Jumping into the 2016 presidential sweepstakes, 63-year-old African American neurosurgeon Ben Carson announced he’ll seek his party’s nomination, adding one more conservative voice.  Opposed to abortion and same-sex marriage, Carson mirrors a bizarre combination of social and religious views, while, at the same time, claiming he’s the GOP’s voice of reason.  Being black gives Carson more latitude to attack President Barack Obama, calling the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act a kind of slavery.  Carson’s hyperbole shows now limits when it comes to ripping Obama, making him a favorite headliner in GOP circles.  Like flamethrower Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Carson says nothing good about Obama.  Carson became a household name during the former President H.W. Bush years for separating conjoined twins at Baltimore’s Johns Hopkin’s Medical Center

             Riding his medical celebrity, Carson published a number of best-selling books for Christian book publishing company Zondervan, including, “Gifted Hands,” “Think Big,” “The Big Picture,” “Take the Risk,” “America the Beautiful” and “One Nation,” serving more time on the New York Times best-selling list than former Secretary of State and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton.  “I am willing to be part of the equation and therefore, I’m announcing my candidacy for president of the United States of America,” Carson told Ohio’s WKRC TV.  His autobiographical book “Gifted Hands” was turned into an HBO movie staring Cuba Gooding Jr., helping Carson make a media handle.  “I see myself as a member of ‘We The People,’” said Carson, pretending to be part of the mainstream.  Carson’s right wing views fit comfortably on Fox News and right wing media outlets.

             Carson’s views don’t distinguish himself from the GOP’s most extreme conservatives, a novelty for an African American, at least in today’s Republican Party.  Carson’s extreme views on abortion and gay marriage make him a favorite in religious and conservative circles.  “I see myself as a logical American who has common sense,” said Carson, showing his detachment from reality.  Most mainstream voters don’t want to end 1974 Roe v. Wade, banning abortion.  Opposing abortion and same-sex marriage puts Carson far outside the mainstream that don’t want government meddling with women’s reproductive freedom.  As a physician, Carson expresses views outside mainstream medical practice that agree in principle with the idea that women deserve control their reproductive destiny.  Carson disagrees with prevailing medical views of homosexuality claiming it’s  not a choice.

             Carson thinks he’s going to win friends and influence people with his extreme right wing views.  “And I think that’s going to resonate with a lot of Americans, regardless of their political party,” said Carson, referring to his conservative views on abortion and gay rights.   Seeing himself as “mainstream” shows just how out-of-touch Carson is with independent and crossover voters.  Speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast in 2013, Carson blasted Obama and the welfare state, despite benefiting from it when growing up poor in Detroit.  Carson shows now sympathy for newcomers or minorities struggling to survive in difficult economic times.  He shows no understanding of the economy, only criticizing Obama for driving the nation into more debt.  While claiming he’s neutral, Carson gives former President George W. Bush a pass for pushing the economy into the Great Recession.

             Commenting or April 27 riots in Baltimore, Carson called the unrest “gross misconduct,” showing no sympathy for the spate of black killings that boiled over with riots.  Carson has no urban plan for black America, trapped into high unemployment, low-paying jobs without a future.  Carson parrots the conservative line, paraphrasing the late President Ronald Reagan that “the government is too big and spends too much.”  Calling Obamacare a type of slavery shows the kind of right wing hyperbole that wins him applause in right wing circles but nowhere else.  Carson’s views on foreign policy parallel those of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) prefering isolationism to a more aggressive intervention.  There’s little known on his views on the impending Iranian nuke deal or dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin.  Carson feels comfortable ripping Obama in conservative circles.

            Carson’s only uniqueness is that he’s a conservative African American in the same mold as former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.  While ripping Obamacare, Carson’s got no alternative for millions of Americans unable to get health insurance before Obamacare hit the market Nov. 10, 2014.  GOP officials want Carson in the race to bash Obama without accusations of racism from white GOP presidential candidates.  Carson’s extreme views on homosexuality show that he’s anything but mainstream on issues related same-sex marriage.  He rejects “evolution,” winning plaudits from religious conservatives accepting “intelligent design” or God’s intervention in the human race.  Seeing homosexuality a form of bestiality, Carson puts himself so far outside the mainstream, even members of the GOP cringe.  Now that he’s entered the 2016 race, the GOP’s got a new loose cannon.

`John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.