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11 Oct, 2012 19:55

Pro-slavery lawmaker from Arkansas labels his opponents as Nazis

Pro-slavery lawmaker from Arkansas labels his opponents as Nazis

In an attempt to clarify recent statements condemned as racist and pro-slavery, a Republican state representative from Arkansas is back in hot water, this time after comparing his political opponents to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

Rep. Jonh Hubbard, the Republican state congressman for the district that includes Jonesboro, Arkansas, appears to have only dug a deeper hole for himself when speaking to a local newspaper this week. Rep. Hubbard was responding to criticism that has attacked him in recent days after word got out that his 2009 self-published book celebrated slavery as “a blessing” for African Americans.The “institution of slavery that the black race has long believed to be an abomination upon its people may actually have been a blessing in disguise,” Hubbard wrote in his Letters to the Editor: Confessions of a Frustrated Conservative. “The blacks who could endure those conditions and circumstances would someday be rewarded with citizenship in the greatest nation ever established upon the face of the Earth.”Elsewhere in his book, Hubbard added, “the immigration issue, both legal and illegal … will lead to planned wars or extermination. Although now this seems to be barbaric and uncivilized, it will at some point become as necessary as eating and breathing."Hubbard’s writings were pounced on by both the press and his political opponents earlier in the month, leading the state rep to reach out to the Jonesboro Sun on Tuesday to clarify his intentions. In his attempt, however, he has already come under attack once more for again making insensitive comments being considered by some as more racist than his original statements.“Slavery was cruel, but as a result of slavery, we have African-Americans living in this country today who are living here in situations that are probably much better to endure than if they were living in Sub-Saharan Africa,” he tells the Sun. “If you had the choice knowing the lifestyle of people living in Africa and knowing the lifestyle of people living in the United States, which would you choose? Pure and simple.”“I think the end result was better than it would have been if they had to live in Africa themselves,” Hubbard clarifies.Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have since come out against not only Hubbard but a team of two other members of the state’s Republican Party: Rep. Loy Mauch (R-Bismarck) and legislative candidate Charlie Fuqua. In unrelated instances, both GOP members have also come under fire as of late: Rep. Mauch for defending slavery in America and Fuque for calling for the deportation of Muslims and the execution of rebellious children.As the state Republican Party scrambles to find a way to distance themselves from Hubbard and his cohorts, though, things are only getting worse. On Thursday, Rep. Hubbard sent a letter to the Sun attacking an alleged smear campaign being waged against him and his colleagues as condemnation only intensified."Does all of this political propaganda being put out by Gov. Mike Beebe, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel and others remind you, even a little bit, of how Hitler took control of the minds of the German people in the 1930s?” Hubbard writes, later specifically signaling out the “Democratic political machine” and its campaign against Mauch, Fuqua and others.“Regardless of one’s political persuasion, this reeks of Nazi-style political intimidation, and it will grow totally out of control if allowed to run unchecked. Is this what we want here in Jonesboro, in Arkansas or in the United States of America?” Hubbard asks. “This is a first-hand example of how a political machine operates, and I think the people of this state need to be made aware of what is happening right before their very eyes!”On his official website, Rep. Hubbard says he is not a politician – nor has he ever desired to be one – but is rather, "a patriotic and conservative citizen of America and of Arkansas, and I fervently believe that The US Constitution is indeed the law of the land.”Hardcover editions of Letters To The Editor: Confessions Of A Frustrated Conservative are available on Amazon.com starting at around $25, although the book has been rated by customers an average of 1.7 out of 5 stars.“If you are ignorant, racist, stupid, bigotted, and ill-informed. I give this book 5 stars because the author is not afraid to show his true color, and he is proud to be an ignorant racist bigot,” one reviewer proclaims.

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