Steele fires back at Reid for 'slavery' analogy

RNC Chairman Michael Steele on Tuesday said he was hardly satisfied by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev) explanation of his "slavery" analogy in the healthcare debate.

Reid first compared the GOP's attempt to slow down healthcare reform to the "tactics of distortion and delay" that were commonplace throughout the 19th century debate over slavery earlier this week. Steele and others almost immediately fired back -- the chairman even pressed the majority leader to apologize or resign his leadership post -- but Reid maintained on Tuesday his remarks were warranted.

Steele, however, hit back again during an interview with CNN last night. Said the top Republican:

"No. And there's no distortion of his point. He said what he said and it was very clear. I said yesterday and I'll repeat it again, it was an ignorant statement to make. And as a leader in the United States Senate, he should either come to the well and apologize to the American people, to his colleagues for making such an ignorant remark or, in my view, should consider another line of work. But we're working on that. That will take care of itself in time.

The reality for -- for the country right now, is that you're seeing played out in large measure the arrogance of power, where Democrats feel that they can come to the well of the Senate, say whatever they want to say, do whatever they want to do and there's not a doggone thing you can do about it, America. You can't stop us.

Well, I'm here today to say you can. You're empowered because we are still a government."