Sen. Reid Compares Opponents Of A Government Takeover Of Health Care To Slavery & Jim Crow Apologists: Reaction

This is a very hot topic among bookeristas. Michael Steele, the black moderate-conservative chairman of the Republican National Committee - who is presumably a descendant of slaves - has called for Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to apologize for his comments yesterday on the U.S. Senate floor. My two cents: the Democrats don't need a single Republican vote to pass this legislation. It is moderate and conservative Democrats who (wisely) are in the way of a complete government takeover of health care. Sen. Reid also needs to brush up on his party's history. It was the Democratic Party that promoted slavery and its expansion, while the Republican Party was founded as a third-party challenger to it. It was Democrats who filibustered civil rights legislation in the 1950s and 1960s. Hell, one of the main filibuster tacticians - Sen. Robert Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat who is a former Ku Klux Klan leader - is still in the Senate. Also, what does an institution that ended almost 150 years ago have to do with today's debate on health care? That is, unless you wish to remark about how both issues - although slavery is by far the more pernicious system - involve Big Government undermining individual freedom. Bookeristas weigh in on Sen. Reid's comments (by the way, Mr. Grey Ghost....it was the 13th Amendment that abolished slavery):

Robert A. George: "The New Godwin"

The moderate-conservative Republican in New York City opines: "RNC Chairman Michael Steele called out Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on his comment yesterday likening opposition to health care reform to opposition to ending slavery. He rightly called it 'ignorant.' Reid's spokesman said Steele's response was 'feigned outrage.' Feigned or not, Steele was obviously right. In fact, I would go further and call Reid's statement a variation of the Godwin's Law corolllary: He who uses Hitler/Nazi comparisons should be considered the loser of the argument (pure Godwin's Law is, 'As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches 1.' Slavery and the Holocaust (and the related issues surrounding them) are such unique moments in human history that they really have no basis being brought into contemporary political debate. It was a cheap shot from a majority leader who should know better (but must be more desperate than I thought)."

Alveda King: "Shame On You, Sen. Reid!"

The conservative niece of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. argues that Sen. Reid should instead be focused on linking slavery and abortion: "Senator Reid’s remarks regarding the health care bill and comparing the position of opponents as akin to supporting slavery is outrageous! The Republican Party was founded by brave people of African descent and [a]bolitionists to stop slavery. Today, the proposed health care legislation, with it[s] abortion caveats is more closely aligned with slavery and the [e]ugenicists [m]ovement! Shame on you Senator Reid!"

She argues that public funding of abortions is what's racist: "To pass any abortion funding language, whether explicit or implied is racist, part of the ongoing eugenics plan to depopulate the minority communities, and supporters of such measures know this. They just hope you don’t do your homework. Support your members in Congress who say yes to life, and no to funding abortion in any way! Senator Reid is trying to pull a fast one, and that my friends, is an outrage!"

DarkStar: "Michael Steele: Shut Your Trap"

The moderate Republican blogger in Maryland opines that Mr. Steele is being hypocritical in his criticism of Sen. Reid's comments: " Michael Steele, you are demanding an apology from Sen. Reid for comparing opposition to the health care bill to slavery. Frankly, don't like what Sen. Reid said and I think an apology is appropriate. However, for YOU to ask for it, for YOU, a person who loves to say Blacks who are not Republicans are on the plantation, to make the demand, is outrageous! Shut the hell up!"

He continues his commentary: "With Harry Reid spewing crap about 'health care' and slavery, and many of my fellow Republicans responding with the history of the Democrats, may I interject reality? The Democrats of the past are not the Democrats of today. Today, Blacks are an integral part of the party, even if they are taken for granted. And even with that, a Black man was nominated to run for President of the United States by Democrats and it was that Black Democrat who won the election, popular and [E]lectoral [C]ollege, to become President of the United States. Real talk: POTUS present trumps segregationist past."

Mr. Grey Ghost: "Harry Reid Compares Health Care Reform To Abolishing Slavery"

The conservative Democratic blogger in New York City opines: "No surprise here. No matter what the topic on the liberal agenda (from gay 'rights' to 'climate change'), you can count on white liberals to exploit and use black people to get their own priorities across. Guess Reid didn't do to well in history either as a little background check will show you that it was Republicans who pushed for the 16th [sic] Amendment to end slavery while Democrats who fought to keep it legal, but what does something like facts matter to a white liberal in need of the race card? Of course, maybe the pressure Harry's facing at home in his bid to get re-elected Senator next year is just getting to him. Right."

