Appearing on "Meet the Press" on Sunday, former celebrated surgeon, current right-wing folk hero and potential future 2016 presidential candidate Ben Carson attempted to defend his earlier remark comparing Obamacare to slavery by noting that "anything is slavery that robs you of your ability to control your own life."
"First of all, recognize what I said," Carson responded when asked by host David Gregory to explain his earlier comments. "Worst thing since slavery. I didn’t say that it was slavery.”
"Well, you said ‘it is’ slavery ‘in a way,’” Gregory interjected.
"Right, and I said, ‘in a way,’” Carson specified. “In a way, anything is slavery that robs you of your ability to control your own life.”
"And when you take the most important thing that you have, which is your health care, and you put that in the hands of government bureaucrats," Carson went on, "I think, you have done the wrong thing."
"And as I was about to say, you go back and you look at the neo-Marxist literature, and look at what they say — don’t have to listen to what I say — about taking control of health care of the populous, and making people dependent,” he added.
Carson then reiterated that he believed everyone should have good healthcare, he just didn't agree with any policy that would seek to achieve that end through the use of government.
Watch Carson explain his nuanced understanding of slavery below, via the Raw Story:
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