Steve King condemned for racist remarks, now what?
The Iowa Republican even supported a condemnatory congressional resolution, calling it "true" and "just." But he is still a lawmaker.
As the fallout from the latest racist comments by Republican Iowa Rep. Steve King reached a fever pitch, the House overwhelmingly on Tuesday passed a nearly-unanimous resolution denouncing the longtime lawmaker.
The resolution was introduced by Majority Whip Rep. James Clyburn, saying “the House of Representatives once again rejects white nationalism and white supremacy as hateful expressions of intolerance that are contradictory to the values that define the people of the United States,” according to NBC News.
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The measure passed 424-1 and was supported by all Republicans and every Democrat except for Illinois Rep. Bobby Rush— who favored the harsher punishment of a formal censure, the report said.
Earlier this week, Republicans stripped King of his committee assignments and was uncharacteristically criticized publicly by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and other GOP lawmakers sharply criticized him.
The rebuke comes after King said during a New York Times interview: “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?”
King, who has a history of white Supremacist and racist language, initially claimed his remarks were taken out of context, before owning up to it. He even supported passage of the resolution, which did not directly condemn his behavior.
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“I’m putting up a ‘yes’ on the board here because what you state here is right and it’s true and it’s just,” he said in a floor speech ahead of the vote.
One person who has been silent on the matter is Donald Trump, who has frequently drawn criticism for his own racist attacks on African Americans, immigrants, and Muslims.
We hope that Iowa voters will go even further than Congress and vote King out of office at election time. That would be “true,” and “just.”
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