The GOP is a racist party lead by an avowed racist. It's that simple.
27
You have written about Steve King and his hateful words many times, yet he continues to be elected by his 4th district in Iowa. It's clear that his constituents support his racist points of view. You have no quotes in this article from the Democratic committee chair from the state or from anyone who has run against him. I don't think this district is a place that is hospitable for black, Latino, Asian, lgbt people to live. Unless you are a white Christian heterosexual I don't think it's a very good idea to live in the 4th Congressional District of Iowa, it's a hotbed of racists. While voting indicates there are some nice people, they keep on sending Steve King to Congress, I don't even want to drive through this district. These people are just down-right mean.
27
I concur with other fellow Iowans in that Steve King invokes the same sick feeling in me as does Donald Trump. They are entitled to their opinions. The horrifying thing about it is that there are not more politicians, on both sides, censoring these racist ideas which I naively hoped had died in the 60's. That these people are being elevated to "leadership" positions in our government only legitimizes their racism to the loud mouths at the coffee shop every morning who promulgate their bigotry both there and at church on Sunday.
17
The Republican Party does not have to worry about Latinos and they have figured this out. I have noticed here in Florida that Latinos are very quiet but when I have sought out their opinions many of them support Republicans and Florida voting results bear this out. There seem to be 2 factors. One is that many are Catholics who are anti-abortion. Another factor seems the that these people are here and making it and do not want a flood of new Latino immigrants coming in competing with them.
20
Great article. Anyone who thinks that racism is not at the core of Trump and his ilk has his or her head in the sand. Trump could come out in support of abortion, higher taxes on the rich, more welfare for the needy, greater rights for LGBTQ individuals and globalism and still retain his support. If Trump, however, altered his stance on race and religion, maintaining all other policies, his core would vanish.
14
I took a bus from Minneapolis to Mason City IA. My intention was to make it to Belmond, my mother’s hometown. There was no public transportation to get there so I set out to walk it. I made it about ten of the thirty or so miles but after a carload of hooligans shouted various epithets my way I turned around. The campground at Clear Lake was full, it was the Fourth of July, so I headed back to the hotel and took the bus back to Minneapolis the next day. I don’t know what I would have found in Belmond, you can’t go home again, but after reading that King represents the district that my great-grandfather homesteaded in, I doubt if I would have seen my stay as anything more than a curiosity.
I have fond memories of childhood trips to Belmond and even worked one summer on a farm outside the town proper. What I don’t remember is the kind of attitudes and politics exemplified by King. None of my relatives live in Iowa now, I don’t have to wonder why, they are all educated and a little left of center.
One day I hope to go back to Iowa, I always liked the place and the people. I don’t think I’ll be talking about politics or religion, that’s for sure.
10
Neo-nazis are not racists, they are simply conservatives. Americans seem to forget that the President of the United States is a reflection of the will of the people. It's too late to be simply "aware".
1
I was born and raised in the largest city in Steve King's district. When I was growing up, he never could have won. Now, it has seemed as if he could never lose.
But there's progress. He came closer to losing in November than ever before. And he did lose in my hometown. It's the folks in the smaller communities that put him over the top, and they must have been motivated by the same impulses that made so many rural people vote for Trump.
King and Trump have much in common, and I pray that they share something more in 2020. DEFEAT.
18
@bnyc My mother (born 1922) grew up in a Catholic orphanage in Sioux City. She would be appalled at this scoundrel. Three of her four children married immigrants (Italian, Mexican, Chinese). Steve King can, as she would have said, "go pound sand".
17
There he is the face of 21st century American Racism and he was elected ten times by Iowans. How is they they get to have any say in a Presidential election? One thing we could do to improve the Dem and GOP presidential candidates is to make the Iowa caucuses the last gasp not the first breath for 2020. I know it will not happen in the next cycle because we live under the tyranny of the minority. I do think it will happen soon thereafter.
6
“White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” Mr. King said. “Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?”
The connection of studying Western civilization as a way to advocate white supremacy is not only offensive, it is not based in fact. Western civilization studies the history of ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, both of which incorporated civilizations and cultures from northern Africa to Eurasia and the Middle East. Also, moving to the 19th and 20th centuries, people and cultures from countries from Africa and Asia were incorporated into the ruling European countries through colonization. My studies in western civilization acknowledge that this was done by exploiting the undeveloped countries with the notion that the European white culture was superior - yet in no way does identifying outdated beliefs in racism condone it.
It seems to me that Rep. King stopped his studies at this point and is ignoring modern and contemporary history for outdated theories to support his racist beliefs. He is not factual and history deals in facts. If he wants to be a racist, then fine - but he shouldn't try to use his own version of historical facts to justify it.
10
Iowa is all in all a pretty nice state. Nice people, hardworking.
As a neighbor state to Illinois, I’ve vacationed there many times. I will probably think twice about staying/dining/shopping in 4th district towns such as Sioux City, Ames, Mason City, Fort Dodge, Boone and Carroll. I’m not sure I feel comfortable giving business to a place where the majority supports someone like King.
9
Take a look around, ignorance and racism exists in your neck of the woods too. I hesitated to read another article with comments sure to implicate Midwestern or Iowa voters with his hate. There are other factors that play a role in his continued hold on that seat: gerrymandering, voter turnout, and a party, which happens to be entrenched in this state, that doesn't do enough to condemn this rhetoric. Steve King can be accountable for his tweets. That being said, I will be sending a contribution to his primary challenger.
70
@jd
Gerrymandering isn’t much of a problem in Iowa.
5
@jd
I don’t believe gerrymandering is much of a problem in Iowa. Likely on of the best states for drawing congressional line.
1
@jd The Republican party has not always been entrenched in this state. Until recently, Iowa was represented in the Senate by a Republican and a Democrat - one of the most liberal Democrats in the Senate. Eastern Iowa has had Democratic members of the House. The governorships have changed back and forth over the years. Most of the politicians representing Iowa have been moderates, no matter what their party affiliation. Steve King is anything but moderate.
18
I am an East Coast Liberal.
I abhor everything about Steve King. And I feel the same way about those who have continued to vote for him, despite the fact that he is an unabashed racist, white supremacist, and all around horrible human being.
However, some of the comments here are misguided and uninformed. Writing off the entire state of Iowa? Seriously?
In addition to the fact that (as many have noted) 3 of Iowa's 4 congressional districts are blue, King won this past race by the narrowest of margins.
In other words, tens of thousand of folks voted against this hateful person and his hateful agenda.
To write off all those who live in his district - or every single person who lives in Iowa - is the type of group attribution that we liberals rightly decry.
And it ignores the voices of the hundreds of thousands of Iowans who want to have nothing to do with this horrific man.
153
@Larry P Thank you! There’s are many progressives in Iowa, even in King’s district where I live. We worked hard to defeat him in the midterms and almost succeeded. Remember that Iowa voted for Obama. Historically we have been a moderate state. NW Iowa is the most conservative part of Iowa with a large Dutch Orthodox and Catholic population. The issues of women’s choice and gun control dominate the elections and many vote against their own best interests based solely on these issues.
40
Ah, yes. A defender of Western culture & Western civilization. I have no idea what that even means anymore.
As a graduate of the University of Iowa in Mr. King's home state, I'm reminded of the apocryphal story of the music undergraduate who, after class one day, walked into a cafe in Iowa City for lunch. She plopped her textbook down on the counter & sat down. The waitress walked over to take her order & smiled when she noticed the title of the student's textbook. The waitress picked up the book and, reading the title aloud, said: "'A History of Western Music' – I just love western music."
The past few years have seemed like a nationwide town-and-gown struggle.
52
@Steve That waitresses comment is classic American.
3
A good reminder that the terrible battle we find ourselves in right now for the soul of America is not, and never has been, only about Donald Trump.
Dark forces such as extreme self-importance and bigotry of all kinds have never gone away or diminished to the level we had hoped from the ugly days of slavery, Jim Crow, Chinese Exclusion, pogroms, burning crosses, etc. etc.. They linger and fester and then they find voices once again in immoral, power-hungry leaders and tired, uncaring voters/citizenry.
This time these voices have taken over the Republican party, and it started a long time ago, not with Trump.
It's a new fight and an old fight, all at once. Right now, it's our fight.
70
Steve King, a man nurtured & celebrated/adored by Center for Immigration Studies. & topmost rating from NumbersUSA. SPCL calls them 'hate groups 'but Times has been bullied into referring to them as a group that merely, you know, 'advocates lower immigration'.
2
Kim Reynolds, Iowa Governor, had Steve King as her campaign co-chair and supported King. It is not just the 4th District of Iowa that supports a racist.
14
I feel unfortunately compelled to add a redundant and obvious comment. King is one of the higher profile members of a very large American subculture of bigotry and selfishness that considers itself a "guardian" of something that never was. They are cheap, mean, spiteful little tyrants. (And I say that with all due respect.)
They will always find another group to hate, then they will turn on themselves when they run out of Others.
12
The Republican Party is as bad as Trump. No one cares about human suffering and for years they have used government shutdowns to force horrible policies on the American public.
King epitomizes what is wrong with a party that uses fear, hatred, racism and lies to gain and maintain power. I don’t expect McConnell and his pusillanimous Republican Senators to vote again on their previously passed budget and override Trump’s
likely veto.
They know that the Wall is not cost efficient or an effective border deterrent but lack courage to stand up to Trump. They care more about placating Trump and political power than the problems of average Americans and proposing honorable policy choices. They have used government shutdowns as extortion many times in the last decades. They should stop this practice and never use it again.
They are shameless and shameful.
6
I love a free press. Thank you again New York Times.
Perhaps politics would not remain such a dirty business if the people of the US had less filth from cowardly Congress members such as Mr. King. That decision is up to Iowans. Who I assume are, mostly good people.
5
Over sixty years ago an evil rose and spread through Europe, called nationalism/fascism. Germany's National Socialist Party, was not at all about "socialism" but straight up ...nationalism. Germany banned the word "nationalism" in all its forms from its dictionary and speech.
This theme of white versus everyone else has always been with us. My grandparents were from Spain where Fascist Franco ruled for 50 years, the horrors were not as horas Hitler's killing over six million Jews and "others" but Spain is still healing from the wounds of hate, racism and bigotry!
Be careful, dear America, with people like Steve King, Stephen Miller, Donald J Trump, etc.,etc., we can easily slip into the horror of fascism! The signs are everywhere! Including the dehumanizing of undocumented immigrants, with the word "illegal." It starts with dehumanizing "others." Read some history if you don't believe me!
"When fascism comes to America it will be carrying the cross, and will be wrapped in the flag," author, Sinclair Lewis.
17
If Mr. King really wanted more white babies he would support the Affordable Care Act, subsidized daycare and paternity leave. He would support strengthening union labor. He would be for taxing the rich. The reason the birthrate, particularly among white women, is plummeting, is because most people cannot afford children and those who are having children are those whose standards for raising them are lower than average.
6
@Anne
"...those who are having children are those whose standards for raising them are lower than average."
Interesting statement.
4
We fought a whole army of Steve Kings in WWII, we can do it again.
11
People of low intelligence and even less character are generally only capable of destruction. With his penchant for cruelty I hope he has no people or animals in his personal life.
6
This represents what must be fixed in congress if the United States is going to survive the next half century. The middle-western region of the country, one of the least populated, has disproportionate representation contrasted with other areas such as the northeast or the Pacific coast.
The idea of one person, one vote has lost its meaning in the United States. It’s basically placing more power in the hands of those living in the rural parts of the United States over urban and suburban citizens. When a state like North Dakota, with a population of approximately 750,000 people can send to congress three members, and a state like Minnesota, with a population of approximately 5,600,000 people sends 10 members to congress, on the surface this seems “fair”.
But take a closer look. It’s not fair at all. And when you consider all of the states comprising the Great Plains - North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, and Kansas, that’s 10 senators, all of them Republicans, representing 20% of the senate, representing approximately 9,500,000 people. In contrast, a state like California, with approximately 40,000,000 people, has two senators. With the senate in charge of selecting lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court, would it not behoove us to change this flawed system?
The U.S. was founded on the principle of no taxation without representation. It appears now that if you live in the American middle west, you’re going to have more influence politically.
8
Steve King gets an A+ from NumbersUSA and writes for Center for Immigration Studies. His support does not only come from Trump's base, and he alone has not pushed a nativist agenda. He has the backing of what has become a band of very, very rich anti-immigration advocates.
4
I'd like to thank the NY Times for not letting Steve King slip through the cracks of our public debate unnoticed. We need newspapers willing to shine some light on these dark crevices in the Republican party. Thankfully, he's finally out of the majority, so we're not likely to see any of his ideas bubble forth as bills in the House. And in two years, I expect Steve King will just be a distant bad memory to the citizens of Iowa 4th.
9
Why do we let a state like Iowa, which looks nothing like the rest of the country and whose citizens seem to be very comfortable with Kong’s racism have such an outsized influence in our Presidential elections?
4
@Sterling what do you suggest?
My father spent his childhood in Denison, Iowa, which also gave us Donna Reed, my aunt's classmate. He didn't attend the high school because his family moved to Omaha for jobs.
The house my father grew up in was occupied by a Latino family, which made sense: that's who takes the jobs in agriculture.
My grandmother always used the n-word, but my father joined the Air Force and without hesitation saluted his black colonel.
Steve King would have benefited from getting a little farther away from home than Maryville, Missouri, so he could flunk out of college. He might have found the greater world broadening, like my father did.
6
King and Iowa are where we need to build a wall.
5
This article talks about Donald trump and then it talks mostly about this King guy as if to make points about who Donald Trump is. If you want to talk about how bad you think Pres Trump is, then talk about Pres Trump. This is just a back door attempt to put Pres Trump down using sombody elses bad attributes. Its a dishonest swipe at best. Donald is not against Israel by the way like the last administration so obviously was, even Netanyahu i believe would testify to that. This is my opinion, and so far this is still America so i still get to have one.