Michelle Bernard: "Harry Reid Is Wrong On History And Wrong On Health Reform"

Asserts the conservative president and CEO of the Independent Women's Forum in metro Washington, D.C.: "We do need healthcare reform, particularly to help low-income and minority communities that today often don't have access to the quality care they need. But those reforms should focus on preserving what's best about our current system — its high quality and medical innovation — while fixing the system's flaws. There are many ways to improve the system without a massive expansion of government: allowing for the purchase of insurance across state lines and giving those who purchase insurance themselves the same tax advantages enjoyed by employers who provide insurance would both drive down prices and make insurance more affordable and accessible. Direct subsidies to help those who can't afford insurance themselves would be a better policy than forcing them into a one-size-fits-all, government-run program. Americans want a better healthcare system — but they don't want government bureaucrats dictating care options and restricting the availability of certain treatments."

She continues her commentary: "If comparisons to slavery are now fair game, Majority Leader Reid should consider this one. In 1839, slaves being transported on the ship La Amistad revolted and killed many of those holding them captive; when the matter was eventually taken up by the Supreme Court, the would-be slaves were found not guilty of wrongdoing and were freed. Today, Reid and members of Congress are steering America toward a land of government-run healthcare, in spite of the fact that polls consistently show that most Americans don't want to go in that direction. Just 27 percent of Americans polled have a favorable view of Congress, and just about 40 percent of Reid's constituents plan to vote for him again. It's not a perfect analogy, but I hope it gets a point across: If Reid and his fellow congressman continue on their present course, they may be facing a mutiny of their own."

Deroy Murdock: "Reid's Most Shopworn Trick"

In a press statement emailed to Booker Rising, Deroy Murdock - a libertarian Republican commentator and member of black conservative group Project 21 - comments: "Harry Reid has resorted to the most shopworn trick in the liberal playbook. He deployed the race card in the ugliest way while debating health care reform. It is astonishing and outrageous to equate those who seek the defeat of Reid's 2,074-page, $2.5 trillion legislative monstrosity with those who were happy to keep blacks in chains, unpaid for their back-breaking labor and traded back and forth like cattle. The fact that Reid would use such deplorable, insulting and insensitive rhetoric indicates that he is out of credible arguments to defend his own proposal."

More: "The Senate's top Democrat owes an immediate apology to Republicans on Capitol Hill, the 39 House Democrats who voted against Obamacare on November 7 and the 51 percent of Americans from coast to coast who a Rasmussen survey recently found are against Obamacare. If Reid believes these Americans who object to his high-cost, low-quality legislation also hold warm feelings for slavery, he is further removed from reality than anyone so far has feared. If he does not believe this, he should stop cynically firing rhetorical mortar shells at decent Americans who merely disagree with his spendthrift, Big Government approach to health care."Mos

Clifton B.: "Harry Reid Joins The Raaaaacism Industrial Complex"

The conservative blogger in New Jersey opines about Sen. Reid's remarks: "As far as race card hustling goes, this is a clumsy one. Harry completely glosses over the fact that it was a Republican president that freed the slaves and still uses the analogy anyway. Harry even tosses in a bunch of other 'isms' for good measure. What Reid also doesn’t take into consideration is that a whole lot of the opposition to the senate’s healthcare reform comes from his side of the aisle too. Are they slave loving misogynist bigots too?"

Ron Miller: "Reid's Revisionist History"

The conservative Republican blogger in Maryland argues that Sen. Reid is trying to revise history & restrict freedom: "Reid’s use of a slavery analogy to criticize the party that ended slavery reflects either his profound ignorance or a cynical attempt to use the legacy of slavery to taint the opposition and win sympathy from black constituents. I would add that it’s the height of hypocrisy to compare GOP opposition to a health care bill to the advocacy of slavery when it’s this legislative monstrosity that will restrict citizens’ health care choices and impose upon individuals an unconstitutional federal mandate to purchase goods and services. It is this kind of lunacy from the left that demands our vigilance and our voices. How many Americans will hear Senator Reid’s words and take them as gospel? We are remiss if we allow him to speak such nonsense without calling him out for it. He is entitled to his opinion when it comes to the veracity of this legislation, but he is not entitled to rewrite history to suit his purposes."

DCBigPappa: "Harry Reid & Slavery: An Idiot Speaks"

The conservative Republican blogger in Washington, D.C. opines: "How dare you compare those who oppose your heavy-handed approach to health care reform to those who opposed ending slavery some 136 years ago. As a direct descendant of slaves, I am both offended and saddened by this lack of knowledge and lack of historical accuracy. You see, I was fortunate enough to know my great-great grandmother. She passed away at the ripe old age of 102 back in 1990. Her grandparents were slaves. The right side of history, as you say, is not one that drafts legislation in secret, behind closed doors and doesn’t offer opposing view access the to sweeping changes in your bill with merely a few days before debate begins. The right side of history is one that is open, listens to opinions from all sides, and takes the best of all that is offered. Oh, and for the record Harry, it was Republicans who were fierce advocates for the abolition of slavery. It was your Democrats who were against it. It was a Democrat who unsuccessfully tried to filibuster the Civil Rights Act of 1957. And it was and is a Democrat [in the U.S. Senate] who is the only former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Harry Reid, you’re a complete effing idiot!!!"

