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Courtesy of Raw Story:
A Republican Nevada state assemblyman said that he would vote for legislation in favor of slavery if his constituents wanted him to. According to the Las Vegas Sun, Jim Wheeler of Gardnerville, NV was speaking to the Storey County Republican Party when he made the remarks last August, although they are only now coming to light.
“If that’s what they wanted, I’d have to hold my nose, I’d have to bite my tongue and they’d probably have to hold a gun to my head, but yeah, if that’s what the citizens of the, if that’s what the constituency wants that elected me, that’s what they elected me for,” he said. “That’s what a republic is about.”
Now, Wheeler said to the Sun, “liberal operatives” are spreading the video in an effort to smear him.
Well I do believe I am one of those "liberal operatives" so you know what that means. (It means I play the video of him saying the words so that all of you can make an informed decision on whether he is being portrayed honestly or not. Though I don't think that is what HE thinks we do.)
You know I believe I understand what Assemblyman Wheeler was trying to say (Scary, right?), however I think he misses an important part of his job.
It is not the job of politicians to simply jump through whatever flaming hoop their constructions are holding up at any given time, it is also to help the people who voted them into office in understanding that flaming hoops are dangerous and should not be misused.
In other words people do not always know what is in their best interests because they are living their lives and may not have had to time to educate themselves on every single issue up before the Assembly.
And it is not as if his constituents are completely homogenous, therefore it would be impossible to vote in a way to satisfy every single one of them (Especially, let's say, if any of them were African American. For instance.) so his argument is fairly ridiculous.
Besides that, slavery it bad, and if Assemblyman Wheeler cannot adequately explain THAT perhaps he does not belong in politics.
I think his very words smear him. One of the reasons that people get elected is to be a little smarter than the average constituent. I expect (however naively) that legislators, state and federal, have a basic understanding of the Constitution and what it means nationally and to the states individually. This idiot would probably pull the trigger on some of his constituents if others among them wanted him to. No mind of his own, no ability to convince people of the wrongness of some of their ideas. What a jerk. I'm willing to bet that he's simply trying to distance himself from the crazies who voted for him. Except that he's one of them too. All of the teabaggers at all levels have to go!
ReplyDeleteBeaglemom
It is not the job of politicians to simply jump through whatever flaming hoop their constructions.....
ReplyDeleteWho exactly would be the slaves? If the good people of Nevada voted to make all the African American citizens of Nevada slaves, would Wheeler vote for that legislature? What if the good people of Nevada voted to stone the female citizens of Nevada to death if they don't cover their hair?
ReplyDeleteThis is stuff we learn in elementary social studies. Even if we ignore the fact that slavery is abhorrent and just downright wrong, it's against the US Constitution. And, furthermore, one of the reasons we have a republic instead of democracy is to protect the minority from the tyranny of the majority.
At least everyone gets to hear the kind of crap Wheeler has rattling around in his head. Unfortunately, there will be more than a few people who agree with him.
*legislation
DeleteWe do have a form of "slavery" in the US today, we have an workforce who are illegally in the country and being exploited by companies. In many cases they are outright indentured to their employer. They are not protected by our laws pertaining to workers and safety. They live in fear of reprisal so they are easy targets...
DeleteI am not trying to minimize our countries past crimes against humanity, I am just pointing out that we still have people that are viewed as sub-human and being exploited. We have laws against it, but it is happening all across our country today.
Maybe this jackass representative should use his position to address the inequalities of our society to improve our nation instead of digressing us back into the stone-age.
He sounds like a real man of courage and conviction that we need in our leaders. /s/
ReplyDeleteNo, actually he sounds like a spineless puppet who sucks up to whoever lines his pockets with cash or for a committee chair or seat in order to sdvance his own interests.
If Sheldon Adelson or one of the other partisan billionaires in his state told him to do something, legal or not, he'd do it and say he was just doing his job.