3
If we continue on the road King and Trump have mapped out we become a white, christian version of the autocratic, ultra-religious governments of the Middle East. Terrible option but the choice for hate and ignorance is being legitimized by these people
3
Steven King and and Steven Miller are Trump’s only hope.
2
Four score and seven years ago,King’s Irish roots would have been disqualifying factor regarding whiteness.
6
1945. that is the year when white supremacist term became offensive worldwide. But it was offending people long before that. The Senate should censure this man. He demeans his position, the Senate, the Congress and the US.
6
This country has always been a white majority country by a large margin. Now liberals have made that out to be a bad thing and are actively trying to hasten it's demise. They have no idea what the results will be. Relying on mindless babble, like "a nation of immigrants", not nation of Americans and "the richness of diversity" ignoring the problems of diversity. they don't have the faintest idea where we are going, maybe on the way to join other disfunctional nations around the world.
2
I was born and raised in Mr. King's congressional district. I am so embarrassed and ashamed to know that people from my home town and surrounding area have proudly supported this vile individual over these many years. The northwest Iowa I grew up in wasn't like this. What has happened over the past 25 years? This type of behavior only feeds the stereotype that the east and west coast have regarding the Midwest. Not all Iowans are like that, I guarantee. Please don't assume they are.
78
The Iowa I grew up in 40 years ago was also pluralistic. I hail from Des Moines and went to Iowa State University. In Ames, I counted friends from both Iowa’ cities and rural communities; as well as out-of-state and international students. Back home in Des Moines - my family invited neighbors from all political views to their home for many social gatherings. Steve King does not represent that Iowa I know.
13
@Donna Chickering
When Iowa is sending their Representatives to DC, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems....."
12
We sit in our classes and be proud of our past. But, the past is past. Revisit the past and start trading in slaves? The present will soon be past and so is Steve King.
10
He’s equating “White supremacy” and “Western Civilization”? Sounds like radical left-wing crazy talk, and I don’t like it.
I can help Mr. King with one thing, though. “White Supremacy” became offensive the old-fashioned way: by offending billions of people. That includes most of us white people, in case he’s unclear on that.
A parting thought: I’m feeling irrationally sorry for Stephen King,the author, who seems to be a genuinely nice guy. Same goes for (most) rural Midwesterners.
6
Hopefully, with more articles like this, the white supremacists in Congress will be gone soon. I would also like to see the GOP stand up against the right-wing media that is holding Trump's mind hostage. When did Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh appear on a ballot?
27
King is a national embarrassment and Republicans have remained complicit and supported him for years. The Republican Party is now the party of Steve King and Donald Trump.
20
Why do Republicans always focus on the wall and never on Employers who higher illegals. An analogy to sum up our current policy is the following:
Imagine a wife who puts out bird food and a husband who dislikes the birds that are attracted. So the husband starts build a wall to keep out the birds. The wife is never asked to stop putting out bird feed and the husband is never asked to stop building ever more elaborate walls. Does this sound illogical... it should.
In summary, if Republicans really want to stop illegal migration they need to focus on what attracts the majority of illegals - JOBS! Focus on the employers and illegal immigration will be virtually solved in a matter of months.
16
They can start with Trump corporation and its affiliates.
5
While Steve King is openly a hateful racist, he in no way is the first GOPer to believe in the cause. Trump is a tiny bit less obvious but both of these men are true to the GOP tradition.
The Republicans prefer softer, more innuendo like Reagan in Philadelphia, Mississippi.
As the saying goes, not all republicans are racist but all racists are republican.
Sad.
Let's vote them all out of office. It will take time but it can be done slow;y and surely.
15
Steve King: scarier than Stephen King!
17
I believe we should be more fearful of Steve King than any immigrant that would cross our boarders.
33
I guess in a (imperfectly) representative democracy, bigots, racists, and other despicables have a right to be represented. In Steve King that have their avatar. It's a warning to the decent folks to fight for the permanent defeat of such people. King is the ghost of America past not its future.
6
King is a shameful blight on the state of Iowa. His former corporate donors owe it to Iowaians to support any primary opponent that runs against him and to support any Democrat should king be renominated.
9
A deplorable congressman representing his deplorable constituents.
21
House Republicans boo Ocasio-Cortez while Steve King is welcomed with open, but only white, arms.
It isn’t just Donald Trump who is racist. It is whole Republican Party that sit beside them. For any decent person the choice her should be either the racists go or I do. For those who stay, that is your Party.
At one point the Republican Party distanced themselves from unabashed racists. David Duke for instance. Now the hold out the seat for them at the table. Not any more. Republican is another name for racist.
10
“You could look over there and think the Democratic Party is no country for white men,” he said.
What else do you need to know?
14
“You could look over there and think the Democratic Party is no country for white men.”
White men are about 31% of the US population.
White men are 38% of House Democrats.
Try again, Mr. King. Your white nationalism is showing.
14
Ever notice how it's always the most inferior individuals who are the most vocal in proclaiming their racial superiority? And what does it say about a party that is happy to give them top billing?
10
Senator Grassley endorsed Steve King, another racist Iowa Republican.
15
@Jacquie
The senator is elected by the state of Iowa. Tells me the values of the people who live there.
3
If you own the accomplishments of whites because you are white, you need to own Hitler and Stalin too.
13
“‘White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?’” Yeah, what’s so offensive about implying that members of one race are automatically superior to members of every other race?
If this is truly what people are like in other parts of the country, I’m happy to be in my liberal east coast bubble.
21
True, isn't it? We are happy on the "Left coast" as well...not perfect, it I love our diversity!
6
Like Trump, King is as vile and racist as all Republicans but just says out loud the kinds of things they all say behind closed doors, at the club, over a few bourbons, after the help goes home for the night. They'd show in sheets or jackboots and armbands and goosestep into Congress if they could. But they can't because that would be bad optics, and wouldn't play well on the evening news. But that's who they are; otherwise a fool and bigot like King would have been gone long ago, and they never would have let Trump be nominated for president.
19
@Ignatz Farquad
True, but I'm not sure some of the media would show it.
I don't like Steve King's (nor Trump's) extremist vitriol. But the louder vitriol is within this article from the New York Times. Is this an opinion piece or is this couched as journalistic news? This article is essentially declaring this politician as a white nationalist/Nazi.
In addition, this article and the general trend among the MSM -- is to deliberately conflate legal and illegal immigration. Despite the many non-white immigrants that we (gladly) welcome to the USA, being more strongly against illegal immigration is an excuse to be called a racist. It is stupid to be fooled by the emotional conflation, and such conflation is dishonest, fake news.
Steve King/Trump may shout some crazy things -- but they are elected representatives who can be held accountable through a democratic process. The greater craziness is the persistent, corporate mass media campaign to conflate illegal and legal immigration.
9
I think your point is especially poignant given the rantings on the Right about fake news.
Guess what? Sometimes they're right. The New York Times, CNN, they're editorializing instead of reporting.
3
Nationalism and Nazism are very closely related. Look up the history of the rise of Fascism and Hitler. Hitler's campaign was "make Germany great again" ...true!
10
@TheUnsaid Steve King has been in Iowa politics a long time. The article doesn't exaggerate King's true opinions one bit, in my view. You say, "This article is essentially declaring this politician as a white nationalist/Nazi. " I say, if it looks and quacks and lays eggs like a duck -- well I guess it's a duck.
14
Steve King is part of the Freedom Caucus and those people are funded by the NRA and this year we learned that Russia is funding the NRA
It is all connected with the goal of destabilizing our country. These people, like Steve King, are paid disruptors who should be prosecuted for treason
25
“White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?”
"White supremacy" is offensive because calling any particular group "supreme" is contrary to the principles of democracy. "White nationalist" is idiotic because whites are an ethnic group, not a nation. And for barbarians like Trump and King to refer to their delusions as "Western civilization" is insulting to truly civilized people.
Did I explain it clearly?
17
Years ago--two thousand years ago, in fact--the Emperor Claudius got up in the Roman Senate to make a speech. He had some points he wanted them to consider.
Namely the great Greek city states--Athens and Sparta. Very powerful in their time. But they didn't last. Not the way that Roman Empire had lasted. Interesting. How come?
Because, said Claudius, their philosophy was--ONCE an alien, ALWAYS an alien. Do what you will, contribute what you will--you will never make it all the way up to citizenship. Never!
Romulus (Rome's legendary founder) had a totally different philosophy. We CONQUER our foes, oh yes! Then--we ASSIMILATE them. They bring their talents--their know-how--their everything to US. They BUY INTO the idea of being Romans. They BECOME Romans.
The Roman Empire, Mr. King, lasted a long long time. Counting both east and west, it lasted well over two thousand years. Not bad as empires go!
A hundred years ago, nativist Americans like yourself were concerned about Jews. Flooding in from eastern Europe. Socialists, probably! Anarchists! Communists! Saints preserve us!
But they got in anyway. And had children. One of those children helped Americans counter the scourge of polio. You know. Dr. Salk.
No country, Mr. MIller--NO COUNTRY--
--ever became great or stayed great--
--by closing its borders. Throwing up WALLS. Shutting out the world. Preserving "racial purity."
That's fool's talk, Mr. Miller.
Nothing more.
31
I agree. Just ask the Chinese who were eventually conquered by the Mongols. Or the residents of Constantinople now called Istanbul by their conquerors. Ask how well the Maginot lines helped the French at the start of WWII.
The idea of closing one’s society or industries off from the world is a recipe for decline and obliteration. Hmmm... think of what happened to China and Japan in the 19th century or Tibet in the 20th.
5
@Susan Fitzwater Frankly it sounds to me like the old South based on slave labor.
1
Absolutely fantastic.
It's too bad that our President and his administration stooges aren't smart enough to comprehend what you've just told us.
Trump is destroying everything that this country has stood for.
He must be stopped or we'll lose it all.
2
Mr. Trump and Mr. King ... not nice peoples ...
8
Securing the border is no more "anti-immigrant" than locking your doors at night is "anti-homeless."
6
@God Except when the reason to secure the border is explicitly stated as being anti-immigrant. Did you miss that part?
9
Both mentally ill crackpots. We should have amental health screening for all political candidates before allowing them to enter a race.
12
What a surprise that King, a born Republican, believes that the Democratic Party including both sexes and all races and religions makes them anti-white-male.
8
Looks like we can add women to the group of people he hates. Trying to keep contraception out of the ACA just so the white people will not become a minority? Does he think white women should be breeding factories just to populate the country for his beliefs? Good luck on that pal. Women are free and educated now.
Your plan won't work.
12
Sorry, Trump, you're not boxing me in.
5
''White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” Mr. King said. “Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?”
“Steve King is basically an open white nationalist at this point,” wrote Andrew Anglin, the founder of the neo-Nazi Daily Stormer.''
KKK grand wizard David Duke, who tweeted "GOD BLESS STEVE KING!!! #TruthRISING." Duke also suggested "sanity reigns supreme" in King's congressional district.
The Rusipublican party of corruption and hate is an international embarrassment.
7
Why are you profiling Steve King?? Do. Better.
1
That is why I will never visit racist Iowa again. No wonder your state is only flown over by most Americans.
9
@Daniel, Iowa just flipped two Congressional districts from GOP to Democrats. Also, do you see the irony at all in stereotyping an entire state and all of its residents, based on an article about a Congressperson who himself has engaged in stereotyping?
4
My father, and about a dozen uncles, served in World War Two along with millions of other Americans. The United States was in a war of survival against German National Socialism and the Empire of Japan. Some of that generation made appalling sacrifices for the survival of this nation.
Mr. King's attitudes are not in the least bit funny or trivial. He apologizes for regimes (his association with crypto-Nazi candidates, for example) that were responsible for the deaths of several tens of millions of people worldwide. The war cut a swatch of destruction through an entire generation of Americans and destroyed whole populations of individuals worldwide.
If Kings bible-thumping Iowa supporters are that desperate for their revenge against "the Blacks and the Queers," then I remind them of the cost: I will do everything in my power as a citizen to oppose their endorsement of people like King. That means I will seek to limit your religious freedom. Work hard, because I'm going to oppose it at every turn to the limits of the Constitution, including regulating your business in favor of public accommodation. If you want to disrespect American World War Two veterans, you are going to pay a steep price. Why should I respect religious freedom, when the voters of Iowa themselves repudiate the entire gospel of Matthew?
Americans should not tolerate people who promote an association with regimes that used mass murder to advance the doctrine of racial preeminence.
12
Mr. King is a blatant racist. Isn't it interesting that Trump copies him?
10
Fortunately, I guess, very few people look to King for cues on 'civilization.' Or at least, as Gandhi put it when asked about 'Western Civilization,' he said 'that would be a good idea.'
Why Iowans would continue to vote to be represented by someone with a 'Nazi-lite' ideology is curious, ends-justify-the-means reasoning. But hey, that's why Trump hasn't been run out of town yet. Stoke fear and hate for good measure and an electoral edge, and you have the neocons, the Tea Party, and Trump.
It is how autocracies gain a foothold, though.
5
King asked: “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?”
The Nazis? The Holocaust? Slavery? Native American genocide?
