The Sun
LIVING IN IOWA: King might as well run again to assure re-election
by Dan Brawner · July 15, 2009
He warned that Iowa would become a “gay marriage Mecca,” touted the paranoid, anti-communist crusader Joe McCarthy as “a hero for America.” He voted against children’s health care, against renewing the Voting Rights Act, against a ban on harsh punishment of detainees by U.S. military, and referred to the torture at Abu Ghraib as little more than “hazing.” The Des Moines Register has called him “an embarrassment to Iowa.” MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann featured him as the “Worst Person in the World” and Esquire Magazine named him as one of the “10 Worst Members of Congress.” He has been called “extremist,” “racist,” “homophobe,” “hypocrite” and “wingnut.”
But you know him as Rep. Steve King of Iowa’s 5th Congressional District. He has a talent for grabbing headlines and recently Mr. King distinguished himself by being the only member of the House to vote against a resolution commemorating the contribution of African-American slaves in the construction of the U.S. Capitol.
When Rep. King voted against the other 399 House members, he was not denying that slaves helped build Washington. No, he later explained, “Last night I opposed yet another bill to erect another monument to slavery because it was used as a bargaining chip to allow the actual depiction of “In God We Trust” in the CVC (Capitol Visitor’s Center).” Okay, so installing a little stone marker acknowledging that slave labor helped build a monument to freedom won’t undo years of injustice and shame – or even take the edge off the irony. But at least it’s a celebration of democratic principles, which, by the way, would include the separation of church and state.
Since he first took office in 2003, Mr. King has never passed a single bill. Of the 44 bills he sponsored, only three ever made it out of committee and only one was acted upon – a bill “recognizing the importance of the Christian faith” (www.GovTrack.us). He might as well have proposed a resolution recognizing the importance of the flavor strawberry. Sure, Christianity is important in the U.S. So are a lot of other religions. But why are taxpayers paying him $169,000 a year to dream up legislation that has no practical use? And if Mr. King bothered to study state-sponsored religions, he might know that having to answer to its government paymasters only makes a religion weaker and have less credibility. Religion, like capitalism, thrives on independence.
It seems Rep. King would rather make a point than make laws that serve Iowa and the country. He vowed to oppose a bill banning animal fighting for sport until Roe v. Wade (legalizing abortion) is repealed. He voted against SCHIP, health care for children, because it might benefit undocumented workers (“… no American jobs should go to illegal aliens”). King is a major supporter of a fence between Mexico and the U.S. He elaborated, “We could also electrify this wire with the kind of current that would not kill somebody, but it would be a discouragement for them to be fooling around with it. We do that with livestock all the time.” Some in the Hispanic community took exception at being equated with cattle.
Rep. King is now considering a run for governor in 2010 against Chet Culver. If he decides instead to run for re-election, King is assured of an easy win (his was the only Iowa district that voted for McCain). Keith Olbermann echoed the thoughts of many other Iowans when he said, “Anybody in the 5th Congressional District—did you really vote for this idiot?”
