If the GOP had full control, would slavery be on the table?

[Cyrano]

The Republican Party has become so bugshit insane that I wouldn’t put anything past them.

Their agenda includes “Screw the economy; Screw jobs; Screw unions; Screw education; Screw women; Screw decent pay; Screw fair elections; Screw anyone who doesn’t watch Fox; Screw anyone who hasn’t downed the Kool Aid;” – well, you get the idea.

So why would anyone believe that if Republicans gained control of the House, the Senate and the Presidency that slavery wouldn’t make a comeback? But this time it would not be blacks only. Brown people, Muslims, non-English speaking peoples and “left-wing socialists” would all be eligible for providing free labor to the privileged class.

This post may sound way out there. But I can remember a time when there were still some normal/sane people in the Republican Party. No more. So what’s to stop today’s Party of the Insane from doing any damn thing they wanted to do? The Supreme Court? Don’t hold your breath.

[libtodeath]

1. Most of them secretly want that but no it would not be proposed

[B2G]

44. I know a certain Freeper who's gonna have a field day with this one

[ananda]

2. Ermm.. slavery already exists and

.. is already on the table for many Americans,
particularly prison inmates and those working
in outsourced jobs across the world.

[Sirveri]

59. Don't forget the self inflicted slavery of 'unpaid internships'

But they don't count, because they can say no.

Perhaps the wage slaves count. If they say no they go out on the street and starve to death. Not really a choice there.

[LiberalLoner]

3. I don't think you are "out there" I think you are correctly perceiving the

reality of the situation.

I'm afraid and depressed about it too.

[magical thyme]

4. slavery already is on the table

It's just not called that.

Imprison people for victimless "crimes," force them to work at menial jobs for pennies/hour, charge them outrageous prices at the (company) commissary store.

Sucker people into huge loans, then pull the rug out from under them so they can't sell out, move away, or ever be free of them. Mortgages, student loans....take your pick.

Then again, the most nutty of the tea party nutcases at work launched a defense of old south slavery last winter. "It wasn't the way people make it out to be. Most owners were kind to their..." She swallowed the last word. I think she got stuck at "darkies" when she tried to turn it into something less overtly racist.

So they might re-institutionalize it, rationalizing that most owners are "kind" to their "property."

[Cyrano]

5. You're right, but with full control, they'd drop all pretenses

Who knows -- slaves might even be tatooed to keep track of them.

[lunatica]

10. And really if you think about it they're much better off too

So are wimmens. They needs someone male and big and strong and white to tell em what to do and stuff.

[Blue_Tires]

24. And don't forget the Georgia state pols last year

wanted to force the inmates to work the fields after the immigration laws left the farmers with no cheap labor to exploit...

[ieoeja]

27. Please remind your teabagger at work that only one state had a viable slave population.

Rhode Island was the only state that kept live slaves. In every other state they were killing their slaves faster than they could reproduce. Apparently, most owners were *not* kind to their slaves.

And if she ever trots out the, "most southerners did not own slaves," remind her to add, "at any given time." My ancestors did not own slaves ... most of the time. But the south had a Norman/Celtic military culture. In a military culture the working class are deemed inferior and required to be subservient to the land owners and warrior class. Southerners largely eschewed working for other people. Therefore, when my ancestors needed to "hire" somebody, they had to buy a slave. When the job was done, they sold the slave.

So while most southerners did not own slaves at any give time, most southerners did own a slave for brief periods during their lifetime.

[coalition_unwilling]

41. Do you have a source for your assertion that slaves were dying off faster

than they could be replaced (except in Rhode Island)? I've read many of the histories of slavery Americay-style and have never seen that assertion that I can remember.

[ieoeja]

51. Probably "Battle Cry of Freedom"

The author worked from contemporary accounts and completely ignores the memoirs written after the fact.

The introduction includes both northern and southern lyrics to the above song. It is really erie reading the southern lyrics. None of the dog whistling of today. It reminded me a lot of the translated lyrics I have seen of Nazi songs.

But I'm not entirely certain where I read it. Actually, I thought I had read that several places. Wasn't that one of the facts used by Turtledove and Gingrich to assert that slavery would have ended quite soon anyway? And I believe it is one of the reasons the south so badly wanted to conquer Cuba so as to replace their dwindling supply of slaves.