10
My husband has relatives who are married to those who are in the agricultural industry in the central valley in California, who admitted to us last year at their home during a dinner, that probably half of all their workers are illegal, but they wouldn't have a business without them. They all voted for DT, which is ironic, actually, considering the situation they are in. This is what we are dealing with, the fact that many millions of workers are needed in the businesses that are agricultural related in the fields or packing sheds, day care, housekeeping, meatpacking, landscaping, roofing, restaurants, tech, etc. and there is no easy, legal way defined by the government, to have them in place for all their jobs, whether seasonal, or not. In California, obviously, their state couldn't function without all those who are undocumented, so they promote sanctuary cities. Also, since the legalization of both medical marijuana, and recreational marijuana, most of the illegal drug trade, which is still going on in northern California because the costs to government are cost prohibitive (the new Netflix documentary, "Murder Mountain,") that everyone should watch, we have a state, California that is producing 80% of the marijuana used in the entire country, and California should be leading real immigration reform, but they are indifferent to any of it, really.
13
@MaryKayklassen The Trump golf resorts hire illegal immigrants almost exclusively. None of Iowa's meat packing plants, egg producers, dairy farms, or any other AG work would get done without immigrants and Steve King knows that all too well since his own extended family isn't out working in the barn but working for him.
13
Actually, undocumented immigrants work all over the U.S., including a state near you, Wisconsin! I heard a report this summer on NPR interviewing dairy farmers in Wisconsin worried because they cannot hire enough people to help on their farms! The story is true across the country, millions of immigrants do menial labor...such as the housekeeper which worked at the luxurious Trump Golf Resort in New Jersey, she told the story of not being asked for her "papers" the resort staff is made up on hundred of undocumented immigrants. Donald is as complicit as the marijuana farmers in California!
2
@Jacquie of course, both DT and King are hypocrites, dealing in fearmongering, not honest or good policy. Immigration got to this point because we don't have enough honest, and intelligent leaders in Congress. 5 decades, and all of those in Congress who pass legislation that needs funding, and refuse to tax for all of it are gutless wonders, what else is there to say?! The taxpayer has been asleep at the switch for decades, and this is where it all ends up.
1
This is the genius that was screaming at Google executives about his iPhone! It's pathetic that states will still elect this kind of trash.
20
This man is a cancer in our House of Representatives.
17
Rep. King is the Iowa version of the Ku Klux Klan without the sheet, but the same hideous ignorant racism coupled with white nationalism. King represents Iowa, simply put, which the citizens of Iowa own!
14
@Ken McBride You got that wrong, only SOME of Iowa owns King, the rest think he is an ignorant racist and should be unseated ASAP.
8
@Ken McBride
Only the citizens of his district. The rest of us are represented in the house by Democrats, two of whom are women.
Not so simply put after all.
9
@Ken McBride--That accusation made me uncomfortable because I live in a state where the inhabitants elected Ted Cruz. Not MY fault!
2
Soon Canada will build a wall investment it’s siuthern border to stop creep like King from moving into Canada.
8
You know that not every republican is a racist but I also know that every racist is a republican.
28
Trump and King are both racists and dime store intellectuals in positions of power. It is a shame they were elected. Shame on us!
20
White nationalist and white supremacist became dirty word once they were used to justify throwing people in gas chambers and hanging people from trees.
23
Amen
8
What a despicable individual. I bet his voters are mostly old scared white men. His days are numbered.
9
his last comment is the most sad, pathetic, and telling. That's right Steve - time's up for old white paranoid racist men. Either embrace change and learn from new people, cultures, ideas, etc, or quickly die off. There is no country you. You're right.
12
Today's Republican party not only welcomes but courts the Steve Kings of this world -- people (voters and candidates alike) with abhorrent, antiquated bigotries that decent people would be mortified to hold, let alone express aloud. And that's why for many of us, the end of the GOP can't come too soon.
14
Racists are always the last the to learn that they are indeed racists. Racism and racists are not uniquely found in the rural Midwest but are hiding in plain sight in big urban centers largely identified with liberal and progressive ideals of equality and inclusion. NYC resident racist, Donald Trump is but one example.
Lack of education and poverty are often identified as root causes of racism among whites. This is especially true in the most rural parts of America, including rural parts of California. All racism is wretchedly bad and unacceptable. Period. Racists who have been given educational opportunities and have demonstrated academic achievement and racists born into families of wealth, influence and power are arguably even more heinous than those whose racism root causes resulted from lack of economic and educational opportunities.
It is naive to think that racist hatred and fear will ever be eradicated entirely. For the majority of Americans who abhor this irrational and deplorable thinking, we must be vigilant in calling out those who use racist speech and engage in racist behavior, keeping them out of positions of power by voting responsibly.
9
@Jeff Agreed. I love all 22 million illegals as estimated by Yale University. Bring in 22 million more over the next 10 years. Our lower class here is lazy anyway. They could use more competition.
The only walls we need are for my gated community.
1
"It was a time when packinghouses and other agricultural employers had dropped wages, and Latino migrants increasingly were taking jobs that no longer attracted native-born Iowans."
Employers don't "drop wages". They pay what it takes to attract and retain workers. The correct sequence of events is that the Storm Lake employers somehow induced a lot of illegal "immigrants" to descend on the area and these folks were willing to work for less than legal workers. Pay scales dropped. Legal workers fled. The jobs were taken over by illegal workers.
At one time, the Democratic party would be irate about this, not defending it.
8
There was a time when an anti-immigrant President caught hiring illegal aliens to work at his golf clubs would have been thrown out of office, but Trump is instead mindlessly supported by his fellow Republicans. Don't like cheap foreign laborers "taking" Americans jobs, look at the Republican Party.
10
Well, the very obvious solution to this is to severely punish any employer who hires illegal immigrants. According to you, they are the ones responsible for providing jobs to these people, have much lower wage costs and therefore higher profit margins. Wanna bet this is gonna happen? I think not.
3
@Renee Margolin
All an employer is required to do under Federal law is look at a Social Security card and get a completed I-9 form. Illegal "immigrants" present forged Social Security cards as genuine looking as yours and they commit perjury to fill out the I-9. Employers hire illegal workers every day without breaking any laws at all. This is why you seldom hear about an employer jailed over hiring illegal workers.
We need mandatory eVerify and so far only a handful of Red States have made it mandatory, while states like California passed laws making it illegal for municipalities to require it. Links for your education:
https://www.lawlogix.com/e-verify-map/
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/16/local/la-me-e-verify-20111017
4
Forget about King. You need to go back to the early 1900s and that's where you will find the roots of ALL anti-immigrant politics. You will find all the same fears, all the same anxieties, the same identity politics (though they didn't call it that), etc. When Trump talks about immigration, it's as if he found an old speech from 1911 crumpled up in a dark corner of the White House. The NY Times should just reprint articles from its archive, since there's really nothing new going on in America.
3
Clueless, Idiot, A_hole. How did those terms become insults?
8
This language is entirely consistent with Steve King's previous statements and is not all surprising.
4
“White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” Mr. King said. “Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?”
Must've missed the lessons in history class where Western "Civilization" on the European continent regularly ripped each other apart. The latest iteration in the 1940s had Nationalist governments looks for "living space" for their people. Tens of millions died on the battlefield, in cities, and, worst of all, 13 million in German camps for the singular reason of not being German enough.
Not sure how Rep. King can blithely sweep this under the rug. The recurring end point of nationalism has always been mass murder and genocide.
17
@A Frank
Nationalist, aka fascist, governments, raised their ugly heads in Europe with Il Duce Mussolini in 1922, followed by the Austrian paper hanger in Germany in 1933, and Generalissimo Franco in 1936 after having won the Spanish civil war.
And yes, Rep. King is of the very same kind, as is the man sitting in the Oval Office.
3
@A Fran
He is evil, his supporters are too. And the structure of the Republican Party upholding trump is evil as wee
3
I literally do not understand how a paper that purports to be objective attempts to opine on important issues while deliberately conflating legal and illegal immigration.
It is absolutely mind boggling.
This country has gone completely insane.
9
@John
What is absolutely mind boggling that we have a completely insane white supremacist sitting in Oval Office, y'a know, the one that said there were good people on both sides at of the deadly Charlottesville Neo-Nazi marches.
And yes, a far too large population which considers themselves superior by skin colour alone, not education nor intellect, went bananas when a man with a darker skin and funny name won the presidency.
How dare he being so uppety, he should have applied for a position in the service quarters of the White House.
6
“White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” That he can't understand why, when that is used not a s source of prideful contribution o the benefit of all but to diminish others, is offensive and says there really is no path to redemption for Mr. King. It is the ultimate zero sum interpretation of life; I doubt he'll change until the very end when I expect he'll take the compassion extended by others, irrespective of who they are.
3
I’m in King’s district. He now has a primary challenger that will be very competitive. Also a very conservative republican, but hopefully less embarrassing.
Fingers crossed.
9
@Roland I wonder if Chuck Grassley will continue to support Steve King in his twilight years.
4
@Roland I live in this district too. So are mine.
1
And we can thank Sen. Charles "Chuck" Grassley for endorsing King in this recent successful campaign on the grounds, Grassley said, that he needed King's support to promote Iowa's ethanol businesses. King's rampant racism didn't bother Grassley at all. But it's starting to bother a lot of other Iowans in King's voting district, and that's a good thing because it has a lot of good qualities if you don't count bad ones like a Ku Klux Klan klavern, little mental health support and the high school dropout rates.
24
I just wanted to go on the record to say that Steve King is a rotten example of a human being. That is all.
39
So, we need a wall to stop Norwegians?
9
As a proud descendant of Norwegian immigrants, I commend you, sir, for having the courage to speak out. Enough is enough! My ancestors entered the country legally, drawn by the American Dream of free farmland. These Norwegians sneaking across our undefended borders today just want to take high-paying jobs and send the money back to Socialist Norway!
6
Ask King just one question: How many native-born Iowans, or other native-born US citizens are willing to work in Iowa's slaughter houses?
A followup might be: How long would Iowa's slaughterhouses last without ANY immigrants to work in them?
27
@Joe Rockbottom
This country has millions of immigrants. If legal immigrants won't do this work, it must pay more and restructure to attract and retain them. There should be no jobs in this country that can only be filled by people breaking the law to be here.
6
@Joe Rockbottom Also the article mentioned the slaughter houses slashed wages. Maybe people should also be paid living wages.
9
@Joe Rockbottom,
exactly, ask Steve King to put his money where his mouth is, and call ICE in on all the slaughterhouses and diaries in his district. Yeah, right, that will really happen. So tell us what do you really want, Steve?
4
Such lies NY Times, I'm for immigration, my family immigrated from Germany. Were against ILLEGAL immigration, your suppose to come in with a passport and visa and be inspected at a Port of Entry into the US by a Federal Agent. There are thousand of people waiting to immigrate, you just like the law breakers who enter illegally.
10
@Russell What you describe is the process for visiting the U.S. Do you know what the process is for immigration? The mythical line does not exist. You must be sponsored by an employer or a relative/spouse to get a visa to immigrate and that is far from easy.
Now how did your family immigrate to the U.S.? Were they refugees as many trying to come here today are?
I have been through the immigration process myself. I am an American and it took me one and a half years to get my wife here after I had lived in Germany for > 10 years. In Germany it took me two days to get a residence visa. I had to have a job contract and done. I have permanent residence in Germany based on family ties. Cost me 28 euros and much less time.
6
@Russell please read laws. It is legal to cross anywhere along any boarder at any time. the majority of people who are illegal are people with passports and visas. like your family.
2
There will always be haters, virulent racists like Representative King. What is truly dismaying is that apparently a majority of the Iowans in his district share that bigotry and keep sending him to Congress.
As a native Midwesterner transplanted to the East I am well aware of how some Easterners disdain all things Midwestern. But really, given Rep. King’s views and his continued popularity among his constituents, can anyone really blame their condescension?
6
@John Rohrkemper that and the fact that people from states like Iowa, Wyoming, the Dakotas think they are the majority of Americans when they aren't.
3
@John Rohrkemper
Yes, the dark side runs deep in the Republican party
3
King does not have any "national influence," just the occasional national coverage the main stream media rewards him with when he spews out click-worthy venom.
Instead of spreading King's minority of a minority nastiness, why not instead write up stories about the individuals being harmed by this needless shutdown?
4
Steve King has been a poster child for the really crazy right for years.
See: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2018/11/01/steve-king-jewish-muslim-republican-racist-poll-congress-iowa-4th-election-controversial-offensive/1844672002/
7
I do hope those seemingly nice Iowa folks in the photo with him have family and friends who read the New York Times and call them out on their hatred, bigotry and racism and for inflicting this so-called man on America.
10
Am I missing something or are people like King always Republicans?
24
@Clark Landrum BINGO!
4
Clark, he's from the Confederate branch of the Party of Lincoln. Their defection from the Democratic Party came after LBJ sacrificed his political career by finally standing up to Southern racists a century after they lost the Civil War.
Haters like Mr King are desperately holding onto diminishing support using propaganda outlets like Fox. His fans don't read the NYT, but I am thankful for articles like this one highlighting the mindset of the Americans who are apparently forgotten for a reason. The "failing" paper has a large and expanding digital audience, much of it international, who don't know much about xenophobic America.
You do realize big corporations are to blame for jobs going to immigrants willing to work for the wages offered in rural areas. Never forget that these same corporations busted labor unions, then exploited the workers in places like Central America until their societies broke down. I know I would be coming to America if I were in their places.
Read "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" for the history Republicans seem to forget. The rewards of unfettered Capitalism accrue to the same people over and over, yet the duped still vote to keep the system going. There will be a bitter end to our democratic experiment if people don't vote wisely in 2020.
4
The GOP is the party of self-serving RACISTS and put their interests ahead of the well-being of the nation. Someone prove me wrong.
11
Steve King makes Trump look like Mr. McFeely. Have you read the guy's Twitter feed? It contains some of the most despicable stuff I have ever witnessed. Pure hatred. Shame on Iowa for electing this man!
19
Amazing. The guy graduates from an all-white high school class. Now that high school is majority Hispanic, yet he demonizes Hispanics. Where would his high school be if it were not for the immigrants now filling the classrooms?
