile, was asked Sunday whether a president’s faith should matter to voters. ‘I guess it depends on what that faith is,’ he said. ‘If it’s inconsistent with the values and principles of America, then of course it should matter. But if it fits within the realm of America and consistent with the Constitution, no problem.’ Asked whether Islam is consistent with the Constitution, Carson said: ‘No, I don’t — I do not.’” [CNN, 9/21/15; Slate, 9/20/15]
Coffman Spoke At “Annual National Conference Of [An] Anti-Muslim Advocacy Organization.” In September 2015, Coffman was scheduled to speak at ACT! for America’s 2015 National Security Legislative Briefing. The Hill reported, “at least 14 members of Congress are scheduled to speak at the annual national conference of the anti-Muslim advocacy organization ACT! for America.” [ACT! for America, accessed 9/11/15; The Hill, 9/03/15]
ACT! Founder A “Radical Islamophobe.” “ACT!’s founder, Brigitte Gabriel, is a self-described ‘terrorism analyst’ known for her inflammatory statements conflating all Muslims with violent extremists. She, like [anti-Muslim conspiracist Frank] Gaffney, has made a living spewing anti-Muslim rhetoric and ideas, claiming that ‘every practicing Muslim is a radical Muslim’ and that the ‘peaceful majority’ of Muslims are ‘irrelevant.’ The New York Times Magazine is among those who call her a “radical Islamophobe.’” [The Hill, 9/03/15]
A WOMAN’S RIGHT TO CHOOSE
Carson Compared Women Seeking Abortions To Slave Owners. “Ben Carson on Sunday compared abortion to slavery, saying he’d like to see the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade overturned so that the practice can be made illegal. ‘Think about this. During slavery — and I know that’s one of those words you’re not supposed to say, but I’m saying it — during slavery, a lot of the slave owners thought that they had the right to do whatever they wanted to that slave. Anything that they chose to do,’ Carson said on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press.’ ‘And, you know, what if the abolitionist had said, you know, ‘I don’t believe in slavery. I think it’s wrong. But you guys do whatever you want to do?’’ he added. ‘Where would we be?’” [CNN, 10/25/15]
Carson Opposed Abortion In Cases Of Rape And Incest, Said There Was “Room To Discuss” Protecting The Life Of The Mother. “Carson called for overturning the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision and only conceded that ‘there’s room to discuss’ an exception if the health of the mother was at stake … ‘Rape and incest, I would not be in favor of killing a baby because the baby came about in that way,’ [Carson said].” [Huffington Post, 10/25/15]
Coffman Said On Survey Abortion Is Always Wrong. In 2008, Coffman responded to a Colorado Right to Life Candidate Questionnaire stating “Yes” in response to the question, “Do you agree that abortion is always wrong, even when the baby’s father is a criminal (a rapist)?” [Colorado Right to Life, Candidate Questionnaire, 2008]
Coffman Said He Would Refuse To Support Any Legislation To Allow Exceptions To Abortion. In 2008, Coffman responded to a Colorado Right to Life Candidate Questionnaire stating “Yes” in response to the question, “Will you refuse to support any legislation that would allow abortion, even if it is a ‘pro-life’ bill? (i.e. legislation that says ‘Abortion shall be prohibited unless…’)” [Colorado Right to Life, Candidate Questionnaire, 2008]
Coffman Wrote Letter to Colorado Right to Life Stating Opposition to Abortion in Cases of Rape and Incest. In 2008, Coffman wrote a letter to Colorado Right to Life where he said, “Dan, I would deeply appreciate it if, during your show, you could state that I wanted to make sure that my position was clear, unequivocally, that I oppose abortion in all cases of rape and incest. I believe that all life is equally sacred irregardless [sic] of how it came into being.” [Colorado Right to Life Blog, 10/29/08]
OFFENSIVE REMARKS ABOUT THE VA
