Big week for Rep. Steve King (R-IA). He has clearly established himself as the leading (and loudest) GOP voice on immigration.
For years, we’ve know King has been one of ugliest anti-immigrant members of Congress. But there’s an intense focus on the immigration issue right now, so King’s voice is being amplified. And his recent bizarre comments that most DREAMers are drug runners with “calves the size of cantaloupes” continue to reverberate.
Last night, King explained his extremes views to Wolf Blitzer. This morning, Speaker John Boehner began his press conference by addressing King’s remarks. And to top it off, King took to the House floor today to deliver a rant that swung between everything from Jesus to Manifest Destiny to George Zimmerman to the rest of Western civilization.
“I think we need a policy that’s right… for America,” King declared. “I challenge this civilization to be reasonable!” (That’s rich, coming from King.)
Claiming that he was espousing “the most logical and rational policy on immigration,” King described what he believed that consisted of: “We need to build a fence, a wall and another fence,” he said. “We need to put the sensory devices on top of there.”
Then, referencing the hot water he now finds himself in from his cantaloupe comments, he apparently compared himself to Jesus:
As you remember, Mr. Speaker, the high priest said to Jesus, did you really say those things? Did you really preach those things? And Jesus said to the high priest, as the Jews were watching, ask them. They were there, they can tell you. That was, Mr. Speaker, the assertion by Jesus that he had a right to face his accusers. That principle remains today in our law that we have a right to face our accusers. And when he said ‘ask them, they were there, they can tell you,’ he’s facing his accusers and demanding they testify against him rather than make allegations behind his back. And what happened when Jesus said that? They believed and the high priest believed that jesus’ answer was insolent, and the guard struck Jesus. And Jesus said, ‘If I speak wrongly you must prove the wrong. If I speak rightly, why do you punish me?’ He asserted his right to be innocent until proven guilty before a Roman court. Those two principles remain today in our law, a right to face your accuser, innocent until proven guilty, you face that — proven guilty, you face that jury of your peer. you need a quick and speedy trial. they didn’t have that then. the punishment came quickly whether right or wrong.
Watch the video here:
Perhaps Igor Bobic, the assistant editor at Talking Points Memo, put it best:
A word cloud just doesn’t quite capture how epic Steve King’s speech was, unfortunately: pic.twitter.com/2l6btE7pKz
— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) July 25, 2013
Also view our blog today: 20 Calves That Prove Steve King Is Wrong
