The Hateful And Divisive Record Of Bigot Steve King

[marmar]

from ThinkProgress:



The Hateful And Divisive Record Of Bigot Steve King

In comments typical of his xenophobic and hateful record, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) recently told a local Iowa radio station that al Qaeda would “be dancing in the middle of the streets” if Barack Obama were elected President “because of his middle name.” He said terrorists “will be dancing in the streets because of who his father was and because of his posture that says: Pull out of the Middle East and pull out of this conflict.” Watch it:

Despite having once called John McCain an “amnesty mercenary,” King said he is now supporting McCain for president. McCain has yet to repudiate King’s comments about Obama.

Steve King took office in 2002 after gathering “66 percent of the vote in a heavily Republican district that covers 32 counties in western and a bit of south-central Iowa.” And since that time, he has been a non-stop source of inflammatory hate speech. Some examples:

– King compared immigrants to “livestock” in proposing an electrified fence for the southern border.

– He has called undocumented immigration a “slow-moving terrorist attack.”

– King said that each senator who votes for the comprehensive immigration reform bill should “wear a scarlet letter A for amnesty.”

– King said the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib amounted to little more than “hazing.”

– King refused to vote for an innocuous House resolution commending the Muslims on the Ramadan holiday. (To attack those who did, he turned around and proposed a resolution commemorating Christmas.)

– King has decried an “assault on Christmas” from “secularists” who want to “eradicate Christ from Christmas.”

– King released a “report” baselessly claiming that undocumented immigrants have murdered more Americans than the combined death toll of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2002.

– King praised Joe McCarthy as “a great American hero.”

– After the terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed, King derisively said he was now at a place where there are 72 virgins who “probably all look like Helen Thomas.”

In addition to his impressive record of hate, he has also been prone to remarks of pure idiocy. For example, King said in 2006 that the average civilian in Washington DC is probably “at far greater risk” of being killed than an average civilian in Iraq. After Bush vetoed a bill that would have expanded children’s health insurance, King declared it a “victory” for kids. The Des Moines Register wrote in 2005: “Spare us more embarrassment: Replace King.”

UPDATE: McCain spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan told Fox News:

“The Senator has been clear that he intends to keep this campaign about the issues. He has condemned similar comments by (radio talk show host) Bill Cunningham. He doesn’t agree with King’s comments,” Buchanan said. “He intends to run a respectful race and keep it about the issues.”

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/08/steve-king-record/

[Critters2]

1. Steve King is the biggest asshole to ever sit in Congress.

Seriously.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

3. I agree, and JD Hayworth used to be mine.

JD is Paul Wellstone compared to this maroon.

[sasquatch]

2. Dude I thought it was bad when I had to admit to people that Boehner was from my state

Jesus even he isn't that bad, at least in public.