[coalition_unwilling]

57. Not sure whether you are referring to the song "Battle Cry of Freedom," sung by

Union soldiers to the melody of "John Brown's Body" or whether you are referring to the one-volume history by James McPherson by the same title (a magisterial work, btw).

It has been awhile since I read McPherson, so I'll double-check there over the weekend. The South didn't give a shit where it expanded slavery, as long as it could expand. See thh fight over Bleeding Kansas in the 1850s and the cockamamie schemes to export slavery into such inhospitable environs as New Mexico. Never have seen replacing dwindling supply of slaves mentioned as a motive for expansion. But again I will double-check over the weekend.

[Bake]

53. Actually, Kentucky was a "breeder" state

Kentucky slave owners sold their slaves "down the river" to states in the deep South (in fact, that's where the expression "sold down the river" comes from).

Bake

[B2G]

6. I could totally see that happening

[lunatica]

7. It would be called The 'Freedom Wages Initiative' though

Like 'Clean Skies Initiative' means belching as much contamination, toxins and pollution as you want into the air.

'Right to Work' means non-union jobs with minimum pay and no benefits whatsoever.

'Pro Life' means no civil right to choose what to do with your body.

You know what I mean.

[Cyrano]

14. Yep. The Thugs are great at naming

things the exact opposite of what they really are.

The only ones who haven't yet caught on are brain-dead Fox "News" addicts.

[polichick]

35. True dat!

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

8. No because slaves have to be fed, clothed, and housed to keep them alive

The Republicans would like to force people to work virtually for free for their corporate masters like slaves, but as far as the minimal expense to keep you alive as a slave, you're on your own. As the middle class weakens, people are becoming more and more expendable.

[Cyrano]

12. Slaves are considered to be property and

as we all know, the powers that be take care of their property.

Due to today's overpopulated world, many would no doubt be left to die. But slaves would be cared for, if for no other reason, than to not offend the sensibilities of their owners. After all, we can't have low life ruining the view for those sipping their mint juleps while rocking on the front porch.

[WI_DEM]

9. yes, a return of slave labor with the cutback of hard earned regulations and overtime pay

and other 'reforms' they feel would help the 1%

[concerned1234]

11. Get real

The thirteenth amendment to the constitution expressly outlaws slavery -

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.[2]


To overturn that they would have to ammend the constition which would require a 2/3 majority vote in both the Senate and House of Representatives PLUS ratification by 3/4 of the state legislatures.

The U.S. Census states that almost 40% of the population is minority and by 2050 the minority will be majority. You can't make money off of slaves, especially if slaves account for that large of a percentage of the population. For those who owned slaves it was profitable because the machinery and technology to be more productive did not exist at that time. Today most manufacturing and agricultural businesses would GREATLY see a loss in production, not to mention profits, with a return to slavery.

[Cyrano]

16. Republicans give a rats ass about the Constitution???

Where have you been for the past couple of decades?

Further, machines haven't replaced most service industries.

And let's not forget the "I have much more than you" factor. The super wealthy love their mansions, yachts, private jets (all of which would be run and cared for by slaves).

Hell, I can imagine State Fairs where owners could show off their prize slaves who they would put in competition for blue ribbons.

[Fumesucker]

19. That's why prison labor is so unpopular these days..

Because slavery is unprofitable..

[ThoughtCriminal]

13. It's here - Privatized Prisons + Prison Labor

combined with criminalization of of just about anything. But who needs slavery when you can have neo-feudalism?

[Odin2005]

15. Slavery already is on the table: private prisons.

[Cyrano]

17. Not to mention today's virtually privatized Supreme Court

[edhopper]

18. You are talking crazy

of course they wouldn't bring back slavery, that's absurd.

Indentured servitude and debtors prison on the other hand would be on the table.

[Arkansas Granny]

20. Oh, come on, now. I've lived in the south for over 40 years and I've never heard anyone,

even people who are clearly and openly racist, express any desire that slavery be reinstated. Some believe that segregation had it's merits, but no one wants to go back to owning slaves. If we're going to argue something, let's at least be realistic.

[Cyrano]

22. Okay, they wouldn't call it "slavery."

"Freedom Workers," "Entitled Associates," "Honored Persons," or "Indispensable Americans" would work just as well.

