海角大神

Donald Trump prides himself on saying what he thinks. Mexico is sending rapists and other criminals into the United States? Check. John McCain isn鈥檛 a war hero because he was captured? Check. Carly Fiorina鈥檚 face and voice make her unelectable? Check.

Mr. Trump has spent his entire presidential campaign making one politically incorrect 鈥� or to some, offensive 鈥� statement after another, and retains a solid base of support. That鈥檚 just Trump being Trump, his defenders say. It鈥檚 part of what makes him 鈥渁uthentic.鈥�

But in Trump鈥檚 case, violating conventions of public discourse is ancillary to his main selling point: that he鈥檚 very, very rich, and knows how to get things done 鈥� big things that will 鈥渕ake America great again."

With Ben Carson, fighting political correctness, or the 鈥淧C police,鈥� is central to his philosophy. In the latest Republican debate, the soft-spoken retired neurosurgeon turned a question on same-sex benefits into an attack on the idea that because he believes marriage should only be between one man and woman, he鈥檚 a 鈥渉omophobe.鈥�

This is how the left tries to 鈥渇righten people and get people to shut up,鈥� said Dr. Carson. 鈥淵ou know, that's what the PC culture is all about, and it's destroying this nation.鈥�

Conservatives鈥� rejection of 鈥減olitical correctness鈥� is nearly as old as the concept itself, but the 2016 campaign cycle is breaking new ground in how relentlessly leading candidates are pressing this point.

鈥淲e haven鈥檛 seen it in front-running presidential candidates before,鈥� says Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

PC: A tool of the left?

The term 鈥減olitical correctness鈥� entered the American lexicon in the early 1990s, when campuses began adopting speech codes barring language deemed racially offensive. To proponents, the goal was to protect diversity and instill basic civility. To critics, such boundaries on word choice and discourse signaled intolerance 鈥撀犫�渁 McCarthyism of the left.鈥�

Today, Carson doesn鈥檛 just oppose political correctness, he has a well-developed philosophy around the issue, and has become the lead warrior in the cause to expose its perceived ills. Now, with Carson topping national polls for the GOP presidential nomination,聽the light is shining more brightly on his views. In his 2014 book 鈥淥ne Nation,鈥澛爐he doctor devotes an entire chapter to political correctness, tracing its roots to Saul Alinsky, a left-wing community organizer in Chicago in the mid-20th century. The comparison is seen as a subtle dig at President Obama, who began his career as a聽Chicago community organizer.

Carson鈥檚 breakout speech at the National Prayer Breakfast in 2013, with Mr. Obama sitting nearby, also took aim at political correctness, as he laid out an alternate vision for health care and taxation. His was a plea for diversity of opinion and the freedom to express a point of view that may be unpopular outside one鈥檚 political group.

鈥淲hat we need to do in this PC world is forget about unanimity of speech and unanimity of thought, and we need to concentrate on being respectful to those people with whom we disagree,鈥� he said.

Trump鈥檚 approach to political correctness is less philosophical and more practical. In a recent interview on NBC, he said he could say 鈥渇ewer things about certain things,鈥� but he wasn鈥檛 willing to be so careful.聽

"Being politically correct takes a lot of time,鈥� Trump said. 鈥淚t takes a lot of effort. We don't have time in this country. Our country is really in trouble.鈥�

Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg says that those who invoke political correctness are in effect granting themselves permission to say whatever they want.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a license to say things that at one time would have branded you as a boor or a bigot,鈥� says Professor Nunberg, who teaches at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Information.聽鈥淲henever you鈥檙e charged with those things, now you can respond by invoking political correctness. That invests the criticisms with a political meaning, and suggests they鈥檙e merely the self-indulgent concerns of an elite that鈥檚 out of touch.鈥�

Candidates get controversial聽

Since his formal entry into politics in May, when he announced for president, Carson has made one controversial assertion after another: He has compared Obamacare to slavery (because it 鈥渞obs you of your ability to control your own life.鈥�) He has questioned the science around climate change. He has said that the Holocaust could have been prevented if the German public had been armed.

At times, Carson apologizes for his remarks, as with his comment that "a lot of people who go into prison go [in] straight and when they come out, they're gay.鈥澛�

But more often than not, he stands by his views.

