I've always wondered how Dr. Ben Carson managed to become a neurosurgeon because he's never struck me as the brightest bulb in the box, but here he is being pushed by Fox and other outlets as someone we should take seriously as a 2016 GOP presidential contender. He didn't do himself any favors with the wingnuts this week when he did this: Ben Carson Likens Islamic State To American Patriots' Willingness To Die For Cause:

Republican presidential prospect Ben Carson on Thursday compared the Islamic State group to American patriots willing to die for freedom.

In a speech to the Republican National Committee's winter meeting outside San Diego, the former neurosurgeon and conservative favorite praised American patriots for their willingness to give their lives for their beliefs. Then he mentioned the Islamic State group.

"They got the wrong philosophy, but they're willing to die for what they believe, while we are busily giving away every belief and every value for the sake of political correctness," he said as Republican officials from across the country interrupted him with applause. "We have to change that."

Commonly known as ISIS, the Islamic State group has been responsible for hundreds of deaths across the Middle East in recent months. Islamic State militants claimed responsibility for recent beheadings of Western journalists and aid workers. One of the suspects in the recent Paris terror attacks claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group.

A Republican National Committee spokesman had no immediate response when asked to comment on Carson's remarks, which came as part of a 35-minute luncheon address.

After the speech, Carson said it's "ridiculous" to suggest he was likening American patriots to the Islamic State.

Bill O'Reilly tried to give him some cover this Friday on Fox, but I don't think it worked out so well: Fox's O'Reilly Excuses Ben Carson's Comparison Of ISIS To American Patriots:

On Fox, Bill O'Reilly excused likely presidential candidate and Fox favorite Dr. Ben Carson's recent controversial comparison of Islamic State militants to American patriots, and allowed Carson to double down on his comparison.

On January 15, Ben Carson likened American patriots to Islamic State militants in a speech at the Republican National Committee's (RNC) winter meeting. Carson equated the mentality of American patriots who were willing to die for their beliefs to those who fight for the Islamic State, asserting that "They got the wrong philosophy, but they're willing to die for what they believe, while we are busily giving away every belief and every value for the sake of political correctness." Carson's remarks were subsequently met with criticism.

On the January 16 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor host Bill O'Reilly excused Carson's controversial comparison, allowing him to double down and claimed the media had taken him "out of context." Carson insisted that he was "not saying that as a comparison between our patriots and ISIS" but that pre-revolutionary militiamen "had conviction and believed in what they were doing to the point that they were willing to die for it" much like Islamic State militants. Carson added a "warning" that like American patriots and Islamic State fighters, "we have to change" our "process of giving away all of our beliefs for the sake of political correctness." O'Reilly reassured Carson that he should not "worry about the liberal media" because "they're never going to give you a shot": Read on...

Carson's got more than their so-called nonexistent "liberal media" to worry about after these remarks. Comparing American "patriots" to terrorists, no matter how hard he tries to spin it later, isn't going to go over so well with the TeaBirchers he would need to vote for him in a primary.