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February 26, 2015 at 07:58 AM
(Bloomberg Politics) — Dr. Benjamin Carson, the retired neurosurgeon who has been lighting up conservative crowds across the country, called for the country to move in a “new direction” Thursday while pressing Republican lawmakers to propose a viable alternative to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) before trying to repeal President Barack Obama’s cornerstone domestic policy achievement.
“They need to grasp a health care alternative before they try and remove Obamacare if they really want to gain some traction,” Carson told the crowd at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Md. Carson has proposed a system of health savings accounts to cover most individual health care needs.
Carson, who has been hiring senior staff for a potential presidential run, ticked through a series of critiques of the current administration on domestic and foreign policy. He said radical Islam “threatens to destroy” the U.S., though he pointed to “the Shia in Iran” as “every bit as dangerous if not more dangerous” than the Islamic State.
The first speaking slot of the event is never ideal, with the traditionally boisterous crowd trickling in over the course of the remarks, and the ballroom was only half-full for his appearance. Still, Carson, who is polling higher than top potential establishment candidates Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, in surveys of potential Iowa Republican caucus goers, received a standing ovation on his introduction.
See also: Ryan, out of 2016 race, sets committee as command central.