I wonder if he'd follow orders if his constituents told him to go fuck himself. That's a more likely theoretical situation than to say he'd proudly follow the herd over the cliff by supporting slavery.
What a dickless bastard. Excuse my vulgarity, but the sentiment won't change.
They’re all over; I’ve been arguing with those types since I moved to this area. A known liberal, they come after me with their Limbaugh/Savage/Fox talking points. He thought he was safe since the black population is small and keeps to itself, but now the entire internet is looking at him, and the POS is sweating.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that Wheeler was elected says the majority of voters are in pathetic alignment with this low-functioning moron. Now that is scary!
ReplyDeleteI actually had some guy lecture and ridicule me over this.
ReplyDeleteHe kept insisting there was no bigotry because the congressman said he would vote that way only "with a gun to his head", and that showed he understood his "legal" duty to his constituents.
I asked him if the constituents said "Kill all the Jews!" would he vote that way? and I was told that I obviously either hadn't read the article or else didn't get the point.
So----I think "bigotry" may be too advanced a concept to describe these people's thought(?) process. Let's just start with out and out pig stupidity.
So....he's saying that this idiot's "legal" duty is to his constituents and not to the U.S. Constitution? How do these people even have the nerve to run for office, let alone get elected?
DeleteReally what we're seeing here is the stereotypical "accidental honesty" that you get with teapeople.
DeleteBasically, I get what the point he *thought* he was making is, but the REAL point he made is that in his mind, his job is to represent SOME of his constituents; just the ones who voted for him.
This is the same reason they freak out over a Black Democrat running the show. They think he'll act the way THEY would, and hand everything to "his own people" at everyone else's expense.
THIS is how the Tea Party "governs" - by knee jerk emotional reaction - not by reasoned thought. And this is why we have gerrymandered districts with hard core Tea Party incumbents that aren't worried about loosing their seats, even though the majority of the nation disagrees with everything they stand for.
ReplyDeleteTeabaggers and many, many Republicans are so freaking stupid and ignorant.
ReplyDeleteIt's as if the never, ever went to school. How can they not know that the United States of America is a constitutional democracy?
The rights of the individual and the minority are ALWAYS protected from majority rule. Always.
There are just so stupid in so many ways. They must be stopped. For the sake of the Republic and The People.
Gee, he could have just had "Racist's Tool" tattooed on his forehead.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad he came out and said this. It gives more strength to the liberals in Nevada. Northern Nevada is pretty damn red, but her in Vegas we're turning Nevada blue! With this crazy ass dickhead, along with other loonies like Sharon Angle, they will certainly help to vote out the nutbags in our state.
ReplyDeleteLoony does not begin to describe the religious insanity that forms the basis for Sharron Angle's positions on the issues and policy.
DeleteShe was for banning black football jerseys from a high school team because in her own words , "Black is the color of evil"
Angle is for forcing raped 12 year old girls to go through 9 months of pregancy , in spite of all the health risks and emotional damage it would cause
I wonder if Sharron believes in her bible where it says you should kill your children if they are "rebellious"
Deuteronomy 21:18-21
If I were a Republican, I would be so sick and tired of my useless representatives in Washington. They talk big talk, but the POTUS remains in office for two terms. They make threats against the government, but never accomplish anything. They bring endless drama, but zero results. What are we paying them for? Cheer-leading? Heckling? I can do that on my own a lot cheaper. Repubs need to wake the F up.
ReplyDeleteSo lets for a second, pretend he's right about his job is to do the will of his constituents, and apply his logic to a former Governor of Alaska....
ReplyDeleteBut I digress.
The words clearly came out of his mouth, and he said it for one reason, and one reason alone. He wants the white racist vote in the worst way. Yeah, he says it's taken out of context....bite his tongue... they'll hold a gun to his head.... yadda yadda yadda, but this isn't what he was sworn in to do. He's to represent ALL Nevadan's in his district, even if it's totally lily white, what he said is racist, vile and came from his black heart. Hope this goes viral and the voters send him packing.