Obama Aide: With These Republicans, There'd Still be Slavery

Chuck Todd cites 'very smart' White House staffer

On Monday Chuck Todd relayed some controversial comments from an Obama aide whom he called "very smart" on MSNBC's Morning Joe:

I threw the Lincoln analogy at a close aide to the president last week, and he said, 'you know, with this Republican - " with the way politics of Washington are today, there'd still be slavery. Lincoln wouldn't have been able to navigate the polarization between the media, between this.' It was an interesting and depressing observation from this very smart White House aide.

Todd's quote is being widely reported on the right and branded "disgraceful" - but the remark was also a big hit with left-leaning users on Reddit, who found it a useful starting-point to dissect the modern GOP's failings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB-rVe-WzjE

Via The Weekly Standard.

Does this statement contain any truth, or is it merely irresponsible and/or offensive?

[Bobolinsky]

I'm gathering that he's comparing the Republican Party to the Whigs and slavery to socialism.

[MarkJM]

Par for the course with MSLSD. And they wonder why Fox News is kicking their ass in the ratings...

[Zazziness]

That's because Faux News never underestimates the value of telling people what they want to hear. While it makes them entertaining for their fans, it unfortunately does not make them a good news service.

[Denizen_Kate]

I've always thought that Fox News' popularity stemmed largely from a vast majority of right-wingers who prefer spin and opinion to actual fact. As a liberal/moderate/independent, I don't go to MSNBC for news. It's entertainment, not information. Many Fox News fans don't seem to understand the difference, IMO.

[martydotcom]

Faux news still reporting Boehner's plan is based on Erskine Bowles. 12:35pm today
Last night Bowled said that's a lie.

[methinks]

@Denizen_Kate Liberal/moderate/independent? Which is it, Kate? Sorry, but you can't be liberal AND moderate!

[methinks]

@Zazziness No, that would be PMSNBC.

[FFX_VA]

President Lincoln (R) ended slavery much to the distain of southern Democrats. Fire that guy 4 stupidity!

[PNWest]

You had to go back over 150 years to find an example of the GOP doing the right thing!

[Zazziness]

Lincoln would have been booted out of today's GOP for being a strong federalist, just like Ronald Reagan would be booted out for granting amnesty to millions of illegal aliens.

[PNWest]

Pretty soon they'll be talking about how good the republicans are on the environment using Teddy Roosevelt as an example. At least that will get them up to the early 20th century.

[PNWest]

It's merely a provocative statement based on an underlying truth - that the GOP is anti-minority. Even the conservatives on this board should be big enough to admit that the GOP does a terrible job with every demographic other than older white guys.

[MRMacrum]

Oh I don't know. The GOP seems to do fine bringing in the clueless and stupid. ;)

[PNWest]

@MRMacrum I've always said that the democrats should make the tent bigger. They have room for rich, poor, blacks, whites, asians, hispanics, men, women, gays already. If they open up the tent a bit more and appeal to the the stupid the GOP would be gone.

[LGRepublican]

@MRMacrum Yeah.... Cause that woman in the "Obama Phone" video obviously has her PhD.......

[Nemesis3X]

@PNWest there's plenty of stupid in the tent already.

[PNWest]

@Nemesis3X Yes but if they threw open the doors for the truly stupid southerners and mid-westerners that vote against their own self interests the GOP would be dead.

[Buzzfriendly]

Its one of those stupid "Let's change the topic" comments. Rather than discuss the issues at hand people try to make grandiose statements to change the subject. Both sides like to do this. If a liberal thinks the all Americans should have healthcare the right calls them communist or socialist, if the rights mention protecting the border they are racist. Its a terrible tactic because these stupid comments often break down into personal attacks and the real meat and potatoes of the topics are lost.

[Realthinker]

It's irresponsible and offensive. It was the Republican party who freed the slaves, not the Dempcrats. And it is the Republican party that is trying to prevent the enslavement of the American people to the government through socialism. For a group of people who claim to be so smart it amazes me that liberals do not recognize that socialism is slavery, not compassion.

[Cool_voter]

So republicans are pro freedom.
Such as.
Gay rights
Women's rights
Women's fair pay
Immigrant rights
Healthcare rights
Pro slavery during the civil rights movement
And of course the republicans war on all religions not christianity....
And don't forget the republicans ability to lie us into a 9 year war that was. a "in and out operation"

Your rights aren't you...

[Cool_voter]

Also Lincoln freed the slaves to hurt the south, he had slaves himself..
The south was a plantation market, the north was becoming industrial.
Lincoln freed the slaves only for them to be enslaved with crappy wages in the north.
Yey Lincoln!!

[PNWest]

@Cool_voter Lincoln did not own slaves.
http://lincolnstudies.blogspot.com/2007/08/di...

[Realthinker]

@Cool_voter You are attempting to set up straw men here. The issue is whether or not being forced to work for the government so it can dole out your earnings to someone else is slavery. It is. It is serfdom.
I do not accept your premise that all of the things you mentioned are legitimate rights that are being abused or supressed, nor does the Republican party operate the way you say....
You might do some checking on your civil rights history. It was Republican votes that passed every civil rights law we have over the objections of the Democrats such as Robert Byrd and Al Gore Sr.

