Republicans warned to steer clear of the ‘abolish slavery’ slogan

Republicans need to drop the “abolish slavery” political slogan if they have hope of winning back the majority in Congress, a center-left think tank is warning.

Third Way, in a memo to Republicans shared first with NBCNews, warned Republicans against talking in extreme terms in the wake of the highly charged days following the execution of John Brown.

“The impulse is emotional. The slogan is simple. But politically, it is lethal,” a memo written by Sarah Pierce and Lanae Erickson, leaders in social policy for Third Way. “Every call to abolish slavery risks squandering one of the clearest opportunities in years to secure meaningful reform of agricultural labor — while handing Democrats exactly the fight they want.”