Kevin Jackson: "Reid - Racist Revisionist"

Asserts the conservative Republican blogger in St. Louis, Mo.: "Harry Reid would love to put the history of the Democrats on the Republicans or more importantly cover up the GREAT history of Republicans, the real champions of civil rights. Reid would love to pass yet another scurrilous plan that will do nothing but enslave blacks even more, because that is the idea of The Great Society. Reid and his ilk are complicit in the destruction of black America, and worse yet, like Margaret Sanger instructed, Democrats are using black 'leaders' to do so. And when that doesn’t work, the Democrats have their new and improved version of the KKK, the SEIU thugs to beat blacks back onto the plantation. If America is looking for a teachable moment, Reid certainly obliged. The more things change, the more they stay the same."

Frances Rice: "Harry Reid Twists Civil Rights History To Bash GOP"

The conservative head of the National Black Republican Association in Florida opines: "Confident that liberal historians have successfully re-written civil rights history, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid brazenly compared Republican health care reform opponents to supporters of slavery, ignoring the fact that the Democratic Party fought to expand slavery while the Republican Party fought to end it. Not satisfied with just playing the race card on the [S]enate floor, the Nevada Democrat also accused Republicans of opposing women's suffrage, never mind that the Republican Party also championed women's rights. Democrats sang a different tune when inner-city minister Rev. Wayne Perryman sued the Democratic Party for that party's 150-year history of racism, a case that went all the way to the United States Supreme Court. Democrats came into court and, under oath, admitted their racist past that Sen. Reid is now trying to foist on the shoulders of Republicans. In court, Democrats refused to apologize for their racism and, using an army of lawyers, relied on the legal technicality of 'standing' to avoid a court order against them, knowing they can take the black vote for granted."

She continues her commentary: "The time is now for Democrats, starting with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, to stop using race baiting as a political weapon and apologize to blacks for their history of racism so that our nation can finally heal our racial wounds. The NBRA delivered a petition in 2007 to Sen. Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi demanding an apology for the Democratic Party's racist history. We also sent an open letter to President Barack Obama requesting that he, as the leader of the Democratic Party, issue a formal proclamation of apology for the documented atrocities and accumulated wrongs inflicted upon black Americans by the Democratic Party for over 150 years. It's the right thing to do, but we won't hold our breath."

Lenny McAllister: "Nevada Compromise"

The conservative Republican blogger in North Carolina opines about Sen. Reid of Nevada: "Incorrectly, Reid - along with other left-leaning politicos - tries to demonize conservatives' objections to their health care proposals by comparing this to the slavery debate, notably saying that there are only 2 sides to this current issue: for health care reform with a public option or against health care reform overall. Sadly, the Nevada Compromise has no true 'compromise' incorporated into it at all aside from the compromise of America's ability to get the best from both sides of the political aisle in this all-important debate. Health care reform is not a black-or-white issue as slavery was. Republican proposals to allow portability, encourage insurance competition, cover the poorest of our society (while pushing for lower costs for others), reevaluating regulations that skyrocket drug pricing, and disavowing the Democrats' mandate for private health care coverage (at the risk of fees and penalties) represent the grey area that Reid and others hope that Americans forget about. Even conservative Democrats have issues with the proposals that Reid, Pelosi, and others have advocated, most notably the issue of government-issued abortions at-will (i.e., pro-choice abortions, not per-crisis abortions) in one of the few common ground items that both Democrats and Republicans have been able to find, much in contradiction to the terms of the chief conspirator of the Nevada Compromise."

He argues that the Democrats are being racially divisive: "Reid's comments - and Obama's previous comments and actions to do little to specifically address the plights of Black America in crisis as the first Black president - serve as yet another episode that shows Black America and others that Democrats are more than willing to pimp out Black history and African-American emotionalism for their own self-serving interests without any desire or effort to provide an avenue for long-term prosperity, safety, and development for Black America. Since the election of the first post-racial president, this administration and the leadership of the supermajority has shown a toxic and divisive willingness to cry out calls of racism on a plethora of issues ranging from tea party protests to the extreme spending in Washington to the opposition to 2,000-page legislative overkill parading as health care reform. Knowing that racism has yet to make its way completely through the American system, Reid and others hold out for the residual racist sentiments clinging in our nation to rear their collective presence, willfully compromising the gains of the past 50 years racially and socially in America to create a 'us vs them' mantra that may allow them to win in the short term on passage of legislation, but serves to wreck the nation's good will and possibly take race relations and tensions back decades in the process."