[mynameisaric]

@Realthinker so we can safely establish that both parties are equally flawed and don't have the interest of the general populous in mind.

[AceLuby]

I think it says a great deal about the effect that polarizing the news has on politics. News should not be ranked based on ratings, but instead on unfiltered information. Unfortunately that will never happen in a society that only cares about how much profit can be made, so now we have to live in a world where the most sensationalist news outlets 'win' in a race to the bottom.

[FFX_VA]

I wonder if Obama will grow a beard, put on a top hat, and stare thoughtfully out the window on Lincoln's bday... like he did trying to connect with how Rosa Parks felt (a true American hero btw)

[ST_Louie_Sue]

I picture him sitting in the lap of the Lincoln Memorial and shouting "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last."

[Canoochee]

I heard the WH had ordered a large row boat, bi corn hat and maps of the Delaware River recently.

[Jeff_Woehrle]

It would be more accurate to say that the Republicans are the contributors and the democrats are the takers. Now that the takers outnumber the contributors, we can never again expect fiscal responsibility...or personal responsibility for that matter. Free condoms for all! Don't worry,'the rich' will take care of us!

[Zazziness]

Actually, it would be nothing like accurate to say that but hey, don't let reality get in the way of a good fantasy.

[AceLuby]

@Zazziness He lives in that fantasy world, unfortunately. One where you can neatly box up 300 million people into 2 easy groups.

[Zazziness]

@AceLuby It's sad.

[Jeff_Woehrle]

@AceLuby Both you and zazzy seem to struggle with it, but America was faced with two choices in this election: Fiscal responsibility or push it off for our grandchildren to pay. America chose the latter, which was exactly the choice Greece made some time ago.

There is one big difference, however. Greece's riots over austerity are not because the country voted for austerity. The riots are because those who are bailing out Greece are insisting on austerity measures as a condition for the bailouts.

Wise up.

[Zazziness]

@Jeff_Woehrle No, Jeff. Actually the choice America faced was whether to elect a rich man who had no clue what it was like to live on a middle-class working wage and who intended to not only continue to pamper his rich friends at our expense, but to oppress our freedoms by encouraging government to tell us who we may love, when we may have sex and whether we should have children. Until you extremists get that, you're always going to be baffled about why you lost.

[Kellso]

Just another 'Race Card' It is OFFENSIVE to anyone with the mental capacity of a clam........

[DerivePI]

Two things :
---
If both sides are lobbing bombs, it should be no suprise that all the people in the middle are dead.
---
620,000 Americans had to die the last time our political system polarized and failed us.

[tomincali]

how long ago was slavery in the U.S.,yet we support countries that still have slaves so it shows the gov support slavery. kissing up to slave owners and pointing the finger. kind of a double standard.

[Denizen_Kate]

Much as I dislike admitting it, that's a good point, Tom.

[Fishbone345]

Kinda like pointing our finger at the Middle East and insisting on Democracy when we don't practice it here?

[jessejaymes]

Dead on the money. If the Christian right could get away with it not only would there be slavery, the rest of us would be beheaded forthwith. There is no greater danger facing American and freedom than the Christian right. NONE

[Republican5001]

Never trust a guy with two first names as his name.

[MRMacrum]

Never trust a guy who uses Republican in his name either.

[Republican5001]

@MRMacrum Ha, ha ha, and we all know to not trust democrats.

[DARSB]

As a commentary on gridlock, yeah, looks pretty accurate.

[Hunglo]

Sadly there is some truth to this statement when it is taken in context. If slavery were being abolished today the left leaning media (CNN, MSNBC, ect...) would be bashing the GOP for wanting to take away the free housing, food and medical care "enjoyed" by the slaves. They would make abolition seem like the most evil of endeavors.

[Thunderchicken]

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

In a discussion with a friend, I once made the point that to take liberalism to its absurd extreme, the majority of the populace would be in a prison like setting. In this setting everyone was treated the same except beneficent overlords who were there to take care of the populace.

She didn’t get it.

[mtkopf]

So slaves "enjoyed" as you say "free housing, food, and medical care"?
Did they enjoy being kidnapped from their home country?
Did they enjoy a free months long cruise they received?
Did they enjoy that long leather strap massaging their back?
BTW none of that was free as you say. They paid for all of it with their countless hours of free labor.

[Denizen_Kate]

@Thunderchicken - " ... to take liberalism to its absurd extreme ... " Yes, that is absurd, but it isn't liberalism, it's feudalism, and if the gap between rich and poor continues to widen, that's what Corporate America will become. A wage slave is still a slave.

[Real4WheelDrv]

@mtkopf Kinda thinking that's why enjoyed was in quotes...internet sarcasm can be nebulous...that's why I stick with /sarcasm.

