MAYBE STEVE KING SHOULD MEET MORE PEOPLE…. Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) ran into a little trouble two weeks ago, effectively accusing President Obama of racism.
This week, King returned to the House floor to once again share some thoughts on race, in particular his outrage over the creation of an Office of Women and Minority Inclusion as part of the Wall Street reform initiative.
“I’ve stood up and defended equal opportunity, and my voting record in this Congress is more consistent with equal opportunity than anyone I know — certainly anyone on that side of the aisle, because they vote for preferences. […]
“Martin Luther King never asked for this. I’ve read almost every one of his speeches and many of his writings. I can think of nothing in his writings and his speeches that I disagree with. He stuck to American principles. But this Congress under Pelosi leadership, this president, has not stuck to American principles.”
First, if the ridiculous congressman could resist the urge to speak for Martin Luther King, I know I’m not the only one who’d appreciate it.
Second, for all of Steve King’s boasts about standing up as a champion of “equal opportunity,” his record suggests otherwise. As Matt Finkelstein explained, “In 2006, he opposed the renewal of the Voting Rights Act. Last year, he voted against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and claimed gay marriage is a ‘socialist concept.’ More recently, he’s advocated for Arizona’s anti-immigration law by suggesting that police officers can identify illegal immigrants by their shoes and grooming.”
And third, if King doesn’t know anyone who cherishes equal opportunity more than he does, the GOP lawmaker really needs to get out more. As Adam Serwer recently explained, “This is, of course, the same Steve King who has defended the Confederate flag, advocated for racial profiling, referred to the Congressional Black and Hispanic Caucuses as ‘separatist groups,’ and said that people in the Middle East would be ‘dancing in the streets’ if Obama was elected because of his middle name. He was also the only — repeat — only congressman to vote against recognizing the contributions of slaves in building the U.S. Capitol, where King now spends his time spewing this kind of nonsense.”
