But perhaps more important to Carson’s rise is the right’s newfound infatuation with celebrity. One of conservatism’s most impressive accomplishments was the construction of an alternative and oppositional media that challenged center-left orthodoxy. Today that media is far more mainstream than it used to be, but conservatives still cluster around outlets like Fox News and talk radio, believing them to be the only sources that are even remotely trustworthy.

This has created a demand for fresh faces under the klieg lights that can recite the conservative message. Ben Carson is just such a face. His entire ride across the political scene has been rhetorical, from his debut at the National Prayer Breakfast where he criticized Obamacare to his numerous Fox News appearances. Once renowned for his steady hands, the gifted neurosurgeon discovered he could rile up a crowd by swinging wildly. To his fans, this verbal sugar rush—along with his impressive life story and ability to present himself as a foil to President Obama—is more important than his policy preferences.

Carson is benefitting from the same phenomenon that’s lifted Donald Trump, another voluble showman with an odd abundance of left-wing positions. Only whereas Trump is the conservative celebrity id unleashed, Carson is more like its super-ego. His rhetoric can be irresponsible and his policies can be confusing, but there’s little doubt his motivations are genuine and moral. One of the reasons his supporters like him is his deeply felt conscience, which is informed by a Christian faith that many of them share.