Carson: “We Don’t Need A Department Of Veterans Affairs.” “Presidential hopeful Ben Carson’s comments suggesting the Veterans Affairs Department should be eliminated drew quick condemnation from multiple veterans groups, who called the idea short-sighted and ill-informed … ‘There is a lot of stuff we’re doing that doesn’t make any sense,’ he said. ‘We don’t need a Department of Veterans Affairs.’” [Military Times, 8/28/15]
Coffman Joked About Putting The VA In Charge Of ISIS. “Rep. Mike Coffman, a Colorado Republican who has prominently led the charge to have a Veterans Affairs hospital stifled by bureaucratic delays built in his district, joked he’d like to put VA leadership in charge of ISIS on Friday. ‘I was speaking before a group the other day and said it’s too bad we can’t take VA leadership and export it and give it to some of our adversaries around the planet. Let them suffer under VA’s leadership,’ said Coffman. ‘Can you imagine if the VA was in charge of ISIS?’ he added using the beheading comparison. ‘They’d probably say: ‘Oh, you know if wasn’t quite 2,000 that we beheaded, it was really 24… is the accurate number. And we’re sorry that, in fact, they were all our own terrorists that we beheaded because they got misclassified in the system as Christians.’’” [Buzzfeed, 6/15/15]
HEADLINE: Buzzfeed: Republican Congressman: Put The VA In Charge Of ISIS — They’d Get Beheadings Wrong. [Buzzfeed, 6/15/15]
HEADLINE: Huffington Post: GOP Congressman Jokes That The VA Should Run ISIS. [Huffington Post, 6/15/15]
VICIOUS PERSONAL ATTACKS AGAINST THE PRESIDENT
Carson Compared The President To A Psychopath. “When a colleague said the president ‘looks clean. Shirt’s white. The tie. He looks elegant,’ Carson responded: ‘Like most psychopaths. That’s why they’re successful. That’s the way they look. They all look great.’ He later said: ‘But he knows he’s telling a lie! He’s trying to sell what he thinks is not true! He’s sitting there saying, ‘These Americans are so stupid I can tell them anything.’’” [National Journal, 5/04/15]
Coffman Said Obama Was In His Heart “Not An American” And Questioned The President’s Birthplace. During a May 2012 fundraiser in Elbert County, Congressman Coffman said, “I don’t know whether Barack Obama was born in the United States of America. I don’t know that. But I do know this, that in his heart, he’s not an American. He’s just not an American.” [9News, 5/16/12; Denver Post, 5/16/12]
ENDING SOCIAL SECURITY AS WE KNOW IT
Carson Supported Raising The Social Security Retirement Age. “When Social Security was first enacted, the average age of death was about 63 years. It is now approaching 80 years and rising. Obviously we have to adjust to a changing situation. The age at which benefits are distributed should be gradually raised. I stress the word gradually because people must be given a chance to adjust their plans and expectations.” [Forbes, 1/29/15]
Coffman Supported Increasing The Age For Social Security Eligibility. “‘I strongly believe that reforms are necessary to both Medicare and Social Security to make them sustainable for the benefit of future generations.’ said Coffman in an e-mail. The congressman’s reforms would raise the age for Social Security eligibility for those 55 and younger and reduce Medicare benefits for the wealthy. [Denver Post, 12/01/11]
Coffman Said Social Security Was A Ponzi Scheme. “I am obviously going to support whoever the nominee is. But I have to admit to you philosophically I am closer to Perry. Obviously, I hope he gets better on the debate stuff. I think he did good. I think he did better on Social Security. I think obviously it is a Ponzi scheme, but he has to say he is going to fix it. And he did that in the last debate where he didn’t do that in the first debate. Now I think that was positive.” [Politico, 9/20/11]
Coffman Supported Social Security Privatization. In 2008, Coffman supported allowing workers to invest a portion of their payroll tax in private accounts and having younger generations move towards these individual accounts. [Colorado Congressional Political Courage Test, accessed 10/28/15]