[Russell797]

It's a logical conclusion to come to when the Republican mantra is to say to the government, "Keep your dirty hands out of how I choose to run my business".

[Politicskid]

And you disagree with them?

[Russell797]

@Politicskid Of course I disagree with them. Businesses operate for one purpose only, to turn a profit. They will trample over others in order to maximize profit. There has to be a representative authority to protect the rights, concerns and well-being of others and the natural environment.

Regulation does not exist to hurt business, it exists to protect others from an unbridled profit motive.

[Politicskid]

@Russell797 What you don't seem to understand is that business need to benefit the economy, or they won't make money. You have to hire people in order to expand you're business...you have to do less of that if you're taxed more.

Also, regulation vastly hurt small business who can't afford lawyers. And what regulations do you think don't exist that shouldn't be added?

Finally, when has high tax revenues as a percent of GDP been at a time when our economy has been good?

[Buckfan4life2]

How low can the liberal democrats get as the tatics that are being used to destroy the GOP. It is right down sickining. I have seen a big change in alot of my democrat friends that are so ashamed at the comments made by so many liberals. You never see the consevatives playing such dirty tatics. I do belive this will eventually lead to alot of people changing their minds on the way they vote come 2016. IF you have ever watched MSNBC ,just tune in for a few minutes or atleast long enough till you start getting sick to your stomach and watch this pack of low-lifes distort and lie after lie on every subject from Fox,Romney,McCain,Palin Lybia,Fiscal Cliff,and all the GOP. Their every move is a non-stop bashing of the republicans and it always their fault. They tell NO NEWs what so ever but dedicate their whole broadcast of trying their best to brainwash their veiwers that if your not a liberal democrat and a lover of Obama and praise his every move that you are a nothing less than a worthless uneducated racist hillbilly, and I have absolutely had it with the media and liberals PERIOD! I actually can't stand the sight of someone once they tell me they are a liberal. Now I have never felt this way before but in the last couple years they have become so arrogant and obnoxious and just because I didn't believe in Obamas policies I was instantly a racist. Fox news is No# 1 for some reason. Do you think it might be because they report the news without the lies and coverups and the 24/7 bashing of everyone that not a conservative??? If you people think for i minute Obama hasn't turned this country against each other you are a fool. I know good friends and neighbors that don't even speak to each other no more all because Obama. The man hasn't only destroyed the country he has destroyed many of good frienships to. You all will find out and history will prove that Obama was the cause of the great nation to fall and also can see alot of blood being spilled with brother against brother before this is all over with.I GUARANTEE THIS!

[MRMacrum]

"You never see the consevatives playing such dirty tatics." .....

Yeah right. Birthers? Continuing to allow the myth that Obama is a Muslim to float out there. You seem to think the Right walks on water. Maybe that is the influence of the righteously Indignant extremists of the Religious Right. Or you guys just have better drugs in your Kool Aid. Both sides have their low lifes. You muzzle yours, maybe the Left will muzzle theirs.

[mtkopf]

When the Republicans #1 priority was to defeat Obama in 2012, I think the problem does not start with Obama. Whether that was racially motivated I don't know. What I do know is that this congress had only tried to block every Democratic idea. Bipartisanship is out the window with the Republican leadership.

[Hunglo]

@mtkopf It's both sides of the aisle, where is the compromise coming from the left? When has Obama even tried to work with the Republicans? If Obama wants to achieve anything then he will need bipartisan support, if he wants bipartisanship then he needs to lead by example.

[mtkopf]

@Hunglo the debt ceiling crisis when he let Republicans gloat while caving on tax hikes for the wealthy.
The gang of six had a bipartisan deal in place in 2011. The only problem was that because POTUS endorsed the deal House Republicans refused to support it.(CNN July 21 2011 Google dick durbin gang of six scroll down to this article)
The 300+ times that Republicans have used the filibuster in the Senate sends the message hey Mr President we are willing to work with you.
ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS

[harold]

Everyone has learned to talk trash, but the teachers were Republicans.
Fox News is an arm of the Republican party. MSNBC leans toward liberal Democrats. Neither one actually lies, both distort the truth.
If you don't already know that, then you probably think that people who don't agree with you are the spawn of Satan. Or something.
Good luck with that.
The rest of us have work to do.

[mtkopf]

I think it is definitely true and some of you missed the WHOLE POINT which is: with the Republican Party's refusal to compromise on ANYTHING with the Democrats, an agreement would not be reached on a subject morally objectionable, such as slavery.
I personally view Republicans in Congress as being standoffish, stubborn, and a liability to this country. A stalemate in D.C. is not doing anything to help America and TRUE leaders UNITE rather than divide.

[Hunglo]

"A stalemate in D.C. is not doing anything to help America and TRUE leaders UNITE rather than divide" You are right, but so far Obama has yet to prove that he is a TRUE leader, by your own definition.

[mtkopf]

@Hunglo I was not just talking about POTUS. All elected officials are leaders in their own right. When the leaders of our country refuse to come together what type of example are they setting for Joe Citizen.