[coalition_unwilling]

42. Bwa-ha-ha: "segregation had it's (sic) merits". Ah, for the good 'ole days

of separate water fountains, schools and such-like. Makes me want to reach for my mint juleps just thinking about it.

Fucking southerners. We should have let them secede in 1861 and been done with them once and for all. Except we owed a debt to the African Americans there that had to be repaid in blood for the next 100-odd years after that.

[IndyPragmatist123]

43. Agreed. This topic is pathetic.

I'm sure this topic will be linked to and viewed by many people as "proof" of how "out of touch" and "delusional" Democrats are today. If you really think that the Republicans want to bring back slavery, then you truly are delusional.

I hate that people now respond more to negative stimuli than positive.

[hifiguy]

48. It's not much of a reach, actually.

The text of the 13th Amendment clearly allows prisoners to be enslaved, and indeed contemplates it.

[hifiguy]

21. Yes. But it would be called something Orwellian.

Slavery or its functional equivalent would certainly be on the table.

[HopeHoops]

23. It already is. Do you want fries with that order?

[kimbutgar]

25. Watch the movie C.S.A Confederate States of America

This was on IFC recently and was a mock documentary about if the south had won the civil war. That is a secret wet dream of today's repubteakkk party.

Back to your questions I have wondered the same thing if they regain all three branches. I could see them rounding up bloggers on sites like these and imprisoning us in camps for treason and sedition by their own definition. I hate to say it but things are like the 1930's Germany here and a small minority took over. The only thing we got going is the rmoney is not charismatic.

[Cyrano]

26. Romney doesn't need charisma. All he needs is

the votes "properly" counted.

Bush Jr. had the charisma of a circus clown, but he inhabited the White House twice due to "proper" vote counts -- Florida the first time -- Ohio the second time.

[clang1]

28. Wage slavery

Wage slavery


19th century female workers in Lowell, Massachusetts arguably were the first inspiration for the wider labor movement to use the term "wage slave"

Wage slavery refers to a situation of quasi-voluntary slavery where a person's livelihood depends on wages, especially when the dependence is total and immediate.[1][2][3] It is a negatively connoted term used to draw an analogy between slavery and wage labor, and to highlight similarities between owning and employing a person. The term wage slavery has been used to criticize economic exploitation and social stratification, with the former seen primarily as unequal bargaining power between labor and capital (particularly when workers are paid comparatively low wages, e.g. in sweatshops),[4] and the latter as a lack of workers' self-management, fulfilling job choices and leisure in an economy.[5][6][7] The criticism of social stratification covers a wider range of employment choices bound by the pressures of a hierarchical society to perform otherwise unfulfilling work that deprives humans of their "species character"[8] not only under threat of starvation or poverty, but also of social stigma and status diminution.[9][10][11]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wage_slavery

[B2G]

29. Republicans controlled everything from 2002-2006

Last I checked, we didn't have slavery instituted as a result.

And martial law wasn't declared, aliens didn't attack and the interwebs weren't taken over.

[clang1]

31. Nope. No slavery all right,

No martial law (heh heh well may depend on who you are and what you look like), and no aliens, etc..


Yes?

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

30. LOL, WTF?!? It's a nice day outside today...

get out of your mom's basement and get some fresh air.
Does she know you've been up all night reading about conspiracy partisan politics again?

[Riley18]

32. They already have slaves in their prisons.

Also, we really can't be "free" making minimum wage. Americans without health care get the same care as slaves did in the past - none.

[clang1]

34. +1 n/t

[bigmonkey]

33. Indentured servitude.

I think that's as far as they can go, without a complete (I mean complete) collapse of the political culture in the U.S. The horrifying part is that they'd tout it as an increase in individual freedom. "You should be free to sell yourself into servitude, don't let anyone take that away from you!" could be the talking point, I'd venture to guess.

[clang1]

36. That is exactly how they would sell it n/t

[raouldukelives]

37. Sure but they wouldn't call it that.

Luntz and his ilk would come up with a few talking points and snappy phrases and lickity-split the Freedom to Labor initiative would quickly be passed into law.

[clang1]

39. ROFL n/t

[Octafish]

38. No. It's cheaper to get rid of minimum wage and make sure unemployment's high.

Banksterism: It's the new Feudalism.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

40. and the absence of evidence is proof of their secret plot

[JustAnotherGen]

45. I finally saw

C.S.A. - Confederate States of America. For my husband and me - it was brilliant satire of the 'mind set' that thinks it would be okay. It was also a bit of a horror movie.

