Last Call For MLK Day Slavery Comparisons

Dear Republicans:

Quit comparing things that you don't agree with to slavery.  In fact, quit comparing anything to slavery that isn't slavery.  Period.

The Multnomah County Republican Party in Oregon was mocked last week for its plans to auction off a rifle in honor of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. 

And in attempting to explain the raffle in a press release Monday, the Multnomah GOP drew an ill-timed parallel to slavery, according to the Oregonian.

First problem:  auctioning off a firearm in honor of Dr. King's multiple calls for, you know, non-violent civil disobedience, some 45 years after he was assassinated by a firearm.  That's bad enough to the point of being massively offensive, and I have to wonder if anyone in the Mutlnomah County GOP even thought to pause and think that this might not be the best way to get your point across. 

Second problem:  your statement to the people who thought the auction was offensive:

"The great political issue today is whether or not the American people of all creeds and races will live free or live as slaves - slaves to their own overreaching government," the release read, as quoted by the Oregonian. "50 years ago, Martin Luther King's great speech was an appeal for freedom for African Americans. Today, those same words he spoke 50 years ago are an appeal for freedom for all Americans."

This is just horrible on several levels, which brings us to Problem Number Three, your "apology" to people offended by Problems One and Two.

“In our enthusiasm for celebrating Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln and the U.S. Constitution, our Multnomah Republican Party issued a press release that was unfortunately easily misunderstood," the release read, as quoted by the Oregonian. "The GOP stands for individual liberty, lower taxes, smaller government and individual responsibility. We apologize if people were hurt by the message being marred by insufficient wording and/or cynical misinterpretations by those who disagree with us politically. We will certainly endeavor to communicate more clearly in the future, and learn and grow from this experience."

"We're sorry you misunderstood us, and that's your problem, not ours" doesn't count as an apology by any stretch of the imagination.  In fact, it makes you a bunch of colossal assholes.

So yes, keep up that GOP rebranding effort guys, and keep telling yourselves the only reason African-Americans voted for Obama was because he's black, and not because you're a bunch of jackasses who think we're simply too stupid to see your "great truths" about Dr. King.