Alabama's Tea Party-backed congressional candidate Rick Barber has released a new ad in which he declares taxes, health care and America's other social services "slavery" — with support from an Abraham Lincoln impersonator. When Barber asks "Abe" what it's called when hard-working Americans pay taxes "so that a total stranger can get a free meal, medical procedure or a bailout," Lincoln answers, "slavery," adding, "we shed a lot of blood to stop that in the past." From a historical standpoint, says Eric Kleefeld in Talking Points Memo, "Barber's ad does have a few errors." For example, "Alabama conservatives did not shed a lot of blood to stop slavery — they shed a lot of blood to perpetuate it." Not only that, says Jamelle Bouie in The Washington Independent, but this ad shows the disturbing "extent of the far right’s ascendancy in the Republican Party." Remember, the further apart we drift politically, "the more likely it is that we’re unable to respond to the huge challenges ahead of us." Watch Barber's "ridiculous" new ad below:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The best shows to see at Edinburgh Fringe 2025The Week Recommends The world's biggest arts festival is back with an incredible line-up
-
Wonsan-Kalma: North Korea's new 'mammoth' beach resortUnder the Radar Pyongyang wants to boost tourism but there won't be many foreign visitors to Kim Jong Un's 'pet project'
-
The 5 best TV reboots of all timeThe Week Recommends Finding an entirely new cast to play beloved characters is harder than it looks
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidentsThe Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
-
Democrats vs. Republicans: which party are the billionaires backing?The Explainer Younger tech titans join 'boys' club throwing money and support' behind President Trump, while older plutocrats quietly rebuke new administration
-
US election: where things stand with one week to goThe Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
-
Is Trump okay?Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
-
The life and times of Kamala HarrisThe Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
