What is it with than name ‘Steve King’ and horror shows? Of course, it’s the political Steve that I’m concerned with here. He’s trying to develop what we might call the ‘Western Iowa Strategy.’
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) leveled a somewhat startling charge against President Barack Obama on Monday, saying the president instinctively “favors the black person.”
King made the comments during an appearance on the G. Gordon Liddy radio show.
“When you look at this administration, I’m offended by Eric Holder and the president, also, their posture,” King said, as captured by Media Matters.
That must refer to their shuck n jive posture.
“It looks like Eric Holder said that white people in America are cowards when it comes to race. And I don’t know what the basis of that is, but I’m not a coward when it comes to that, and I’m happy to talk about these things and I think we should. But the president has demonstrated that he has a default mechanism in him that breaks down the side of race — on the side that favors the black person.”
It’s true that Rep. King is not a coward when it comes to race. He’s totally upfront about how much black people in power ‘offend’ him. And he did it on G. Gordon Liddy’s radio program. You probably know Liddy from his involvement in the Watergate break-in. You probably don’t know that he worshipped Hitler as a child and chose his wife because of her teutonic characteristics.
When he listened to Hitler on the radio, it “made me feel a strength inside I had never known before,” he explains. “Hitler’s sheer animal confidence and power of will [entranced me]. He sent an electric current through my body.”
My father is from Iowa. It’s not a place known for heated racial politics. Most Iowans I’ve met are painfully polite and well-mannered. I don’t understand why Steve King has a constituency for this kind of gutter politics. But this is a concerted effort to convince ordinary white voters that the president and members of his administration are biased against them and are always looking to side with black people. Most of the time, these kind of messages are a bit more subtle. Rep. King is explicit. I know his district is very religious and culturally conservative, but I don’t think this is how they want their congressman to behave.
And, I thought about it. I can’t point my finger to anything the president has done that would merit the criticism. It’s pure fantasyland.
