BoatBanter.com - Slavery OK if Constituents Want It

After Republicans did a bang-up job at minority outreach last week, it
was tempting to think the party couldn’t possibly make matters worse.
Think again.

A Nevada assemblyman came under fire Monday after a YouTube video
surfaced in which he told a Republican gathering he would vote to allow
slavery if that is what his constituents wanted him to do.

“If that’s what they wanted, I’d have to hold my nose … they’d
probably have to hold a gun to my head, but yeah,” Assemblyman Jim
Wheeler told members of the Storey County Republican Party at a meeting
in August.

The comments have not been well received by Nevada Republican leaders,
who are rushing to distance themselves from the GOP state lawmaker. The
Republicans’ state Senate leader, for example, suggested Wheeler “find a
new line of work.”

For his part, Wheeler published an explanation of sorts on his personal
website, saying that his point was only that he’s inclined to support
literally any position embraced by his constituents. It’s not that he
endorses slavery, only that he would allow slavery if his constituents
wanted him to.

Remember, this is supposed to be his defense.

Wheeler then seemed to shift gears a bit, saying the exact opposite: “If
my constituents wanted to do something as outlandish as bring back an
abhorrent system, then I simply couldn’t represent them anymore. They
would remove me from office, or I’d have to resign.”

In other words, he would and wouldn’t allow slavery, depending on the
whims of voters in his area.

Wheeler added his “sincerely apologizes” if his comments “were taken
with offense by anyone.”

And the Republican Party’s minority-outreach efforts take yet another
step backwards.

http://tinyurl.com/ma4qy23

I’m sure Wheeler speaks for many of the Republicans active in this
newsgroup.