As Republicans try and brandish their African American outreach at the Urban League today some interesting reading assignments are being given out at the Koch conference where they will be spending the weekend.

In a recent letter to donors attending his 2016 Koch Primary audition extravaganza, Charles Koch assigned some recommended reading: an op-ed praising 19th-century British prime minister William Gladstone. “Gladstone’s policies, [Koch] said, offer a ‘good description of the direction I believe our elected leaders should be taking our government,'” according to USA Today.

OK — sounds reasonable enough, right? Charles Koch wants politicians to be like him —  but how bad can Gladstone have been?

Well, let’s see…

Gladstone was “outspokenly pro-South during the Civil War.”

Oh — not ideal. Anything else?

Gladstone’s father “received £106,769 (modern equivalent £83m) for the 2,508 slaves he owned across nine plantations. His son [Gladstone], who served as prime minister four times during his 60-year career, was heavily involved in his father’s claim.”

Oops.

So, Charles Koch wants Republicans to start acting like a Confederacy sympathizer, whose family owned slaves. Is this the GOP re-brand that was foretold?

Background:

PBS: Gladstone Was “Outspokenly Pro-South.” According to PBS, “For Americans, it is Gladstone’s position in the Civil War that may lodge in the memory more than his significance in English public life. Although he considered himself hostile to the institution of slavery, his father had held slaves in Jamaica until Britain made that illegal, and early in the war in North America he was outspokenly pro-South, possibly because he deplored the impact of the Union blockade on cotton mills in Lancashire, where there was widespread unemployment.” [PBS, accessed 7/30/15]

Gladstone’s Father Was Paid The Modern Equivalent Of $83 Million For 2,508 Slaves After The Abolition Of Slavery By Britain; Gladstone Was “Heavily Involved In His Father’s Claim.” According to the Independent, “But this amount was dwarfed by the amount paid to John Gladstone, the father of 19th-century prime minister William Gladstone. He received £106,769 (modern equivalent £83m) for the 2,508 slaves he owned across nine plantations. His son, who served as prime minister four times during his 60-year career, was heavily involved in his father’s claim.” [Independent, 2/24/13]

Gladstone “Allowed Himself To Be Carried Away, And To Utter Words Concerning The American Civil War Which Had Proved Almost Disastrous.” According to the book Gladstone by Richard Shannon, “If Gladstone himself was bound to recall this occasion, in later years, with a sense of regret, it was because he had allowed himself to be carried away, and to utter words concerning the American Civil War which had proved almost disastrous. Of Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederate States, he cried: ‘He has made an army; he is making, it appears, a navy; and he has made what is more than either, he has made a nation.’” [Richard Shannon – Gladstone, 1984]

“Of Jefferson Davis,” Gladstone “Cried: ‘He Has Made An Army; He Is Making, It Appears, A Navy; And He Has Made What Is More Than Either, He Has Made A Nation.’” According to the book Gladstone by Richard Shannon, “If Gladstone himself was bound to recall this occasion, in later years, with a sense of regret, it was because he had allowed himself to be carried away, and to utter words concerning the American Civil War which had proved almost disastrous. Of Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederate States, he cried: ‘He has made an army; he is making, it appears, a navy; and he has made what is more than either, he has made a nation.’” [Richard Shannon – Gladstone, 1984]