7
Steve King needs to read more history of world civilizations and open the window of his own narrow provincial mind. If he calls himself a Christia may be he should tell us where Jesus Christ was between the age 14 and 31 years of age. Why there is no mention of Jesus even in the bible of his those years.
May be we should deport Steve king back to the country of his grand father...... the whole family.
3
ANY person of color who votes in 2020 for Trump or any of these associated racists, should be ashamed and ready to accept that maybe they ARE second class citizens who will accept this tripe.
Notice I did NOT say don't vote Republican.
Just don't vote for anyone who thinks you should:
a) Be barefoot in a field pickin' cotton, or.....
b) be stooped over picking lettuce or working in a kitchen washing dishes.
7
Within the next 20 years, we will see a President Hernandez or President Perez, and this will no longer be a talking point. Remember George Wallace's "Segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever?" Steve King's statements are the dying gasp of a dying race, whatever you think of that. The Latinos have sheer numbers, while white families continue to have just one or two children. Give it 20 years, he will be gone, they will all be gone, all the old white racists who talk about the great societal advances made by the white race but who themselves, with few exceptions, never invented any software, never developed a heart valve, never wrote any music or made any art. They just don't like dark skin.
8
King's speech sounds much better in its original German.
7
Mr. King is a disgusting human being.It is hard to believe that he is warmly embraced by the President of the United States. Where do Ivanka and Jared stand on this matter.
5
We have heard this all before, Irish, Italians, Jews, eastern Europeans, Asians; they will be the end of the good ole USA. Except they weren’t.
They come here for a better life. If our democracy is fair and strong and our capitalism not distorted, then they will become productive citizens. It’s been proven over and over. It’s only in the perversions of the American ideal, such as Mr King’s, that the true threat lies.
10
So the Times is now informing its readers that the words "civilization" and "culture," even when not modified by "Western," really mean racism and white superiority.
In addition, expressions of concern for lowering birthrates or abortion constitute an "obsession" with them.
Readers, take note and sanitize your language accordingly.
8
King = racist = gloves off. Bulldozer operator, huh? Who financed THAT deal? Delve into King's background further and scour his and his family's financial dealings, past and present. Where there's an arrogant, blatant racist, you'll find patent disregard for the rules, including laws and tax regs.
8
Western civilization has spurred the advance of individual and human rights, science and democracy. But historically it has also condoned colonialism, racism and sexism. King conveniently overlooks these negative aspects of our history and rejects the country's efforts to free itself from that problematic past. His sneering reduction of the contributions of Hispanic and Asian immigrants to their cuisine disregards all the many other benefits of their arrival. People like King want white people to judge non-whites on the basis of their physical characteristics not the content of their character, i.e., their actions.
14
Iowa has 4 congressional districts. Democrats hold 3 of them... and then there's Steve King. So before you criticize the state as a whole, please keep in mind the majority of Iowans loathe Steve King as much as you do. We haven't been able to convince a majority of the 4th District of the error of their ways, but the times are a-changing.
32
There is a danger that the NY Times might oversimplify the diversity of viewpoints on the right.
Like all politicians, has a mixture of views, some of them wrong. He appears to be concerned about the white race dying out in the US. Liberals look at his pronouncements and regard him as racist.
But a larger number of those who oppose illegal immigration do not look at the problem through the eyes of race. The group Numbers USA for example pushes for lower levels of immigration, but not on the basis of race and makes attempts to ensure that dialog does not demonize immigrants or those of other races or heritages.
The problem seen by the other advocates of lower immigration is simply population growth itself.
Consider the Titanic. There were not enough life boats. Because of that a certain percentage of passengers were doomed to die. The race of the passengers didn't matter in the end.
The US has a long history of racism, including a period of slavery that ended with the Civil War. We can look back, and try to refight that war again and again.
But it is more productive to remember that we are all humans, suffering from collective problems.
One of those problems is global warming, another is the die-off in species of large mammals, which has transformed the ecology of the earth in the last two centuries.
Continued population growth is unsustainable in the long run, because it contributes to these problems, and impoverishes hundreds of millions in the third world.
5
@Jake Wagner
The other thing you missed in terms of humans was
a class system ,set up to always keep divisions in place.
@Jake Wagner, and unfortunately both parties get it wrong. GOP has not exactly been supportive of family planning, including internationally, that would help slow and reverse population growth that has globe hurtling on toward 8 billion; then 9 billion; then 10 billion; then 11 billion, before maybe, maybe, leveling off (as the Sixth Great Extinction continues). It is good GOP still has room for a few pro-choice people like Senator Susan Collins but it's a minority.
Yes, Democrats, unfortunately, have chosen, on other hand, to join hands with the Koch Brothers and Chamber of Commerce and National Association of Realtors, etc. in supporting immigration policies of de facto open borders and unlimited immigration to United States, including illegal. Incidentally, these 3 exposed by Thomas Edsall in another opinion piece as among the most powerful lobbyists in Washington.
US population has grown by over 44 million in just last 18 years alone, since Clinton left office. Democrats abandoned Jordan Commission immigration recommendations. So while Democrats are pro-environment in some ways, they simultaneously embrace the policies of habitat and ecosystem destruction; overtaxing of water resources; grow, grow, grow, real estate development everywhere; support their real estate developer campaign finance donors in trying to eradicate zoning and open space, etc.
2 disastrous political parties, with Democrats maybe getting slightest nod as better b/c more pro choice.
2
Sad to say, but it is the people of Iowa that voted for King. I have been lucky enough to meet and have Hispanics work for me. They are some of the hardest working people I have ever known. They are every family oriented. They even showed a concern for how well my family and business were doing.
When we shop we avoid things that are made or grown in states that show an attitude like or are similar to Iowa and go out of our way to find another source. It is not easy when so much of the market is now global.
3
This says an awful (and I do mean awful) lot about the people from his district in Iowa.
8
His eyes are so cold and frightening. This is the gift that gerrymandering has given us.
11
It is worth noting that Iowa is represented by three democrats and Steve King.
Fortunately, most of us do not live in King's district.
I keep hoping Nebraska will annex that sad part of the state, but Nebraskans seem to be far too bright.
17
Though his constituents couldn't find the wherewithal to vote for a Democrat over King, chances are he will be primaried out by a more acceptable republican. King has become a national embarrassment to his district. He's finished.
6
Welcome to Iowa! The place where we have chosen to hold our first presidential primary for decades. Forget that it spawns these types of politicians, is overwhelmingly rural, predominantly white and does not represent the broader U.S. population any more than Iceland. Does it make sense to give this kind of political clout to these folks?
6
I know people from Iowa. These are good people and hard working people. Why Iowans support the Steve Kings of the world is a puzzle more challenging than Saturday's NYT crossword.
Iowa is over 1000 miles from the border. Why are people living so far away so fearful? And why do they vote someone like King into office?
4
@wihiker Thanks to the Outrage Industry™ and it's hold on right wing media. They promote fear and rage to hold their audience in thrall to their awful ideas. Trump is the master manipulator and Steve King clearly has duped his constituents. Good to hear he may be primaried. He is the representative in Congress I most want to see ousted from having any kind of influence over my life (and I don't even live anywhere near IA). Once he's gone - I hope we can primary McConnell - he is the next worst and should be impeached for holding the whole country hostage to his whims since 2011.
6
Some Iowans supported Steve King just like many people of Wisconsin who supported Scott Walker, both ignorant racists.
5
A party that has this man with in their ranks better not ask me for their vote.
7
Now you're calling them "undocumented residents". Next you'lll be calling them "undocumented citizens". I'm very much in favor of providing them, and all other people who occupy space in America, with proper documentation. We need to issue, free of charge, a "National Status" card. It should be issued to all -- citizens; visa-holders; green card holders and others with a legal right to study or work here;and illegal aliens.
It should feature the following attributes:
Citizens are automatically registered to vote once they become 18.
All who receive money or other forms of value for work are identified via this card, and social security accounts are linked to it.
Welfare benefits of whatever kind are linked to and facilitated by the card and its underlying system.
Anyone over 18 who is unable to produce his or her card within a reasonable period of time is subject to prompt deportation.
Prior to establishing this system, we must establish a practical "Guest Worker" system which satisfies the legitimate needs of both workers whose employment and wages might be compromised by competition with Guest Workers, and employers who genuinely are unable to attract competent workers in exchange for fair wages.
Illegal aliens who are employed and can find citizens to sponsor them could be eligible, on humanitarian grounds, to obtain Guest Worker status rather than being deported.
With this program in place, no person should ever need to be referred to as "undocumented."
1
For all King's expression of interest in preserving Western Civilization, I doubt he actually knows much about it.
12
King should have been kicked out of Congress long ago. But he is apparently loved by Iowa soybean farmers now reaping the consequences of Trump's trade war with China. If he's so hooked on European-American heritage, he should ask himself why so few Norwegians want to immigrate here. It's because their country has better education, universal health care, a higher standard of living and a broader social safety net than ours.
10
Bizarre that a representative from Iowa has concerns about the border as it’s hardly a core issue for his state. Does he have a really bad understanding of geography (as well as the facts concerning the border, immigration etc)?
6
Are we certain that these republicans didn't cheat their way into office? When you see what is happening in No. Carolina, Georgia's Governor election, Florida and Wisconsin, it makes a citizen wonder if this is what they have been doing all along; illegally rigging elections. It's time we do some investigative work and find out.
2
Your wording clearly implies that calling for an end to birthright citizenship is one way of “demonizing immigrants.” Can you explain your reasoning here? Small reminder: no European country confers automatic citizenship on people just because they happen to have popped out of the womb on a nation’s territory. The U.S. is one of the very few countries in the world with that policy.
2
Wish this had been written before the midterms. I was in Iowa from May 2018 on, and tried very hard to get national media interested in JD Scholten’s race against King. Mother Jones did a very early piece, but it took David Dayen writing in The Intercept in mid-October to have other reporters suddenly do their own version, most of them right before the election. Could have used the national coverage in June, July, August and September.
7
"a time when packinghouses and other agricultural employers had dropped wages, and Latino migrants increasingly were taking jobs that no longer attracted native-born Iowans."
Or maybe-this might sound crazy but hear me out-the presence of large numbers of Latino migrants willing to work for peanuts drove down wages below what native-born Iowans were willing to work for?
The Times's theory seems to be: employers spontaneously lowered wages, leading to Latino migrants. Wouldn't a more plausible cause and effect relationship be: Latino migrants arrived, allowing employers to lower wages?
3
As a follow up to yesterdays comments....I am sure that there are Trump supporters who realize that the whole 'wall' issue is a folly. But the Dems have failed to address this in a way that might penetrate the base and sway some of the base away from this 'wall' escapade. The Dems seem content to try to make Trump look like a fool. As I said yesterday he does a fine job of doing that himself. He doesn't need Schumer or Pelosi to help. Please use your time I front of the cameras to offer alternatives and don't waste your time trying to insult DJT which only serves to further alienate the base. FOX news is not going to discuss DEM proposals in any serious way. They will only regurgitate the 'open borders' propaganda. Use the media to explain your immigration and border security ideas. Responding to DJT's delusional rants by pointing to him and laughing is a waste of time. Give us the your version of the facts.
3
This says an awful (and I do mean awful) lot about the people in Iowa he represents.
5
Question for the Evangelicals who support Donald Trump and his buddies like King. Where in the Bible does is say it is OK to hate those who are not white, not male and not rich? It is astounding that every church in the land is not fighting against what they stand for.
8
The NYT failed to explain why his support has been shrinking since last election. His contenders did a very good job, contrary to their predecessors, what has been the reason of his multiple reelections.
2
I think it's time for all good men and women to vote every single republican out of office. They are trying to destroy the republic.
3
'
“White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” Mr. King said. “Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?”
'
There is no equivalency between the terms 'white nationalist'or 'white supremacist' and 'western civilization'.
Perhaps that's all Mr. King did in class: sit.
5
With all due respect, you are corralling some notion of "Anti-immigration" into the same folder as "Legal Immigration." There is a big difference. Mr. King clearly was for legal immigration, as is this current president, along with many, many Americans.
You are also attempting to re-coin a phrase for illegal aliens...who come here/attempt to come here illegally, as "immigrants." You can call them what you like, but they are breaking the law, and therefore criminals.
Obtaining citizenship in this country entails following an existing process. As a nation of law-abiding citizens, let's all start expecting that of people.
3
As others have said, it is far past time that the role Iowa plays in our presidential politics be severely diminished, if not eliminated entirely. Although I'm sure there are some very fine people in Iowa, none of them appear to live in the district this neanderthal represents.
3
There are fewer and fewer states where I will live. For my grandchildren ...leave America.
1
People who enter the country illegally, or overstay visas and remain here illegally, are not "immigrants", just as people who pilfer merchandise from a store are not "customers".
9
Dude, half of Vermont was settled by what you would now call "illegals," n'est-ce pas?
3
@RM
Hmmm, yeah, being from Vermont, can understand how you feel of those illegal immigrants from CANADA.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/24/canada-vermont-illegal-border-crossings-immigration
4
The white population of this country went from offering a Peace Corps 60 years ago--serving as ambassadors for the US and Democratic principles--to White Nationalism.
As a skilled immigrant from South Korea, my mother was hosted and sponsored by White protestant family in the Carolinas until she was acclimated in the US. While she moved to the North East they still kept in touch over the years through mail.
Even prior, she even mentioned how US soldiers in the Korean War were very, very different from soldiers from other countries. While obviously not perfect (see various tragedies and massacres), US soldiers would pass out food, candy, and generally interact with children.
In stark contrast to the Imperial Japanese soldiers, North Korean soldiers, and Chinese soldiers of the various wars that she also endured. None of whom were out to win the hearts & minds of the local population in any sense of the word.
