Former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner (D) condemned the New Hampshire Libertarian Party’s Twitter account for being “racist and anti-Black” after the party brought up her “picking crops” in a tweet on Tuesday.
Turner, who ran in the Democratic primary for Congress in a 2021 special election and again in 2022, argued in a tweet that both insulin and medicine “should be free,” to which the New Hampshire party responded that “Nina Turner picking crops should be free.”
The state party’s account, which was in the news last year for firing off a series of controversial tweets, added that Turner’s call for free insulin “is equally offensive as calling for someone to be compelled to pick crops.”
“They are the same moral statement, and we should react to them with identical moral abhorrence,” the account argued.
Turner bashed the party for its tweet, writing: “This is racist and anti-Black. Period. In no way is advocating for free insulin comparable to chattel slavery. Shameful & uneducated.”
The former Ohio lawmaker went on to point out that the account was “doubling down” and “tripling down” on its tweet before the Libertarian Party’s national Twitter account weighed in on the remark.
“None of the things you advocate for are ‘free’. They require labor and materials which need to be compensated for. Otherwise you are advocating for slavery. Hope this helps,” the national party tweeted at Turner.
Turner replied: “Taxpayers subsidizing life-saving medicine is not equal to chattel slavery. If you don’t agree with that policy stance, that’s one thing, but equating it to chattel slavery is extremely insulting. Hope that helps.”
The state party’s Twitter account has been subject to criticism in recent years for a number of tweets including one calling for the legalization of child labor, a “Happy Holidays” tweet on the anniversary of Sen. John McCain’s death, a tweet mocking the Holocaust, and a tweet with a photo that depicted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with an Adolf Hitler-like mustache.
The Libertarian Party of New Hampshire currently does not have any representation in the state Senate or House.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, in an appearance on CNN last year, said the Holocaust tweet should “pretty much be the end” to the party in his state.
“And I mean that. Again, horribly insulting, that is not leadership, that is not what people want to vote for,” he said.