So apparently it's not just the U.S. Senate that switched political parties on Tuesday's Election Day, but also conservative phenomenon Ben Carson who shifted alliances from being independent to Republican, The Washington Times reported. The move most definitely propels Carson closer to a possible 2016 presidential run.
Ben Carson, the pediatric neurosurgeon who garnered heightened media attention for challenging President Obama at a prayer breakfast last year, announced on Tuesday that he would officially be changing his political affiliation from independent back to Republican.
"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," 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.
The 63-year-old, whose successful career was spent as a doctor at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Maryland, filed the paperwork in his new home county of Palm Beach, Florida, a traditional Democratic Party stronghold, WND reported.
"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."
Recalling his decision to switch parties while he was a young Democrat, Carson credited Ronald Reagan's speeches in the 1980s to have deeply affected him.
"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 Carson, who also writes a column for The Washington Times.
Then about 15 to 20 years ago, he switched to being an independent "after getting a 'sour taste' watching Republicans who had their own personal foibles impeach President Clinton over an extramarital affair," according to WND.
"I just saw so much hypocrisy in both parties," he explained.
And since he might decide to run for the White House next spring, it made sense to declare loyalty to the GOP now itself, Carson told the Times.
"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."