But now here we are: I can't imagine that this sort of graciousness and decency has ever existed in America.
10
@John
It's easy to extrapolate from the ugliness of Mr. King and the growth in nativism that "the white population" in the U.S. has abandoned decency. And as a white American it isn't possible for me to fully understand your experience as an Asian American. With that said, I urge you to resist categorizing "White America" as a mono entity that has gone off the rails. There are vast numbers of people who understand that one of our principle strengths as a nation is our multicultural, and multi-ethnic, fabric. Please keep your mind and heart open.
6
It is not lost on me that the Iowan people are responsible for inflicting Rep. King on our country, and that this is the same state that is given a hugely outsized portion of influence over our electoral politics. If you vote for this guy, I'm sorry but you are either racist or you provide material support to racists. Why are we letting these demonstrably racist people such a huge say in our national politic? A state with about 6 electoral votes somehow has more impact on our general elections than NY, a state with many times more people and economic activity.
208
@Greg It's worthless to call them racist. Steve King and his supporters, as with Trump and his supporters, are categorically domestic enemies of the Constitution. They should be treated as such. Keep in mind, though, in King's district in NW Iowa 153k (including 147k for the Democrat) voted against him, and 157k voted for him. We must not paint with too broad of a brush. Democrats won the other two Iowa House districts last November.
20
@Greg
If I had time I'd give you a civic lesson since you obviously slept through high school government class. The people of Iowa's 4th District - only a quarter of the state - elected Steve King, not "the state of Iowa." You can criticize them all you want, as the rest of us consider them buffoons anyway.
14
Bash the state of Iowa and its place in electoral politics all you want. I largely agree. But, please understand that Steve King represents (and is continually re-elected by) a small portion of the state of Iowa. The population of that district is 93% white and is very rural. As an Iowan, Steve King in no way represents me or my views. Alas, he is not my representative either.
18
Today The Guardian attempts to define populism which is a word used all too often today and means very little until we define middle-class. The definition of middle-class in the dictionary is what populists like Steve Bannon and Steve Miller call the elite. It was what Monty Python lovingly portrayed in their sketches most notably the Upper Middle Class Twit of the Year. Most of us who read the NYT are middle class and wish our children and grandchildren to be. It is the class that Canada tries to make accessible to all our children.
At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries William Jennings Bryan was the populist politician who united socialism with the religious fundamentalists. Maybe it is difficult for moderate and liberal Americans to accept that the same man who defended the State of Tennessee's right to stop the teaching of evolution in 1925 is the same man who tried to bring democratic socialism to America.
What was called Christianity in the 19th century was a religion of peace, compassion and understanding and unrecognizable from the religion called by the same name today. Inherit the Wind is a great movie but it reflects our understanding of what most of us believe is America. Those of us who have waited for Clarence Darrow to appear in Jackson Park know Darrow is not going to appear.
Why do we not accept that Bryan has joined the GOP and has made democratic socialism an anathema to its base? America is a Christian country but Christianity now stands on it head.
4
@Montreal Moe
Interesting that the two words Populism and Fundamentalism, which have become all but indispensable in political discourse, both came into the language because of that remarkable man William Jennings Bryan. It is a pity that all most people know of him today is the sad spectacle he made of himself towards the close of his life at the Scopes trial.
2
@Montreal Moe
Not a Christian country but where a majority are the population practice it.
1
@PL
Thank you. I have spent the last week thinking of William Jennings Bryan and how our politics are in harmony and our theologies are 180 degrees apart. I can't stop thinking that America has a theological not a political problem. If the problems are political we can talk about solutions and the best possible solution. If however the problems are theological there is no common place between dogma and empiricism. Twenty five hundred years of Western Civilization and we are back to the debate between Socratics and Sophists.
3
The DesMoines Register and the Souix City paper both endorsed JD Scholten, who ran a fun and close race against King in 2018.
17
@DC JD Scholten should run again, for laughs and a win in 2020!
After all, Mr King is getting $174,000 a year plus expenses plus gym and cafeteria and all the stamps he can use -- and what are the public getting?
Is it a fair deal for everyday Americans to have a rep who supports a government shutdown instead of negotiations? How many families are losing pay, food stamps, and other assistance because of the Trump Shutdown?
How does it benefit Steve King to continue supporting that shutdown?
3
Steve King mistakes the culture of ignorance and bigotry for American culture. Someone should make him - and those like him - read the Federalist Papers, Ben Franklin, Tom Paine or just about anyone else who either founded or supported American ideals and they will discover, that (like the Bible these folks can't be reading either) the story is all about tolerance, opportunity for all, blocking religion, superstition and prejudice from polluting governance, and opposing factions who in their self-righteousness seek to oppress others. It's the Kings and Trumps of America, and their cheerleaders in the evangelical right, who are the anti-Americans.
88
@Cephalus I hate to break it to you but ignorance and bigotry are a large part of American culture and always have been. Your refusal to acknowledge this fact is one of the reasons we continually have to battle against it.
2
Wow. This guy King is really a virus. How has he not been knocked out long ago? Time for some research and development to inoculate ourselves from his illness.
24
@Maridee
Unfortunately the ‘virus’ has infected the Republican Party.
4
@Maridee
Iowa...the state that takes federal handout money by the bucket load for farmers and opiate abusers and meth heads, and who call everyone of color leeches or worse.
5
King is lamenting that the national norms will no longer provide white men controlling access to the levers of societal control and power. What lies beneath his lamentation is fear of one thing - Karma. He fears not only what he will lose when she pries his hands from the levers of power, he also fears what price he may pay as a consequence of how he has wielded that power.
32
What a sad, little man. Elected by sad, little people. I guess we know what that part of America is about.
35
@MassBear
Careful, now...soon you'll be talking about baskets of deplorables. As a Midwesterner with New England roots, I lament your feeding the beast by stereotyping all Iowans, or all Midwesterners, or maybe all residents of "flyover country" as sad and ignorant hicks. There are plenty of pragmatic moderates and progressives in Iowa (and Ohio). (And, I should add, plenty of right-wingers in rural New England.) Many of us wonder what happened to our state(s) since Trumpmania took hold. But I encourage you to resist the urge to paint us all with same broad brush, lest you fall into your own stereotype - of out-of-touch, intolerant coastal elites.
2
@MassBear Maybe not. he almost lost this time. That should count for some hope.
5
@Midwest Moderate, I am sure that there are progressive Iowans but the ones who voted for this clown don't fall into that group.
1
"...attracted the attention of hate-watch groups like the Anti-Defamation League as he spoke increasingly about preserving “Western culture” or “Western civilization.” "
So..wanting to preserve Western culture is now considered a hate crime? To me this shows the insanity of the political correctness du jour.
10
@Kai
The are code phrases. Eighty years ago it was Aryan culture. Fifty years ago it was Southern culture.
Relax. Western culture will stay with us as long as there is Mozart and rock and roll, though the latter has suspiciously African roots. Have you checked what radio stations King listens to?
4
@kai, there's nothing wrong with defending ideas of 'western civilization'. There IS something wrong with implying that all people who aren't white are dangerous to western civilization. It's important to keep in mind the larger context and motives of people involved when posting laments about PC culture.
5
@Kai
These are ‘catch phrases’ - people who care know they are stand-ins for racist, anti-Semitic jargon. Not “political correctness”. Just facts.
3
Maybe we should just build a wall around Iowa.
27
Or learn from Iowa.
3
@MD
White nationalism isn’t a difficult concept to grasp. What more do we really need to know?
Steve King is representative of what the worst of America can be. If he is representing a portion of Iowa, then that is where a wall should be built.
107
They got a bad name when it was implied that all those terms are superior to others and that is what offends me. That is why i find him and DT so offensive.
9
“'White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?' Mr. King said.
“'What does this diversity bring that we don’t already have? Mexican food. Chinese food,' he said. 'Those things, well, that’s fine, but what does it bring that we don’t have that is worth the price?'
"Last week, as the new Congress was sworn in, Mr. King sat on his side of a chamber sharply delineated by demographics. The Democratic majority included record numbers of African-Americans and women, including the first Native American and the first Muslim women. Mr. King’s side was mostly people who look like him.
"'You could look over there and think the Democratic Party is no country for white men,' he said."
The banality of evil.
52
Why do you keep offering platforms to these folks, NYT? He neither deserves the writing that is afforded him nor the attention of readers who seek understanding about the resentment against immigrants. An exploration of racial history and the ways in which schools fail to educate their students in matters of racism may be more worthwhile than articles devoted to the canonization of radicals.
15
@DC The man is a sitting Congressman elected by American voters. NYT is reporting on his (vile) views and how he influenced the POTUS. That is not giving him a platform.
3
@DC
Amen
1
“You could look over there and think the Democratic Party is no country for white men,” he said.
Congressman King left out one very important word.
- The Democratic Party is indeed no "country" for ONLY white men.
- Just as the United States of America is indeed no country for ONLY white men.
Many of us who are Democrats (including this white man) understand and embrace the idea that our elected officials should represent all Americans.
In contrast, Mr. King (like those who continue to vote for him) has made it crystal clear that he believes otherwise and would like to hang a "whites only" sign over the U.S.
For that he should be condemned. Roundly, frequently, and loudly.
173
I agree completely. The man is despicable
11
The paradox is that Bloomberg might be able to be elected as a moderate Republican but can't get the nomination, but can't get elected as a 'moderate' Democrat tho he might be able to gt the nomination.
"...regarded as an economic centrist" ...and "was a loyal ally of Wall Street". A positional oxymoron if there ever was one. Regarded by who? (sloppy reporting). By Paul Ryan? By Gary Cohen, a self-defined Democrat, former president of Goldman Sachs , chief economic adviser to Trump and supporter of the Trump tax cuts before resigning? Before his current incarnation as a Democrat Bloomberg was a longtime Republican and has never supported progressive economic ideas like a livable minimum wage, single payer medical insurance, or tax reform measures to more closely ensure that equal incomes pay equal taxes. His views might best be described as similar to yesteryears now extinct Republican moderate to moderate-conservatives.
3
@Hadel Cartran
Bloomberg fits into Trumps world, while mayor he only cared only about the upper east side. He worked hard to destroy the public school system in favor of his charters, taking away public school buildings to give to charters and their fearless racist educaional leader Eva. Bloomberg had his police department arrest people with his Stop and Frisk for just being a minority. A court order had to be imposed to force the Fire Department to hire qualified minorities instead of just white men and women. Bloomberg is just like Trump with his racism, so he should just go away, spend his millions in the fight against the NRA. Continue to fund his hospital in Israel and leave politics to the professionals since his track record of imposing his will on people has a lot to be desired.
1
When Rep King wants immigrants to “assimilate” to American culture, he wants to go beyond requiring that they speak English to what they eat, wear and worship.
7
The problem is not Steve King.
He is what he is and no one should expect him to be anything but what he is; a contemptible racist!
The problem lies with those who voted for him and share in his views, in addition to a political party that tolerates both him and his beliefs as a means to try and maintain whatever power they have.
The question then becomes how much longer must we as a society tolerate and co-exist with such outright ignorance and displays of racial and religious contempt.
So when someone comes up with an answer, let me know.
16
When did "white supremacy" get a bad name? Good question. Maybe around the time "racist" got a bad name.
24
@Skeptical Observer
What makes "white supremacists" *supreme"? Only the thought, in their own little minds that they are somehow better than others; the same applies to racists.
If your little mind could grasp the truth, Native Americans are the first peoples of this nation. They are brown!!!
2
Welcome to the world of Trump nation, whom we are told are not racists, who are people who economically have been hurt by globalization and technology, who are worried about their economic future...and this shows that racism is a big part of it, whether it is outright like rep King, or hidden (in the idea, for example, that ACA provided gold plated medical care for free to 'those people (blacks, hispanics), or that illegal immigration is why good paying jobs disappeared, or that if the illegal immigrants had been from Ireland or China they likely wouldn't care, but because they are hispanic, well..).
The big irony is that King's district is full of evangelical Christians, who proclaim themselves true believers, but don't seem to have a problem with White Supremacy despite the fact that a)the Jesus they worship was not a European white male and b)that the bible doesn't say "love thy neighbor, as long as he/she is white".
46
I support the liberalization of immigration law but strongly object to illegal aliens entering the country. Does that make me anti-immigrant? No it does not.
6
@Thomas Smith Seeking asylum at a port of entry is not illegal. This administration is pretending that seeking asylum is criminal behavior.
56
Among animal advocates, this creep has the very worst reputation in Congress.
20
While I definitely don't support open borders , sanctuary cities or illegal immigrants, I think that there should be a path to citizenship for people who are already here and are honorable people.
That being said, Steve King and his Iowan voters and followers are the complete opposite of what this country should stand for.
The fact that he receives donations from individuals and corporations is vile and perverted.
23
@frank - I wish people would stop saying "open borders".
Who has been calling for open borders?
5
But he's exactly what Steve Deace, another hyperventilating Iowan lovingly profiled in The Times, stands for.
Apparently the Republicans. They keep saying it.
@Anthony Flack
2
In my close to 70 years I have seen the effects of racism in this country that still exists years after the anti-segregation marches.
What I see is many racists, white supremacists and hangers-on flock together and share the "ideals" and ideas collectively.
Trump and possibly his advisers share the bigotry and allow themselves to be parroting persons such as King.
The big question is why would someone work for a racist, unless that person shares that racist view?
Perhaps we, in this country, are reverting to days past that I hoped we would never see again-the exclusion of anyone we disdain-due to country of origin, skin color or religion.
Yup. Trump is making my country white again.
21
Trump and Steve King are haters.
Too bad they can't find a more constructive way to spend their time.
