Ben Carson Edges Ahead Nationally in New Poll. Why?
For the first time, Ben Carson has edged ahead of Donald Trump in a new national Times/CBS News poll.
Why is Trump slipping?
I strongly suspect it’s because Donald Trump isn’t religious enough for the right wing base; they love his anti-immigrant xenophobia and his megalomaniac personality, but when he tries to appear as a pious Bible-thumper it’s just not believable, even to people who’ll believe almost anything.
Ben Carson, on the other hand, is the real deal; a religious fanatic who believes the Earth was created in six literal days, rejects the science of evolution and the Big Bang and pretty much everything else not related to neurosurgery, and is convinced the End Times are coming. When Ben Carson waves a Bible around, he’s not pandering in the least.
Xenophobia counts for a lot to the right wing, but honest religious fanaticism of the extreme fundamentalist variety is even more appealing.