But for people like You Lie, Ron Paul, etc. etc. It's a Porno Movie they enjoy.

And now that I've mentioned pornography -

[Nye Bevan]

46. Doesn't batshit insanity belong in the Creative Speculation forum? (nt)

[Cyrano]

47. Actually, batshit insanity is the atmosphere inside

the bubble inhabited by the Republican Party.

And what's sad is that far too many people view them as merely extremists rather than the lethal danger they've become to human life on this planet.

Then again, perhaps I'm lost in my own bubble of "Creative Speculation" and if so, I hope to awaken soon.

[clang1]

49. You are spot on target

We live in very dangerous times.

[prisonslavery1]

50. Shared on

Committee to Abolish Prison Slavery (CAPS) Face book page...

[GeorgeGist]

58. Welcome to DU.

[spanone]

52. they would call it a 'jobs plan'

[dembotoz]

54. read the NEW JIM CROW by Michele Alexander

we have been there and are doing that

[loyalsister]

55. It's happening now

The people who are accused of taking American jobs are very often slaves.

http://haltht.spcollege.edu/SlaveryIn21stCentury.htm

[ThomasP]

56. Wow

It is scary to think about but this stuff can happen. They are masters of propaganda and the christian fascists will use religion to back them up. Mean while we are all watching American Idol we don't even notice the shackles going around our ankles until it is too late.

It is always the people that speak up that seem to "go away" first.

[Initech]

60. Prison labor, outsourcing, wage theft - these things already exist.

[prisonslavery1]

61. What is to be done?

Prison Slavery in the North (1787) ran concurrently with Chattel slavery in the South. When Chattel slavery was prohibited throughout the country, Prison Slavery simply replaced it. So, the question about slavery returning is mute. It has, for all intense purposes, been here, and here it remains. It is ironic, however, that Confederate styled Republicans can be so much further advanced in this arena of consciousness than are so-called freedom loving Democrats.
Abolition of this EXCEPTION for slavery, of this disgrace to a nation of savages, must become a vanguard struggle among freedom loving people because it is more viral than perceived.
The discussion here has been strong, and inspiring, with multiple loose end speculations and observations about what would happen if - the Repug Confederates gain more power, if prisoner workers replaced outside workers, and how frightening it might be.
You can put all those hypotheticals away. It’s not a theory, not a hypothesis, not a “what if” – it is a reality, and Democrats are currently out-flanked, and out maneuvered via multiple Republican Slavocracy Network territory expansions.
It’s in front of all reading this, and some will understand academically, while others will have a life changing epiphany – ‘Oh, wow! It all makes sense now! There’s an ESXCEPTION FOR SLAVERY in the very amendment we were taught in Junior High School ABOLISHED ALL SLAVERY. DAMN, we were lied to! The reality is that it’s not merely speculation!
It’s a real deal, Lucile! Look at the Slave Territory Expansions:
1. Prisons and prison populations have grown by 800 to 1200% since 1980.
2. Massive financial gains have been made by Repug Confederates.
3. Massive new Crimes passed on fed and state levels.
4. States have sold their prisons to, and/or given contracts to right wing for profit prison corporations.
5. Children in Pennsylvania were literally bought and sold into prisons; and this is now happening in viral fashion across the country.
6. Is it any wonder that outside union and state jobs are now going to private for profit corporations with contracts going inside to prison slave workers.
7. There are massive examples of how liberal democrats have been hood-winked, and how slave territory has been expanded…
Now, what is to be done?
http://books.google.com/books?id=zbTU7QxA7qoC&pg=PP6&lpg=PP6&dq=prison+slavery+book&source=bl&ots=uICyD1W1JU&sig=WP7My6kIZxtS3DOk8D35fhAZjs0&hl=en&ei=rsXJTuPQKtGrsAK12exi&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBA#v=snippet&q=Barbara%20Esposito&f=false

[goclark]

62. It's on the table ~ In their book WE are the slaves

They can say anything, lie, cheat, put GW in office and have Cheney "run" the country, steal/suppress the votes /nominate an idiot for their party and they don't even care that he is a sociopath.