In addition, Carson gets a pass on some comments because of his race, says Professor Jamieson.聽鈥淵ou get a license to speak about slavery when you鈥檙e African American that you do not when you don鈥檛 have an identity linked to that historical tragedy,鈥� she says.

Perhaps voters should be glad that they are so honest about their views, because at least the public knows what they really think. Inevitably, though, some voters are offended.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 what politeness is 鈥� a form of hypocrisy,鈥� says Nunberg. 鈥淐ivility means often not saying what you think.鈥�

There are also gray zones, some of them very large. Jeb Bush ran into the PC police in August when he referred to 鈥渁nchor babies鈥� 鈥� a shorthand for children born to noncitizen mothers in the United States. Under the Constitution, most such children have a right to US citizenship. The term 鈥渁nchor babies鈥� implies that the parents will use their US-born children to gain legal status here.

College campuses, too, remain hotbeds of controversy over what constitutes acceptable speech.聽Just this week, an Israeli academic trying to begin a lecture was shouted down by pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Minnesota. At Williams College in Williamstown, Mass.,聽a student-run group recently canceled a talk by cultural critic Suzanne Venker, after angry reactions from students. Ms. Venker posits that the feminist movement has harmed women.

Not all charges of political correctness are aimed at the left. In his book 鈥淥ne Nation,鈥� Carson writes about conservative politicians who 鈥渉ave also adopted the strategy of feigned offense,鈥� such as when critics blame the second President Bush for the nation鈥檚 economic problems. 鈥淗ypersensitive conservatives sometimes see bias where it doesn鈥檛 exist,鈥� he writes.聽

But in the main, it鈥檚 liberals 鈥� on campus or off 鈥� who are slammed for wearing the hat of 鈥淧C police.鈥�

What voters think

Many Republican voters applaud Carson and Trump for fighting political correctness 鈥� even if certain of their聽comments are still seen as out of bounds or just plain rude.

鈥淚鈥檓 tired of being PC,鈥� says Connie Schmett, a Republican activist in Des Moines, Iowa. 鈥淚 think we should all just be ourselves, and say what we think.鈥�

Still, Ms. Schmett鈥檚 embrace of the anti-PC stance doesn鈥檛 extend to the specifics of some comments. She calls Trump鈥檚 comments about Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly after the first GOP debate聽and his criticism of Carly Fiorina鈥檚 appearance 鈥渧ery disrespectful鈥� and 鈥渘ot presidential.鈥�

Perhaps, then, invoking 鈥減olitical correctness鈥� is more about the phrase itself, and less about the specific content 鈥� a kind of 鈥渄og whistle鈥� that gets conservatives to perk up their ears.

鈥淭he idea that the political left and the media are both enamored of political correctness is a stock line of argument in conservative talk radio,鈥� says Jamieson.

And maybe unkind comments (such as Trump鈥檚 about Ms. Kelly and Ms. Fiorina) aren鈥檛 about political correctness at all. Maybe they鈥檙e simply bad manners.

As for Carson, it鈥檚 possible that many voters haven鈥檛 tuned in to his hit parade of political incorrectness. In a focus group Tuesday night of Republican-leaning 鈥淲almart moms鈥� held in Bedford, N.H., Carson was likened to a 鈥渢eddy bear,鈥� and described as 鈥渘ice,鈥� 鈥渟oft-spoken,鈥� 鈥済entle,鈥� and 鈥渃aring.鈥� None of his controversial comments came up.

In a separate focus group of Democratic-leaning Walmart moms in Des Moines, Iowa, one woman who is leaning toward Hillary Clinton said she might 鈥渟witch over鈥� and go for Carson.

鈥淗e seems to have integrity,鈥� said Annette, who is middle-aged and works in sales. 鈥淗e鈥檚 more calm than Obama. I don鈥檛 see him getting riled up.鈥�

Again, none of the Carson controversies came up.

鈥淚 still read a lot of the support for Carson as an anti-politics vote,鈥� says Martin Medhurst, an expert on political rhetoric at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. 鈥淗ere鈥檚 a guy, whatever his weaknesses may be, who鈥檚 not like the rest of them.鈥�

It may be too soon to say that this presidential cycle is rewriting the paradigm for political communication, in which top candidates typically avoid flouting PC conventions. But, Professor Medhurst concludes, 鈥渋t certainly will if either Trump or Carson were to get the nomination.鈥