22
After asking when white supremacy became offensive, King said, "Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?” Calling out racists like King is important. But we (white people) must not stop there. We also need to recognize and dismantle the system of white supremacy that creates racists like King in the first place.
27
We need to keep Fox News from being available in Basic cable packages. People should have to pay for that drivel.
3
“White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” Mr. King said.
That is our problem in a nutshell. Willfully ignorant does not begin to describe either King or Trump.
42
Come on NYTs, SPLC & ACLU are no longer valid sources.
7
Come now, that's just the Hannity talking.
Glad you're enjoying the trial subscription. Have a super sparkly day!
3
This is the big story of the decade: when the GOP had the choice to present policies and ideas it turned away, focused instead on demagoguery, fear-mongering, and lying about what they mean to accomplish.
They did not learn in 2016 that the victory was Pyrrhic, they did not care when their hate-mongering was rejected by a 9-point margin nationwide, and leading up to 2020, they still know nothing but preying on ignorance and fear to keep power. Only continued losses at the polls will show them the way to reform, as they are unrepentant liars, cowards, and utter fools to follow their current course. Make America Great Again, indeed...
27
This tells me all I need to know about the people in his district, they are the real undesirables here.
Among them is congressman Nunez family.
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a23471864/devin-nunes-family-farm-iowa-california/
13
@David Underwood This does not tell you everything that you need to know about the people in his district. Most are hard working decent people who are startintg to tire of this man's behavior and stands on cultural issues. I think that his "Fear" card is wearing thin. There are no large newspapers available in his district or broad band internet. The internet issue is changing as is the districts way of thinking.
13
@David Underwood
I live in his district. Broad brushes are poor tools in most instances. The district is Sioux City, a moderate, very, very slightly left-leaning small city, Ames, home to Iowa State University, and a large swath of small towns and farmland. Were King not the incumbent, he would surely have lost in November. But the rural folk here are like the rural folk everywhere: they do not like change. And unfortunately there are too few like me who are willing to bring my liberal East Coast values to the district. So you can judge all you want. I'm sure it's very comfortable to point fingers at other groups and say, "Those people are the problem." But ask yourself just how close such prejudices and generalizations are to those whose political opinions you believe are truly misinformed. A shift is happening here. It will be slow, but it will happen. The district is slowly diversifying. And once the minority groups become more strongly tied to the community, their voices will rise and their votes will be counted. In the meantime, we cringe at the most visible and noisy member of our district.
26
@David Underwood IA-4 is the odd duck. The other three Congressional districts in Iowa are represented by Democrats. The state is surprisingly one of the more bluer states in the Midwest.
3
The truth is that before DT, and King, there was the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, that was passed by Congress after President Reagan granted amnesty to between 3-4 million immigrants without legal status, which intentionally was unenforced with business, as the need was great for workers, the paperwork was too much, and the agencies in charge of fines, didn't want to be harsh. Since 1986, there have been 1 million and more coming over the border illegally each year, and over the last decade, there have been 1 million each year with legal Visas, most of who intentionally overstayed them. Unlike Switzerland, that would find you within a month after a 6 month Visa, where if you didn't go home, they would find you and send you home. Yale University did a study that there were potentially 25 million here without status, from Africa, Asia, Australia, Central America, Europe(which includes Russia), Mexico, the Middles East, South America, etc. whether fleeing violence, criminal charges, giving birth so their babies could be born in America, and have easy access to college later on, the benefits they can easily receive here, etc. They are here, and we should be honest about the needs of business, the costs of fragile people, illiterate people, millions of children who will need free education, food, healthcare, housing, etc., the criminal element relate to the drug cartels and mobs from around the world, etc. Failure by both sides to see all the truth is the problem.
9
@MaryKayklassen Well stated!
1
This is what I have been screaming about for two years! Since Trump entered the Oval Office the Democrats and liberal media outlets have been yearning for "the days of old" Their long lost contact with the traditional Republican Party..... My question is: Why?
Liberal voters better realize the GOP are in lock step with Trump. They are just glossier, nicer versions of him. The GOP is and always has been anti-government, regulation, homophobic, racist party. They may feign shock and awe over Trumps actions but inside they are glad Trump is their front man. Trump says and does things they have kept inside [behind closed doors] for decades. And for that they offer him protection.
The GOP and Trump are one in the same- Trump is stupid enough to express his feelings in public - The GOP agrees with him 100% and they are smart enough to keep their mouths shut.
36
@Aaron Absolutely false. If GOP was with DJT why wasn't funding approved and wall construction begun when GOP controlled all? GOP and Dems both the same liars. Each complain about needs but ignore any opportunity available to fulfill. Politicians love wedge issues, it ensures they never have to work. Both sides realize (and have stated) the devastating impact of illegal immigration...Yet neither wants to do anything about it...Media is completely out of touch and even less responsible on the subject (but who believed that could be possible?).
2
I grew up in Iowa. My grandparents were farmers and their whole group of friends and relatives were racists. It just goes with the territory- like corn and soybeans. My mother was more tempered in her views and although King is much younger than her he has succeeded by openly promoting a racist agenda from day one. My grandparents would of loved him.
18
@oscar
I grew up in that district. My dad's insular family were from the northwesternmost part of the district, and I'd hear racist commentary from them, mostly in the form of "jokes." It was all directed at blacks, not Hispanics. The notion that their mindset is influenced by jobs and welfare use is convenient, but wrong. The mindset is cultivated stupidity, a smug hatred and fear of anyone or anything "different." They'd use the word "different" as anything they didn't like. So the mindset is also defined by limited vocabulary and lack of imagination.
From afar, I cheered for and sent money to JD Scholten. Next time!
23
Mr. King is a good little Koch brothers democracy-destroyer. He's a good little "no new taxes pledger" with Dictator Grover Norquist.
Of course, that means no new taxes for the 0.01% Robber Barons. We "little people", the great stupid unwashed masses in their eyes.
Boy, do we have news for them. Mr. King knows who is paying him. So do WE THE PEOPLE. Time to throw him out of OUR governments at every level for good. His sorry behind will be even sorrier when WE get done with him.
15
They think we little people should pad their pockets with with gold, pay higher taxes and shut up.
NO.
6
In 2016, after climbing Machu Picchu mountain in Peru, I heard Steven King at the Republican convention comment that "brown" people have never built anything of note. Clearly King doesn't get out much...because the Inca certainly created a more substantial world than anything Iowa can boast.
Too bad King can't acknowledge all the Iowans - especially Hispanic-Iowans - who keep the Iowa economy humming. You can't travel the length of that state and not see the contributions of Hispanic immigrants. Small towns whose business districts were gutted by the arrival of the Walmarts are benefited by the small businesses opened by immigrants. Certainly, I - as a cross country traveler - have appreciated, for example, that often the only option for meals is the local Mexican restaurant that is open when other eateries are closed. As the last election results suggest, given changing demographics, bashing immigrants isn't a feasible plan for growing the Republican base and may come back to bite King.
38
After reading that comment I like to take a ray Donovan bat to his knees bit ots illegal, immature and gives him fuel for the fire. So I'll pray for him, stay Informed and Vote.
Putting King's racist innuendo aside just for the sake of discussing actual policy (it is possible to separate ugly rhetoric from objective policy discussions), his views on immigration and on American culture and the need for immigrants to assimilate (rather than remaining segregated by ethnic ties) are mainstream. And were best expressed by Teddy Roosevelt a hundred years ago:
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American … There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag … We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language … and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."
12
@Mmm
The problem with this is the inherent assumption that somehow immigrants, legal and illegal, aren't becoming Americans, that they aren't learning English, that they don't see themselves as "American". My Italian forebears were seen much as hispanic immigrants are today, that with their "papacy" and their 'lack of learning English", of living together in ethnic areas where English often wasn't spoken, that they weren't becoming "Americans"...yet my father, who came here as a child, was about as American as you can become (well, maybe not to Steve King and his supporters, who probably would see a kid who grew up in the Bronx, got a college degree in Engineering, as somehow "not a real American" like the bible loving, ill educated people in his district).
This isn't about hispanics or other immigrants not 'assimilating', first generation immigrants usually end up living with people from their own areas, speaking the language of the old country, the racism is assuming that the kids won't.....and the reality is, that the kids of immigrants and their grandkids end up very American (to the consternation of their parents and grandparents)....
10
@Mmm
Good luck with that one!
I have a thought for all you folks that revel in your whiteness. Originally, it really only applied to Englishmen, Scots, Welsh, French and Germans. Irish weren’t really white. Later it was Eastern Europeans and swarthy Mediterranean’s who were “those people” for the likes of Ann Coulter and Mr. King.
There’s nothing new here. Just plain old bigotry.
15
@Andy Makar
And to mention the obvious fact, that the true Native Americans are, well, Native Americans. The rest of us are immigrants.
8
@Andy Makar Well no, the French and the Germans weren' t really "white" until the middle of the 19th century, either. Look up what Benjaman Franklin had to say about those immigrants!
7
The biggest feature of American politics is the need for almost constant fund raising. You will notice that the biggest Anti-Immigration law makers usually come from the states with very few immigrants, whether it is Steve King of Iowa or before that Tom Tancredo of Colorado or before him Alan Simpson of Wyoming. For these lawmakers, making outrageous anti-immigration statements is a way for them to appeal to a nationwide fringe audience that will contribute money to their campaigns with very low risk in their home constituencies because their constituents probably don't care about the issue one way or the other. An NJ lawmaker would probably not speak against immigration because the amount of money they would raise would be negated by the feathers the issue would ruffle among constituents. Dana Rohrbacher speaks for Khalistan independence (A dead issue in India), not because he cares about Sikh rights but because there are Sikhs who contribute to his campaign and he can get this free money by making a statement or two every year with no other cost to his campaign. You can understand most American politics if you follow the money.
4
Turmp is not anti immigrant. He is anti Illegal immigrant. Get your facts straight
5
@Phil Tell that to the thousands of foreign students blocked from continuing their education in the US. Tell that to Trumps staffer Miller who is against pretty much all immigration. I think we know who needs to get their facts straight.
15
@Scott D think he did
1
“White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” Mr. King said. “Why did I sit in classes teaching me about the merits of our history and our civilization?”
Obviously, the conflating of Western Civilization with White Nationalist and Supremacist shows that his education was lacking...either through his own shortcomings or those of his classes.
He is perfect complement to President Let 'Em Eat Cake.
17
Illegal immigration is making American whiter. Census Bureau data shows the United States is currently 76.6 percent white, up from 75.1 percent in 2000. The Census Bureau forecasts that whites will make up 93.9 percent of the population in 2060. The reason is that most immigrants are Latinos and most Latinos are white.
Latinos, or Hispanics, can be of any race or combination of racers. Blond, blue-eyed actress Cameron Diaz is a Latino. In the 2010 United States Census, 50.5 million Americans (16.3% of the total population) listed themselves as ethnically Hispanic or Latino. Of those, 53.0% (26.7 million) self-identified as racially white. The remaining respondents listed their races as: some other race 36.7%, two or more races (multiracial) 6.0%, Black or African American 2.5%, American Indian and Alaska Native 1.4%, Asian 0.4%, and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander 0.1%."
Source: Projections of the Size and Composition of the U.S. Population: 2014 t6o 2060 (Table 2: Population by Race and Hispanic Origin), page 9.)
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045217
https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2015/demo/p25-1143.pdf
4
@William Case Not in Los Angeles, they're not. They may self-report as white but around here they are brown. It's not the blonde, blue-eyed Spanish who have been illegally entering the US all these years. Walk through any LAUSD school and show me that "immigration is making the US whiter."
2
@JamesP
You may adhere to the racist "one-drop" rule of racial categorization, but most Americans disagree. Only a small percent of non-Hispanic Americans are blue-eyed blondes. Hispanics are no darker-skinned than other Americans of Southern European descent. (Compare Al Pacino to Cameron Diaz.) Latinos who worked outside ranked; those who working in office settings don't. Most of my Mexican Americans friends are a light skin as I am, and I have blond hair and blue eyes.
4
if ever there were a more moronic, superficial conversation about people, it was probably in Nuremberg. racism is the idiocy of hating someone you don't even know, or know anything about, based on what amounts to nothing. most of the blondes in Hollywood come out of a bottle anyway, demonstrating how patently stupid the whole proposition of judging people based on their looks is. one day, perhaps Rep. King (R -IA) will wind up in the hospital, attended by a Phillipina nurse or at the scene of a fire, rescued by a Hispanic firefighter.
1
Shocking that 1) Steve King exists, 2) Iowans vote for him in sufficient numbers to elect him, and 3) The House of representatives has neither censured him nor voted to expel him.
40
Let me get this straight: Anything that his low brow, slithery, uneducated incompetent promotes is automatically "evil" because it comes from a low brow, slithery, uneducated incompetent.
Is it possible that this loathsome person might actually have a valid point about illegal immigration? The NYT (and it appears from the comments, many of its readers) gets so obsessed with the messenger, the merit of the message gets lost.
Since the article did bring up Nazis, I would like to point out that the NSDAP massively supported universal health care, constructed large amounts of modern public housing and old age homes, expanded gov't supported worker training, ... All that didn't make the nazis "great guys", nor does it make those in favor of such programs nazis.
Folks, we have an illegal immigration problem in the US. At its core, illegal immigration is costly and unfair. Overwhelming the political asylum process with claims of family violence and fear of local thugs is going to destroy the delicate political asylum process we currently have. In a world where people can reach almost anyplace on earth in <24 hrs, birth tourism and anchor babies become a legitimate threat to birthright citizenship. Obsessing over the messengers and ignoring the message (i.e. the legitimate issues at hand) doesn't do anyone any good. Ignore the personalities and focus on the problem at hand.
