posted on April 12, 2007 09:40:36 AM
Slavery Remarks Spark Furor In Northern Minn.
(AP) A county commissioner from northern Minnesota is in hot water for a remark during a board meeting that he would support slavery if his constituents wanted him to.
"If the people in my district had voted for slavery, and if the vast majority had, and I was representing them, the answer is yes, I would have voted for it," Commissioner Keith Nelson (A Democrat from Duluth) said at a meeting of the St. Louis County Board.
Nelson's comment came during a board debate in February over a proposed county smoking ban. Nelson said he opposed the ban because most of his constituents wanted him to -- and he always followed the will of his constituents.
That prompted a question from fellow Commissioner Bill Kron. "I said there are some issues of conscience where the majority may not be right, for example would you have voted for slavery if the majority of your constituents would have?" Kron recalled Wednesday.
When Nelson said yes, "Everyone's jaws sort of dropped," Kron said.
Still, the comment didn't spark a furor until local media reported that it was available for viewing on the online video site YouTube. Nelson said he believes it's been circulated by smoking ban backers to discredit him.
Nelson told The Associated Press Wednesday that he finds slavery "repulsive" and that he apologizes to anyone who was offended by what he said.
"But I stand by my statement that it is my job to represent my constituents with what they believe," Nelson said. Upon further reflection, Nelson said, he had decided that if a majority of his constituents really did want him to support slavery, he would resign rather than do so.
That's not good enough for some residents of Duluth, the seat of St. Louis County. The Rev. Denita Williams, pastor of St. Mark African Methodist Episcopal Church, said slavery is an absolute moral wrong that any elected official should oppose even if it goes against the will of constituents.
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If it's called common sense, why do so few Demomorons have it?
posted on April 12, 2007 10:14:24 AM
What's with people these days, are their brains completely disengaged from their mouths? Doesn't anyone know how to make a point without using a dangerous overstatement? Clearly, this guy was trying to state that he represents the will of his constituency, quite admirable I think, not that he supports slavery for pete's sake. But you'd think the idiot would realize that it leaves him wide open for ignorant cheap shots like the one above.
posted on April 12, 2007 10:39:00 AM
How does that translate into democrats support slavery? This was one local democratic politician who said something moronic and got no support from any other politician or the public.
Are YOU a Bunghole?