From the GOP Convention: Ben Carson, Lucifer, Saul Alinsky, and Hillary Clinton

Saul Alinsky remains the man the right most perennially loves to hate. Somewhere in Heaven — or Hell — Alinsky’s surely enjoying a fine laugh.

Dr. Ben Carson, in his speech before the GOP Convention, departed from his prepared remarks. He extemporaneously added a riff on Saul Alinsky. He debuted this right wing crowd-pleaser in his keynote speech at the Faith And Freedom Coalition Gala, a speech which I critiqued at length in an essay at ThePulse2016, Ben Carson, Hillary Clinton, Saul Alinsky, and Donald Trump). Here’s how it goes:

Now, one of the things that I have learned about Hillary Clinton is that one of her heroes, her mentors was Saul Alinsky. And, her senior thesis was about Saul Alinsky. This was someone that she greatly admired and that affected all of her philosophies subsequently.

Now, interestingly enough, let me tell you something about Saul Alinsky. He wrote a book called, “Rules for Radicals.” On the dedication page it acknowledges Lucifer, the original radical who gained his own kingdom.

Now, think about that, this is a nation where our founding document, the Declaration of Independence talked about certain inalienable rights that come from our creator. This is a nation where our Pledge of Allegiance says we are one nation under God.

(CHEERING)

This is a nation.

(APPLAUSE)

This is a nation where every coin in our pocket, and every bill in our wallet says, “In God We Trust.” So, are we willing to elect someone as president who has as their role model somebody who acknowledges Lucifer? Think about that.

I’m a card-carrying (low serial number!) member of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy and a genial Theist to boot. I’m also deeply immersed in, and devoted to, the legacy of Saul Alinsky. There’s no contradiction.

Dr. Carson’s sly riff is riddled with errors, omissions and innuendos. It culminates in a rather shameful imputation of a Satanic cast to Hillary Clinton. Let’s set the record straight.

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Read the full article at Forbes.com.

Ralph Benko, internationally published weekly columnist, co-author of The 21st Century Gold Standard, lead co-editor of the Gerald Malsbary translation from Latin to English of Copernicus’s Essay on Money, is American Principles Project’s Senior Advisor, Economics.