14
I think you miss the point. The messenger is as bad as the message he delivers. It concerns white dominance and supremacy. We should all me concerned as it in counter to proper American values, especially when it concerns an elected Representative.
There are many good individuals on the left and the right that are staunch anti immigration who don't spew such garbage or hold racist beliefs. The difference between them and King is they see it in terms of economic preservation or jobs, he sees as a job issue, but also, from his comments, a racial issue.
Not good.
Are you saying ignore the messenger if you agree with some of his policies? Germany tried that in the 1930s. Many thought the odd artist/newly elected chancellor as a fluke with no lasting power - put the joke was on them the Germany was ruined.
Yes. The NSDAP did support things such as state funded health care and such...unless you were of mixed race or Jewish. I find it weird you brought up policy issues of the Nazis but failed to mention that part.
At this point, few are, as you say, ignoring the message or confusing the message with the messenger. Clowns like King have infected the Republican Party for quite some time. It is the reason I left in the 1990s. People have given them the same pass or "mulligan" you seem to be doing. They are overlooking the rhetoric for a shared policy agenda and end up putting nefarious people in positions of power. It has to stop.
7
@ joe c. In other words, what we need is more racists to keep all dem brown people out and the problem is solved. And this coming from SF? Oh I forgot, it’s all upscale and white now.
Perhaps the good thing about this resurgence of white supremacy, is that it puts a spotlight on the tone-deaf and the dim witted who were previously dismissed as they hid behind the flag that represents to all of us the defeat of their extremist views.
America is a country of immigrants - white and otherwise. Unless you're of the native tribes, your progenitors got here from somewhere else. The dangers of the idea of racial supremacy in any form was attacked back in Lincoln's day - and has been fought by American patriots for over a century.
The good thing about a guy like King is that he does indeed represent the opinion of some of our fellow Americans with closely held beliefs - and because belief is resistant to fact - will probably retain their views until they are replaced by new generations.
Because King is exposed - we are required to address his un-American positions, and to remind him the truth of our (more recent - yes we know manifest destiny was a policy that America has tried to outgrow) history is an attempt to eradicate those tendencies from our society, peacefully, and politically.
And this is a good thing.
8
@iceowl
Actually, unless you are from the Afar Triangle of Ethiopia, you are descended from immigrants. Even the Native Americans immigrated here a few millennia ago from Siberia. So everybody who's here (or anywhere) now got here from somewhere else. Or their ancestors did, anyway.
1
Not all Iowans are like Steve King. Of the four Iowa Representatives, three are Democrats, including two women who defeated Republicans in the November, 2018 elections. I was born in Iowa and have lived in Des Moines for most of my adult life. The people I know are embarrassed that part of rural Iowa continues to elect King. I wish the New York Times would stop portraying Iowans as racist and ignorant. We are not.
86
I, and probably most of the country, wish that Iowa stopped sending Steve King to Congress. But here we are.
The state, as a whole also voted for Trump by a significant margin.
18
@Sharon
I hear your pain, truly. Change is coming. To bad he is the only one that we here from who represents your state. If his fellow reps are voicing their opposition to his stance, we are not hearing it. I lived in Lincoln Ne for 10 years (right next door for those who aren't aware) and found myself very sad to leave. In all of my time there, I never heard a racial slur or a disparaging word toward someone because of their race or ethnicity. That being said, he has been repeatedly elected even with his abhorrent views. They seem unmoved that their willingness to support him reflects very poorly on them and everyone in Iowa, fair or not. Until they stop sharing his values, he will continue to have a national stage to spew his poison and defining Iowa because of it. Perhaps those who have seen the light can help his voters to come to their senses and find a way to see others as equal and not a threat. Call your Rep and demand that you and those who agree with you are upset about the damage he does to you and your state's integrity and reputation due to his egregiously hateful and ignorant beliefs. Tell them to aggressively show Iowa's commitment to fight his ignorance and hate. An uphill battle to fight from your island in a sea of red, looking at the 2016 election? Trump won by over 200,000 votes, all in rural areas. You have 2020. Trump won't be there, but he will. Their seems to be a change of heart from your fellow Iowans in the mid terms. Build on that. Good Luck!
7
@Sharon
Of course you are not all racists. It's just that a majority of you keep sending this racist scum to represent you. Trump is from New York. We voted against him because we knew he was a complete con artist. Your neighbors voted for him. As a state, you are mostly racist and ignorant. In other words, King and Trump people.
3
"Last week, as the new Congress was sworn in, Mr. King sat on his side of a chamber sharply delineated by demographics. The Democratic majority included record numbers of African-Americans and women, including the first Native American and the first Muslim women. Mr. King’s side was mostly people who look like him.
“You could look over there and think the Democratic Party is no country for white men,” he said."
This is ALL you need to know about the Republican Party of today...and why they need to be eradicated from our political system in the coming elections.
48
?Is this rumor correct that donald and the GOPer’s (Grand Old Party) are financing the so called caravans?
@vincent IDK but it's certainly plausible.
its a well known fact Rep. King's ancestors were "ship jumpers" from Europe, making him illegal. What part of that do you not understand?
12
"Mr. Curbelo said. “He’s (Trump) terrified of losing his base and the so-called conservative media.”
For me, from the time of Trump GOP nomination in 2016, it was the most important question, is Trump the product of the right wing media, or has he took over his (right wing base) base all to himself. We had the answer to this question before X-mas when Trump wanted to compromise on paying for the wall, was immediately attacked by Ingram, Coulter and Limbaugh, and quickly fell in line.
This is as good as we can get proof of right wing propaganda machine owning about 40% of American public directly. The only way to break it is to put a wedge between them and evangelicals. Or between mom & pop evangelicals and their establishment that is actually part of right wing propaganda machine.
7
@CarolinaJoe, Yes. Now what do we do about Trump's immigration fantasies and the obvious conclusion (to me) of the Helsinki Hour with Putin.
3
@Nancy G
Well, Trump will continue producing crisis after crisis, all of them without any resolution, until Mueller and Shiff investigations will convince at least 75% of public that he has to go.
1
Ending birthright citizenship may actually not be such a bad idea. I can fully agree with this one.
8
@jm
There are many more pressing issues with the Constitution that need to be updated.
1
Iowa is still approximately 94% native born, European ancestry citizenry. Mr. King's racism is clear when you realize that he never says anything about visa overstayers, from Europe and other non Hispanic locations.
13
Mr. King would've fit right in in 19th century America , in the age of slavery. Unfortunately there's no place for him here in the 21st- century . Too bad we can't send him back.
13
there has recently been perfected a new engine that can miraculously and immediately send white Americans back into the safety and comfort of the 19th Century... and, with a little tweaking, into the 15th. it's called the Republican Party and is widely available at county fairs, on cable tv, and over the public radio airwaves. and if you act today, you also get as the GOP 's gift to you - absolutely free! - a buggy whip and a hand-cranked pencil sharpener!
6
As welcome as the new non-crazy majority is in the House, I remain saddened that both the hideous steve king and his 9/11-obsessed brother-in-ideology peter king deface it yet.
They "hate" The Media, but love seeing themselves spew in it. Said media happily oblige for money, as with the racist landlord.
My condolences to Sane voters in Iowa and Long Island.
12
“And Mr. King sat in the chamber on the republican side”, where almost all the members were white men; many older white men and on the other side sat a truer mix of Americans; women and men of different races and religions, a diverse group representing all Americans not just old white men.
9
@Mother It's not about age, gender or skin color, it's about political views and values. E.g., Sarah Palin, Clarence Thomas, Paul Ryan...
4
Steve King was here in the first place mainly because of gerrymandering and unscrupulous evangelical churches. He was elected right after 9/11 and campaigned on revenge on Arabs. His district looks like a gun and have the most concentration of churches per square mile in the Midwest. Something he has been successful in doing is to integrate most churches as relays of his positions. On the other hand, there have been no serious contenders from the other side until last election, hence the shrinking support. JD Scholten did an excellent job and must take some credit of this shrinking result. I am surprised the article does not talk about that.
29
What the heck Iowans? Is Steven king the face of modern Iowa? I guess so
49
Wrong Mary
He is not. People who vote for him do not endorse his supremacy. Do not forget the farming part of his agenda.
6
@MD I'm sure that's what the "good germans" said in 1929. Didn't work out so well for them either. Iowans willing to sell their souls for farm subsidies is EXACTLY what's wrong with this country right now. Short-term self-interest "gimmes" in exchange for looking the other way as moral rot creeps into the core of this country. Gives "Midwest values" a whole new meaning.
35
@MD
That is no excuse. Anybody who would be elected in Iowa would cater to farmers. This doesn't excuse the people who vote for him.
26
Even in King's district, most do not share his poisonous views. Alas, most do not care one way or another.
I voted for both Bush and McCain in part because of their pro-immigrant views. The moral failure of much of the Republican Party has been the willingness to tolerate people like King and many equally poisonous radio talk show hosts. It became too easy to ignore their racism while pandering to their supporters. Both Democrats and Republicans want people to come here legally, but only GOP candidates demonized.
19
@Mark R., important to remember, as journalist notes here (and Karl Rove notes in Wall Street Journal today), GW Bush offered serious immigration reform in 2007. Would have passed if Democrats had voted unanimously in favor. This was before rise of the Tea Party. But Democrats were loathe to give GOP and Bush a "win" on immigration, so they splintered apart and rejected Ted Kennedy's pleas, as this being "the last, best chance." Democrats like Bernie Sanders crossed the aisle to join none other than people like Steve King and Mike Pence in voting against the 2007 immigration reform.
President Clinton's Bipartisan Commission on Immigration Reform made unanimous recommendations in 1994 and 1995, and comfortable bipartisan majority of Congress was ready to enact the recommendations. Unbeknownst to most of Congress, Clinton & DNC was taking illegal $ from Chinese, via John Huang, and they demanded he kill the immigration reform (along with lobbies on opposite extremist side from Steve King like La Raza).
Anyone upset with rise of people like Trump and Steve King (who absolutely should have light shone on him) need to also look long and hard at the Democrats own refusal to embrace true immigration reform in the interest of the American people, as recommended by African-American, Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Jordan. David Frum said it: if liberals & responsible politicians won't enforce borders, voters will elect fascists to do so.
1
I think that Trump and King are actually brothers that were separated as infants in Queens. Claim your rightful share of your long-denied inheritance, Steve.
4
Wow. I had no idea that a man like Steve King was in the White House. How can our country elected nine times someone with such horrible ideas and views. Shame on me for not being more aware. And shame on the people of Iowa for electing such a horrible human being to represent them. The next time I meet someone from Iowa I’m going to just assume immediately that they are also racist. I mean nine times! This is why I read the New York Times because they produce excellent journalism.
25
I look at this man and I wonder, how in 2019?
“White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” Mr. King said.
And then I remember visiting Iowa.
56
@Victor If someone said this to you as a reporter, wouldn't the next question out of your mouth reflexively be: "Do you mean you support white nationalism and white supremacism?" It would be for any reporter I know. So if this reporter heard this, why wouldn't they ask such an obvious question?
Steve King: White Supremacist. Rural fascist. Nazi-sympathizer. Poorly educated, military service dodger. Can’t think of a more perfect person to represent the Republicans and Trump supporters today. I’m almost surprised he’s not their presidential frontrunner for 2020, but they’ve already got Trump, I guess.
318
@Kip
Please don't be too casual in your assessment. The reason he is trying to fulfill his wall "promise" to the base is because of a 2020 primary challenge from Steve King or someone of his ilk. Due to this crazy, outdated Electoral College anything is possible.
No more bystanders, get engaged and get out and vote!
5
This is a glaring example of what the Republican Party stands for. Of course, the guy in the next cubicle at work or your neighbor will tell you he’s not a racist. Hitler’s executioners didn’t see themselves as racists either, just as participants in a movement for the good of the nation. Republicans prey on uneducated, angry white men AND women stoking fears that get them elected. This is immoral behavior. If the party, doesn’t condemn it, it supports it. There is no middle ground.
185
“White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” Mr. King said.
The answer is "Nazis." We also would have accepted "the KKK."
235
Apart from the dog whistle "western civilization", they are inherently racist phrases and they became offensive when people decided that racism was offensive.
Steve King is literally asking "what's so bad about racism anyway?"
17
@Anthony Flack
"Apart from the dog whistle "western civilization", they are inherently racist phrases and they became offensive when people decided that racism was offensive."
Nothing can be "inherently" racist but to race-obsessed liberal paranoiacs.
When truth is offensive, the problem is with the offended not the truth.
1
What does it say regarding our fellow citizens in Iowa that continue to this racist?
20
Admittedly, I didn't read the article. However, I am scratching my head about why the New York Times is giving "front page" real estate to a well-established racist and white supremacist. Let's do better.
7
“Tom Tancredo, a former Colorado congressman who once held the most conservative views in official Washington on immigration, calling for a moratorium on even legal immigrants, said he “handed the baton to Steve King”’
Really NYT? You’re going to call these white supremacist, downright racist views “conservative?” As a registered and voting Democrat even I’m offended by this. Steve King and his ilk are not conservative, they are racists and bigots, and your attempt at normalizing their viewpoints under the cloak of “conservatism” is disgusting. Do better.
20
@Willy Morris Then why do all the racists and bigots flock to the open arms of the Republican Party, which proudly wears the "conservative" mantle these days? Disgusting, indeed.
4
“When did ‘white supremacist’ become a bad word?”
So I guess we can call him “white supremacist Steve King” now? Take note, New York Times.
31
That last line speaks volumes. I don’t know if this is tragedy or farce.
1
This guy and Stephen Miller are anti-thetical to the American Dream.
He only won by 3 points in a heavily red district.
Let's hope he goes down with Trump in 2020!
19
Iowa - another state to add to my "Don't go there" list.
