Sarah Palin equates national debt with slavery

The allure of free stuff, the Tea Party grande dame says, can be as damaging as forced servitude

Published November 11, 2013 5:24PM (EST)

Sarah Palin                    (AP)
Sarah Palin (AP)

Once again, Sarah Palin appears confused about United States history. In a speech at the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition's fall fundraiser over the weekend, the former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate likened the federal debt to slavery.

Palin prefaced her comments by saying the comparison "isn't racist," according to the Des Moines register. "Our free stuff today is being paid for by taking money from our children and borrowing from China," she explained. "When that money comes due ... it’ll be like slavery when that note is due. We are going to beholden to the foreign master."

Palin went on to describe conservatism as a philosophy concerned with "moving the poor and the underemployed out of poverty and out from the shackles of dependency on government." While that definition might be a nice spin on conservative ideology, Americans' "dependency on the government" doesn't quite match up with the reality of U.S. slavery -- which, by the way, had a pretty clear definition.

"We’re not wards of the state but free men and women who can live good and productive lives without D.C.’s appointed best and brightest telling us what to do," Palin said.


By Jenny Kutner

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Conservatism Faith & Freedom Coalition Federal Debt Iowa Racism Sarah Palin Slavery Tea Party Video