Congratulations On Your New Job, Ben Carson!

Still a GOP Presidential Candidate, Carson Gets New Gig Working for Christian Book Attorney’s Christian Voter Group

Today, Ben Carson announced that in addition to being a Republican candidate for president, he has taken a new position as the National Chairman of My Faith Votes, a “non-partisan” group focused on getting Christians to vote. The announcement comes as a surprise to some, leading others to call him a “scam artist,” and may suggesting his entire campaign has been just one big money-making enterprise. 

Carson is still running for President. He has not officially suspended or ended his campaign, his campaign website is still up and running, and just today news comes that Carson raised $58 million – more money than any other GOP candidate.

My Faith Votes was founded and is run by a long-time attorney who represents Christian book authors, and who also is a co-founder of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. Sealy Yates, the head of Yates & Yates and My Faith Votes, has represented Dr. Carson since 2010.

“Nothing is more important to me than my personal faith, and it is my faith that motivated me to be involved in the political process to begin with,” Carson, in a statement announcing his newest role, says. “I believe Christians in this country can easily determine the next president of the United States and all other national and local leaders, should they simply show up at the polls. When we do vote, We The People will once again solidify our commitment to the Judeo-Christian values upon which our nation was founded.”

The My Faith Votes website, which was registered less than a year ago and has a minimal following on social media, says, in all capital letters, it “EXISTS TO INSPIRE AND MOTIVATE JESUS FOLLOWERS TO VOTE.”

WE WILL RISE UP AS A RELEVANT AND NON-PARTISAN MOVEMENT OF THE CHURCH IN AMERICA THAT WILL MOTIVATE BELIEVERS TO ACT ON THEIR FAITH BY CASTING AN INFORMED VOTE BASED ON A BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW.

WE BELIEVE CHRISTIANS IN THE U.S. CAN AND SHOULD MAKE THEIR VOICE HEARD FOR THE STABILITY OF OUR COUNTRY AND SECURITY OF OUR FREEDOMS, AND THOSE OF OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN.

WE BELIEVE THAT THE BEST WAY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IS TO ENSURE WE DRAMATICALLY ENHANCE VOTER PARTICIPATION AMONGST CHRISTIANS. IF WE DON’T SPEAK UP, WE CAN’T EXPECT TO BE HEARD.

WE BELIEVE THAT WE WILL FIND COMMONALITY THROUGH THE CORE VALUES OF OUR JUDEO-CHRISTIAN FAITH.

Last September, My Faith Votes, as part of Vision Charitable Trust, filed to register its trademark, which would be applied to “Hats; Polo shirts; Sweatshirts; T-shirts.”

The application also shows other goods and services:

Audio and video recordings featuring Christian teaching and encouragement on how the Christian faith should impact the viewer’s and/or listener’s decisions concerning voting; Compact discs featuring Christian teaching and encouragement on how the Christian faith should impact the viewer’s and/or listener’s decisions concerning voting; Downloadable mobile applications for purposes of informing voters how the Christian faith impacts their decisions concerning political matters; DVDs featuring Christian teaching and encouragement on how the Christian faith should impact the viewer’s and/or listener’s decisions concerning voting; Pre-recorded USB flash drives featuring Christian teaching and encouragement on how the Christian faith should impact the user’s decisions concerning voting

Carson’s presidential campaign has made several people a lot of money.

“His campaign burned through the millions he raised by spending more on fundraising and consultants than on mass media advertising, on-the-ground employees and other things that could have swayed voters,” the AP reports today, confirming that Carson has not ended his presidential campaign.

“Carson has vowed to continue his ‘grassroots movement,’ which includes his 700,000 campaign donors, the majority of whom gave $200 or less.”

Carson actually took two weeks off during his presidential campaign to go on a book-selling tour, only to return quickly after pundits expressed shock at the sheer gall.

“As of early Friday afternoon Carson still hadn’t officially ended his presidential campaign,” Politico reports.

Some responses via Twitter:

UPDATE: 
Ben Carson suspended his presidential campaign at around 5:30 PM EST. 

 

Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license