From the Hayes campaign:
CHICAGO – December 8, 2009: The following statement was released today by Rev. Isaac C. Hayes, the GOP nominee for Congress in IL-2, and opponent of Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) in response to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) comparing opponents of heath care reform to opponents of the emancipation of slaves:
“Harry Reid’s rush to use race in the health care debate is exactly why we should not rush this bill” said Hayes. “History reveals that it was Mr. Reid’s Party that opposed the emancipation of slaves and the Republican Party that was the vanguard of freedom. A brief review of history will record the Republican President Abraham Lincoln abolishing slavery and the Republican Caucus voting in a larger percentage for Civil Rights legislation than their Democratic counterparts. It is quite evident Mr. Reid has not read a history book or the bill he wants to force through.”