53
@susan Please come and see our "prized hog" from the fourth district of Iowa.
4
Funny, I thought the People Of Iowa were smarter and better than this. I was wrong. Seriously.
14
@Phyliss Dalmatian Most of us are smarter, just saying.
2
What is wrong with this country, that this creep can be elected to our Congress? This line from the article really strikes me as the reason we are so backward:
"It was a time when packinghouses and other agricultural employers had dropped wages, and Latino migrants increasingly were taking jobs that no longer attracted native-born Iowans."
Unfortunately, the American legacy is of immigrant groups working hard and being exploited by the upper class. So because someone comes here and takes a job for less pay than others are willing to accept, we criminalize them?? The real issue is exploitation of poor immigrant populations by business owners. POTUS himself has hired illegal immigrants. The real criminal is the business owner who exploits human labor. It is outright racist to vilify good hardworking people.
As for Mr. King's understanding of history, it is blurred and stupid. Human history and achievement has come from all parts of this planet, and when we learn from each other we advance. Until the Ming dynasty turned inward in the early 1400s, China was way ahead of Europe in terms of science and technology, just one example of many.
35
It’s a widely known fact that American demographic trends show whites becoming a minority circa 2040. So how is Rep. King’s referencing of this fact somehow paranoid or delusional?
And why is it somehow wrong to be white or to be proud of white culture?
2
I can picture Italian culture, or Irish culture, but I don’t think there is any such thing as “white culture.”
I’m proud of things that I’ve accomplished, but being born white is not one of them. It deserves no more pride than having blue eyes.
And King’s white supremacy philosophy is abhorrent.
47
This comment is disingenuous. It’s not wrong to be white, it’s wrong to say that whites are superior to others. King is not just pointing out the facts, he is using them to spread racial resentment and fear and to divide us. That is immoral and reprehensible.
24
It’s paranoid because you need to believe that white people have to stay in the majority in order for this country to continue to be great. That belief would be based in race-driven paranoia. It’s saying that people who come from non-white, non-European backgrounds can’t uphold the values that we say are American values. It is indeed, then, racist.
11
He wants to deny contraception to white women so we have more babies. So many levels to this abhorrent view point.
70
King is unfit to hold a position on a local school board yet he spews poison in the halls of Congress. it's ironic Iowa is the State every candidate wines and dines and this excuse for a human being is a fruit of the state
7
It's almost funny how you interchange immigrant, for the term illegal immigrant. And suddenly, the Border Patrol and the Immigration services are portrayed as the enemy, anyone that doesn't agree with you is a racist, and it doesn't matter what the disagreement is about, being called a racist is the worst thing right now, yet, I haven't met too many people that AREN'T racist on a certain level, and most countries in the world are much more openly racist than the US (ask any Guatamalan or Salvadoran how the Mexicans treat them if you want proof).
But any changes are resisted, although this inaction has been going on for 30 plus years, and has resulted in 22 million illegal aliens here. I suppose that they have not has a negative impact on YOUR job, or driving your wages down. I don't know any construction people that have not been affected negatively in regards to people offering to do their job for $12/hour with no benefits. When you have a mortgage, kids, and a lifestyle you have worked for for decades, and someone comes in and is basically trying to take the living you've worked for, because they like your lifestyle.
6
Steve King may represent his district, but he doesn't speak for the majority of us Iowans who know that this country was built by immigrants, who continue to enrich our state and our country. King is a racist, and most Iowans reject him and his antediluvian views.
32
@The Heartland However, most Iowans voted for Trump.
3
“You could look over there and think the Democratic Party is no country for white men,” he said.
What a crazy, non-sensical thing to say. I had to check this. There are 235 Democratic members of the house. One hundred and nine of them are white men (not counting non-voting delegates).
I think the white nationalists often feel so aggrieved and besieged because they equate something like 46% representation with non-existence. Unless they're in total control, they think they're being oppressed.
By the way, white men are 36% of the national population (according to 2010 census statistics). They're overrepresented in the Democratic house caucus compared to the nation.
129
Also, 91% of the Republican house caucus is white men.
I don't think the house of representatives has to be perfectly representative of the nation in terms of race and gender, but I think it's troubling and weird that King is so deluded.
10
@Locho They are terrified of losing their majority status because they subconsciously fear that if they were to become a minority, then people would treat them the way that they treat minority people.
17
“Immigration” as Trump’s go-to issue is insufficiently precise. He is fine with Irish and Norwegian immigration. Better to call it “non-white immigration.”
6
The important thing to note is that Mr. King and people like him are welcomed in the GOP. Republicans support his policy ideas (with the overtly racist words omitted) and have supported them for a long time.
Republican voters stop telling yourselves you are just voting pro- business and admit that you are also voting for racists who will gerrymander against voters of color and tear children from their mothers arms, who equivocate when white supremacists drive over a young woman and who
(Listen Up) will treat YOU just as badly when you get between them and power or money.
77
You're right but you miss something kinda amazing in this.
Back in Tamney Hall times, patronage was distributed by an extra paycheck (or sometimes just a free meal) for voting for the Machine-picked candidate. These guys were only in it to enrich themselves but at least you got something tangible out of it.
You think the GOP base is short changing themselves, after all the GOP cuts gov't funding for programs poor whites depend on, but you're wrong that they aren't compensated.
What is an extra $300 / month vs. maintaining a soft racial hierarchy?
Who would trade for even an extra $10k / year for being implicitly included in the upper half of American life with a free view to look down on an "othered" caste?
Liberals spend so much time talking about how evil this is while not understanding that they offer NO alternative to the system that doesn't just swap winners and losers!!
I obviously don't like this system but come on, King's supporters are operating entirely rationally.
They're not gonna become coders and make $100k. They're not gonna pick up and move to NY where they'll be laughed at until they pick up more "respectable" social attitudes.
What else do they have left? They're the only people in history to watch the country & culture their parents built be torn asunder by their children and then have the nation's wealth and top positions parceled out based on a new racial religion by their grandchildren.
These people are a Shakespeare tragedy in real time.
2
King has long been a racist, anti-Semitic, anti-immigration proponent. Unless I'm mistaken, he is not a Native American. Thus, like so many Republicans, he is a hypocrite, because his family came to this country as immigrants. Again, more pandering to the narcissist fool we have pretending to be a president.
13
“You could look over there and think the Democratic Party is no country for white men.”
And you could look at the GOP and say that it is no country for anyone else.
90
Right-wing terrorists kill more Americans than international terrorists and the 90% of the Republican Pay that still supports Trump encourages this political violence.
No Compromise with the Party of domestic terror!
4
This is a really muted headline for what is a majorly explosive article. Why isnt the headline "Steve King openly questions why white supremacy is wrong" or "Steve King defends GOP party's lack of racial and ethnic diversity, suggests Democrat party is "No Country for White Men"
4
There is not, and has never been, a single 'culture of America'.
Also, diversity has significant value, but also comes with costs attached. Better be ready to pay the price, if you want to reap the benefits.
5
There are only four congressional districts in Iowa and he represents one of them. Tell me again why the same Iowans who elect this fellow, should determine the POTUS nominee frontrunners.
5
@PRRH Only a fraction of the people of Iowa have any say in King's election. The other three districts have Democratic representatives, two of them flipping from R to D in 2018. Iowa isn't as thoroughly bumpkin-red as many people seem to want to think it is.
The founding fathers knew that a person such as Trump would eventually come along that's why they formed the three branches of government to up uphold our Constitution and protect our citizens from an imperial form an imperial ruler. This system of government is only as good as the people elected to enforce the laws . Congress including Mitch McConnell and the Senate must also do their job for the system to work. Trump will eventually have his day in court and so should all the others that have enabled him.
166
@VMG
"The founding fathers knew that a person such as Trump would eventually come along..."
A touching exercise in mindreading.
I don't know what exactly they knew and didn't know.
I know what they did. They set up safeguards against oppressive rule by the majority mob (by whom they were oppressed in their country of origin).
Unfortunately, those safeguards are now crumbling under the vicious assault by the mobocratic media. The media firing squads have already destroyed lives of many and are marching on, killing our freedom of speech person by person.
Many have fallen for "insensitive" remarks, as if free speech were supposed to be sensitive. Moreover, the mob decide for all Americans what "insensitive" is.
Apparently, for the liberal mob referring to the sitting president, voted for by tens of millions Americans, as a m----ker is not "insensitive," while praising Western civilization for its unrivaled achievements is.
All the while as the whole world is benefitting from those achievements and is largely shaped by them. It is also quite "sensitive" to extrajudicially assassinate people's character, as was done with Kavanaugh and the president.
"Trump will eventually have his day in court and so should all the others that have enabled him."
To the liberal mob it doesn't matter that he has not been charged with any crime (and unlikely ever will). The founding fathers failed to protect the country against the mob's destructive power.
Evidently, they DID NOT know.
3
@al The majority mob does not rule, our government has been stolen by gerrymandering. As for your comment on Western Civilization's unrivaled achievements, please read your history books back before Columbus. Gunpowder, navigation skills, and the printing press the keys to those so called "unrivaled achievements" are Chinese inventions.
15
@VMG
"This system of government is only as good as the people elected to enforce the laws ."
No quite, This system of government is only as good as the people who elect representative to the government.
We got the government we deserve, period.
Now, the question is who controls people? You may start with corporate interests who finance elections, then go to propaganda machines like right wing media who control Trump's mania, and then to evangelical congregations that are now more concerned with money and power than with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
6
this part makes sense,
`At the same time, he said, he supports immigrants who enter the country legally and fully assimilate because what matters more than race is “the culture of America” based on values brought to the United States by whites from Europe.
4
@Tom But be honest Tom--he also wants to restrict and tailor *legal* immigration so that it mirrors his conception of "the culture of America".
4
People from Europe we’re not white. They were seeking religious freedom. They were Irish and Czech.
3
@Tom
.....values brought by whites from europe?
And those would be .....crime, wars, greed, exploitation, political and religious tyranny...right?
Why did the Whites leave europe?
6
Every reasonable person knows the root of this manufactured crisis is racist fear of Latinos. If there were Anglo/Saxon Canadians pouring over the Northern border, they would be welcomed with open arms. As for me, if a person is willing to walk or even ride on top of a train for hundreds or thousands of miles out of hope for safety and a better life, they’ve earned the right to at least be considered for a path to citizenship.
259
@JM Hopkins
At one time in our history Mexico included the land now known as California, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona...there were no border patrols to prevent enrty by citizens of Mexico into the frontier. We have a border now and that we cannot keep out the commerce, culture and influences of our good neighbors to the North and South.
6
@JM Hopkins
"If there were Anglo/Saxon Canadians pouring over the Northern border, they would be welcomed with open arms."
Untrue.
If they spoke no English, were uneducated and unskilled in modern labor, failed to assimilate, failed to uphold our core values such as high ambition, individualism, unbridled competitiveness I would have let them die on the border.
On the other hand, if billions of PhD grade STEM educated fluent in English Africans with an IQ cutoff above 140 knocked on the door, I would have welcome them with a big fat hug and a smile.
13
@Redliner
"At one time in our history Mexico included the land now known as California, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona...there were no border patrols to prevent enrty by citizens of Mexico into the frontier."
At another time in history, Mexico and Guatemala was a Mayan Empire. "There were no border patrols," and Aztecs invaded, completely destroyed the Mayan civilization and all but exterminated them.
And your point was??
13
He has like a 90% approval rating from Republicans in his district, but don't call these authentic forgotten American Heroes racist or they'll never vote for a Democrat.
60
@Kevin L
I don't want them to vote for a Democrat. These people are not on my side, and I don't want the Democratic Party changing what they say or do to get these supporters of right wing terrorism to vote for Democrats.
Democrats need to step trying to get Republicans to vote for Democrats and start trying to get non-voters to the polls. Every time Democrats move to the right to pick up one swing voter they lose ten people who stop voting.
13
@McGloin - you're right but I think Kevin was being sarcastic.
5
@Kevin L
Fake news if I ever heard it. King does NOT have anywhere near 90% approval in the 4th District. He received 50.4% of the vote in November. He will have a primary challenger in 2020. No lazy numbers, please.
1
Somewhere in America there’s a big group of people who looked at this creep and said, “Him! We want him to represent us”..
It never ceases to amaze me..
386
And that is the state that is asked to cull the candidates in the presidential primaries. That should tell you something....
32
@Hector Bates
"Somewhere in America there’s a big group of people who looked at this creep and said, “Him! We want him to represent us..
It never ceases to amaze me.."
Somewhere, everywhere, in America there's this #me2 thingy, whose founding leader is a follower of Louis Farrakhan.
This, I guess, you don't find amazing, do you?
Ol' good Louis is the uncontested champion of creeps.
5
@al
That is a deceptive way of expressing yourself. What you wield as a truth sounds as if the MeToo Movement is accepting of Farrakhan. But even a quick search shows that to be false.
41
This guy makes my skin crawl. I despise him for his anti-immigration views as well as his attitude toward factory farming and animals in general. And they keep electing him out there in Nowheresville.
241
Attended Northwest Missouri University, that eminent blue chip school, but did not graduate. Deferred from military service. Founded an earthmoving company. We need more legislators like this. MAGA. Make America Ghastly Again.
186
How is it that so many of these red-blooded Americans who wave the flag were deferred and never serve to physically protect the country?
35
@Mark Holbrook
It's called fear.
14
@Chuck Burton
"Founded an earthmoving company. We need more legislators like this."
No, we need more legislators like N. Pelosi.
Ones from well-connected ruling dynasties, who never in their life had to hold an ordinary job and whose knowledge of ordinary life in America comes from shallow liberal pamphlets and 101 college classes. Who also happen to accumulate a huge wealth on the backs of ordinary people, of whom they know no one.
4