Did Pat Buchanan Defend Slavery on National TV During His Appearance on "Hardball" With Chris Matthews?

Did MSNBC political contributor Pat Buchanan defend slavery during his appearance on "Hardball" with Chris Matthews?

Did MSNBC contributor Pat Buchanan, during his appearance on "Hardball" with Chris Matthews, defend slavery in the United States? He made this insensitive statement during a discussion about Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell's proclamation to commemorate Confederate History Month in April. I can't understand why MSNBC harbors this racist on their network. Here is an excerpt from Thursday's show:

Buchanan: They (the South) wanted to be free of the Union.

Matthews: They wanted to keep slaves.

Buchanan: Jefferson wanted to keep slaves; Washington wanted to keep slaves.

Matthews: 600,000 Americans were dead because these guys wanted to keep slaves.

Buchanan: That is complete nonsense, Chris, the founding fathers had slaves.

Matthews: That was wrong.

Matthews: Who was right in the Civil War?

Buchanan: Who was right in the Civil War? I think in a way both sides were right; Lincoln had a right to save the Union; I think they had a right to go free.

Matthews: Was it right to fight that war?

Buchanan: Robert E. Lee was right to fight for his fellow folks in his state…

Matthews: Maybe if he said, “we’re not gonna fight,” there wouldn’t have been a Civil War… Source: Liberaland

Pat Buchanan has made very controversial statements in the past and I have always asked why is he still being coddled by MSNBC. Then the Republican Party wonders why blacks don't support them in great numbers when you have prominent supporters making reckless comments of this nature.