Political Wire

McConnell Slams Steve King Over Racist Remarks

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell became the highest-ranking Republican to speak out against Rep. Steve King (R-IA) following his racially charged comments, saying that there is ‘no place in the Republican Party, the Congress or the country for an ideology of racial supremacy of any kind,” the Washington Post reports.

Said McConnell: “I have no tolerance for such positions and those who espouse these views are not supporters of American ideals and freedoms. Rep. King’s statements are unwelcome and unworthy of his elected position. If he doesn’t understand why ‘white supremacy’ is offensive, he should find another line of work.”

Republicans Pile On Condemnation of Steve King

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Des Moines Register: “The list of Republicans speaking out against Rep. Steve King’s most recent controversial comments now includes both of Iowa’s U.S. senators.”

“The growing backlash follows an interview with the New York Times earlier this week in which King, who represents Iowa’s 4th District, lamented why terms like ‘white nationalist’ and ‘white supremacist’ are offensive.”

“King attempted to clarify the statements. He issued a release denouncing white nationalism and white supremacy and took to the House floor Friday to address the matter, which he called ‘a freshman mistake.’ But backtracking hasn’t slowed the blowback.”

Reynolds Bluntly Tells Steve King to Decide His Future

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Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) signaled she’s lost her patience with Rep. Steve King (R-IA), “who won a ninth term in the U.S. House last week despite a firestorm of criticism for aligning himself with far-right European politicians and repeatedly making remarks critics have deemed racist,” the Des Moines Register reports.

Said Reynolds: “I think that Steve King needs to make a decision if he wants to represent the people and the values of the 4th District or do something else, and I think he needs to take a look at that.”

Steve King Referred to Mexicans as ‘Dirt’

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The Weekly Standard posted audio of Rep. Steve King (R-IA) using derogatory language to apparently refer to Mexican immigrants at a campaign event after King and his campaign denied the comments were made.

On the audio, King says that if he wants to grow spicy jalapenos, he’ll have to import dirt from Mexico. When King laughs at his comment, an attendee interjects, saying the dirt from Mexico is already “on the way.” King agrees, saying, “there’s plenty of dirt” coming from Mexico, the West Coast and other places, too. “This is the most dirt we’ve ever seen.”

GOP Lawmaker Says He Would Never Vote for Steve King

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Rep. Chris Curbelo (R-FL) told MSNBC that he would never vote for Rep. Steve King (R-IA), whose white nationalist ties are finally hurting his bid for re-election.

Said Curbelo: “His comments and his actions are disgusting. And look, I know nothing about his opponent, but I will tell you this: I would never cast a ballot for someone like Steve King.”

Steve King Loses Endorsement of Iowa Newspaper

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The Sioux City Journal endorsed challenger J.D. Scholten (D) over incumbent Rep. Steve King (R) in the race for the U.S. House seat in Iowa’s 4th District:

We aren’t suggesting Scholten is a perfect candidate with whom we have no disagreements, but we believe the job of U.S. representative is more than casting votes. As a congressman, we believe Scholten would choose his words carefully, create no national controversies, bring no embarrassment to the district, seek to unite and not divide, focus his time and energy almost exclusively on issues directly impacting the lives and livelihoods of constituents, and hold regular town halls with the public. He represents changes we believe speak to the best interests of this congressional district as a whole.

The newspaper had endorsed King in every one of his previous races.

King Won’t Delete Tweet from Nazi Sympathizer

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Rep. Steve King (R-IA), the anti-immigration hardliner, told CNN that he didn’t realize he retweeted a message from a self-described Nazi sympathizer who has expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler.

But King said he wasn’t sorry for unintentionally sharing the tweet and pointedly refused to delete the message.

When asked why he wouldn’t delete the message, King said: “Because then it’d be like I’m admitting that I did something, now I’m sorry about it. I’m not sorry. I’m human.”

Democrat Quits Race Over Death Threats

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Kim Weaver (D) announced she is dropping out of the race to challenge Rep. Steve King (R-IA) due to threats against her, WHO-TV reports.

Said Weaver on Facebook: “I have received very alarming acts of intimidation, including death threats. While some may say enduring threats are just a part of running for office, my personal safety has increasingly become a concern.“

King Says GOP Colleagues Are Supporting Him

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Rep. Steve King (R-IA) says he hasn’t been getting much pushback from fellow House Republicans about his controversial tweet over the weekend saying that “we can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies,” The Hill reports.

Said King: “My colleagues have generally been coming by and patting me on the back. And a surprising number have said that they pray for me. And, meaning they support me and they agree with me, a surprising number.”

He added: “I don’t often have members come up and say at the end of the day, ‘I prayed for you this morning.’ So they must think I’ve got a lot of arrows in my back.”

King Predicts Blacks and Hispanics Will Fight Each Other

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Rep. Steve King (R-IA) told an Iowa radio station that blacks and Hispanics “will be fighting each other” before overtaking whites in the U.S. population.

Said King: “When you start accentuating the differences, then you start ending up with people that are at each other’s throats. And he’s adding up Hispanics and blacks into what he predicts will be in greater number than whites in America. I will predict that Hispanics and the blacks will be fighting each other before that happens.”

King Refuses to Say Muslims Contribute Equally

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Rep. Steve King (R-IA) refused to say on CNN that Muslim Americans are equal to German Americans in their usefulness to society — doubling-down on recent comments that white people have made greater contributions to Western civilization than other “sub-groups.”

Said King: “I’d say they’re all created in the image of God and they’re equal in his eyes. If they’re citizens of the United States, they’re equal in the eyes of the law. Individuals will contribute differently, not equally to this civilization and society. Certain groups of people will do more from a productive side than other groups of people will.”

King Blasted for ‘Our Civilization’ Comments

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Rep. Steve King (R-IA), who last July said white Christians have contributed more to Western civilization than any other “subgroup,” found himself again the subject of criticism, this time for saying that Muslim children are preventing “our civilization” from being restored, the Des Moines Register reports.

King, who was retweeting a message endorsing Geert Wilders, a far-right candidate for Dutch prime minister, said Wilders “understands that culture and demographics are our destiny. We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies.”

King Says White People Have Contributed More

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Rep. Steve King (R-IA) challenged MSNBC panelists to name a “subgroup” that contributed more to civilization than white people.

Said King: “This whole business does get a little tired… I would ask you to go back through history and figure out where are these contributions that have been made by these other categories of people that you are talking about, where did any other subgroup of people contribute more to civilization?”

Lawmaker Tries to Block Harriet Tubman from $20 Bill

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Rep. Steve King (R-IA) wants to prohibit the Treasury from redesigning any currency to showcase Harriet Tubman, “but the Rules Committee denied floor consideration of the proposal Tuesday night,” Politico reports.

The conservative lawmaker said it is “racist” and “sexist” to say a woman or person of color should be added to currency.

Said King: “Here’s what’s really happening: This is liberal activism on the part of the president that’s trying to identify people by categories, and he’s divided us on the lines of groups… This is a divisive proposal on the part of the president, and mine’s unifying. It says just don’t change anything.”

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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