Arizona congressional candidate Jim Brown (R) compared entitlements to slavery in a Facebook post Wednesday, explaining that entitlements give politicians “power over the people allowing them to control us” much like slave owners that “took pretty good care of their slaves and livestock.”
Brown urged people to vote so lawmakers start to focus on “jobs, education, and opportunity — not slavery”:
The government programs panned as “slavery” include Medicaid, Social Security, food stamps, housing subsidies, unemployment insurance, and low-income tax credits — all of which take aim at reducing poverty. Without them, the country’s poverty rate would be twice as high today.
After exiting an adjacent House race for Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick’s (D-AZ) seat, Brown joined Republicans Martha McSally and Shelley Kais in the primary race to compete against Rep. Ron Barber (D-AZ). Brown’s own webpage describes him as “direct and not always Politically Correct. I am the imperfect candidate.”
Update:
Brown deleted his post and apologized for “implying that the entitlement state being created in our country is similar to to [sic] the method slave owners used to keep their slaves under control.” See the full apology below:
