Death Threats And GOP Retribution Drive Kim Weaver Out Of The Race Against Iowa Racist Steve King

IA-04 is a prohibitively red district. It was the only district in the state that Trump won with a majority. In fact, he beat Hillary 60.9% to 33.5%. And the incumbent crack pot, neo-Nazi and racist Steve King (he prefers the term "white nationalist") won reelection with over 60% in 2016 and in 2014 and even built a well-known and well-financed Democrat, for Iowa first lady Christie Vilsack, 53-45% in 2012. But Kim Weaver was well aware of all that when she decided to run against him this cycle. She was the one who challenged him in 2016, with no help from the DCCC, scoring 142,993 votes (38.6%) to King's 226,719 (61.2%). King spent 7 times what she did in the race.

As she explained in a guest post here at DWT in March when Blue America endorsed her, she "knew going into the race that it was a very uphill climb and that I would get very little help from the Party itself, but what I didn’t fully realize was how much I would have to fight just to get basic support on a state and national level." She said that after the 2016 race she had "learned that there are great people in the 4th District who are hungry for a representative who will focus on solutions, not division. During my campaign, I talked about ways we can improve the lives of all our neighbors. I know that this battle won’t be easy, but deeply believe it is one worth fighting and one that we can win if I get the support I need. And she was getting that support. Money poured in after King started going on his crazy racist tirades again.

But this weekend, Kim posted a very disturbing note to her supporters on her Facebook page. She announced she is withdrawing from the race. "One consideration has been raised again by recent events at my home. Beginning during my 2016 campaign, I have received very alarming acts of intimidation, including death threats. While some may say enduring threats are just a part of running for office, my personal safety has increasingly become a concern."

In an interview with the Des Moines Register she added that another consideration was "that the state of Iowa's Office of Long-Term Care Ombudsman, where she is an employee, saw its budget cut this year as 'punishment' for her political candidacy. The office received a $164,000 cut this year-- a 12 percent reduction from the previous year. 'I'm feeling guilty that we lost this funding because I'm running for office,' Weaver said, adding that she was prepared to take a 'voluntary layoff' if the cut requires a staff reduction. Weaver said she was told by her supervisor of the connection between her candidacy and the budget cut, and that the supervisor, in turn, was told by a state legislator."

This story gets even sicker. A tweet from the leader of Iowa's neo-Nazi movement, seems to indicate that he wants to be on the record that the death threats didn't come from him personally, something no one has accused him of. King also says Kim made up the threats... because that's what dirt-bags like Steve King do.

According to ActBlue, Kim had raised over a quarter million dollars by Saturday, of which $179,022.84 had already been reported to the FEC (which also reported $10,276.79 in expenditures). Kim says she plans to use the very considerable left-over funds in IA-04 to help defeat King. Local activists are trying to draft Storm Lake city councilor Sara Huddleston to run. We'll let you know.

And Trump isn't the only fascist piece of shit in the government. I haven't heard any House Republicans rebuking their colleague, Clay Higgins from southwest Louisiana. Higgins is a freshman numbskull who represents a hideously backward red district where Trump beat Hillary 67.3% to 29.2%. Higgins-- generally regarded as a neo-Nazi vigilante-- won a runoff against a relatively mainstream Republican conservative, Scott Angelle. That little Facebook posting below is something he refuses to take down. I think it pretty much speaks for itself-- and the whole Trump-Republican Party.

UPDATE: In Binghampton, New York

It wasn't difficult for Marina, a regular DWT reader, to figure out we would be commenting on Kim's story, so she sent me a similar one about Michael Treiman, a candidate for mayor of Binghampton, New York. Or a former candidate for mayor of Binghampton, New York. The only Democrat running, he withdrew after he, his wife and his children started receiving threatening e-mails. This is Trump's fascist bizarro version of America. It can only get worse from here. As Trump always likes to see, believe me.

Nor was it just threats. Some right-wing thug in a pickup truck threw a full soda can at him in front of his home as he was carrying his 3 year old daughter into the house. The can hit him while he shielded his child. The Trumpist garbage who threw it was screaming "liberal scumbag" as he drove away.

By the way, this is what early stage fascism always looks like. We can't let this happen to our country. Trump encourages it-- but, by all means, save your scorn for Kathy Griffin's satirical art.