Iowa Republican Voters Finally Kick Neo-Fascist Congressman Steve King To The Curb

Tuesday evening, J.D. Scholten was the first guest on Marianne's week long down-ballot progressive summit. (Tonight, Hector Oseguera will be on with Marianne; here's the schedule.) Tuesday, while J.D. and Marianne were chatting, Iowans were voting in their primaries. J.D. wasn't challenged so, no drama there. But his opponent, GOP neo-fascist and arch-racist-- largely disowned by the DC Republican establishment-- Steve King had 4 primary opponents. And he lost-- very badly.

King is a poor fundraiser and he was badly outraised by the GOP establishment favorite, state Senator Randy Feenstra. This is what each Republican spent clobbering each other (as of May 13):

• Randy Feenstra- $799,306
• Steve King- $325,135
• Bret Richards (self funder)- $219,655
• Jeremy Taylor- $140,818
• Steven Reeder- $77,595

Most Iowa Republicans-- not to mention DC Republicans-- have been embarrassed over and over again by King and are more than happy to see him go. For a long-term incumbent to get only 36% in a primary is nothing short of astounding-- if not historic. This is what you call a rejection:

Iowa is a swing state that national Democrats have largely given up on. Hillary, angry Bernie had toed her in the caucuses, pointedly and stupidly ignored the state and it went for Trump 798,923 (51.8%) to 650,790 (42.2%), after giving it's 6 electoral votes to Obama both times he ran. More recently, establishment Democrats-- mostly from the failed Clinton campaign-- have said they would not be contesting Iowa this year, a state Bernie's campaign felt very optimistic about bringing back into the Democratic fold. The state legislature is controlled by the Republicans-- 32 Republicans in the state Senate to 18 Democrats and 53 Republicans in the state House to 47 Dems. In 2018, Democrats won 5 more state House seats and two of the 3 congressional seats the GOP held. The 4th district would have been won-- by J.D.-- had the DCCC supported him, something their hatred of progressives had not allowed. J.D. came far closer to defeating King than they expected when they were telling institutional Democratic donors to not contribute to his campaign.

COVID-Kim

Iowa's governor is a clueless Trump Republican, Kim Reynolds, largely to blame for the catastrophic Iowa pandemic (6,344 confirmed cases per million, including 318 new cases yesterday and another 5 deaths, bringing the total to 561. In terms of cases per million, the worst hit counties are:

• Buena Vista- 42,150 cases per million
• Crawford- 30,940
• Louisa- 30,830
• Woodbury- 27,210
• Tama- 23,630
• Marshall- 22,300
• Wapello- 17,270
• Wright- 14,680

The 4 horribly-stricken counties in red are in King's district. Reynold's lackadaisical, ideological anti-scientific response to the coronavirus has seriously sickened thousands of Iowans needlessly. She's been on the top 10 list of the worst governors in America since the pandemic began. In way of comparison, the current cases per million in the worst hit (non-postage-stamp-sized) countries:

• Spain- 6,139 cases per million
• USA- 5,697
• Chile- 5,689
• Peru- 5,310
• Iceland- 5,295
• Ireland- 5,081
• Belgium- 5,065
• Belarus- 4,774
• U.K.- 4,124

I'm predicting that Iowans' general revulsion to Trump and to COVID-Reynolds' failure will result in a clean sweep for Democrats in November, all 4 House seats and the Joni Ernst Senate seat (even with a remarkably awful Democratic nominee handpicked by Schumer). The Dems are also in position to win back control of the state House if the anti-red wave in big enough.

King didn't get much sympathy from the media after his massive rejection by IA-04 voters. Politico: "Iowa Republicans drove Steve King out of office on a primary day marked by civil unrest... The nine-term congressman with a history of racist and anti-immigrant remarks was ousted after the GOP establishment offered his opponent both material and symbolic assistance... They starved him of cash, deprived him of committee assignments, and plied his challenger with outside support. But to avoid antagonizing his legion of loyal supporters, King’s detractors largely ignored his decades-long list of remarks condoning white supremacists and demeaning immigrants. Instead, they cast him as ineffective and powerless in Washington, unable to achieve results for his constituents... Nearly every corner of the Republican Party came together to aid Feenstra when tightening polls indicated he could nab the seat. Feenstra’s backers included the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, evangelical leaders, former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, Karl Rove, five current Republican congressmen and longtime Iowa political operatives."

Just because he's not Steve King doesn't make Feenstra what's needed in the 4th district. The tired right-wing elixirs and bathtub remedies he's peddling have never been enough to revitalize rural communities or enough to ensure farmers get a fair price and can stay on their land or enough for families to afford healthcare and save for retirement. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say Feenstra is lacking in vision and utterly devoid of the ability to bring people together, the way Scholten does. Feenstra takes every dime he can from corporations and special interests-- the same corporate system that's taking away power, opportunities, and wealth from Iowa communities. He already represents the D.C. swamp and everything that spells out real (not Trumpian) reform. Remember, his big complaint about King was that he was ineffective perpetrating policies like building a border wall. And in the state legislature he voted for the heartbeat bill and has always opposed all abortion exceptions beyond saving a woman’s life.

Not having King in the race, makes it tougher for J.D. in a red district like IA-04. But his 2018 campaign made him well-known in every county and he is very well-regarded by Democrats, independents and even many non-ideological Republicans. There is already talk about die-hard King supporters boycotting Feenstra, who is generally as conservative as King, but without the overt fascism and racist carryings-on. Now J.D. is going to need all the financial support he can get since there is no doubt that the GOP establishment will fight like dogs to hold onto the seat and spend immense amounts of dark money. Please help J.D. with transparent money by clicking on the Blue America 2020 congressional thermometer on the right-- and giving what you can. After the vote, J.D. acknowledged to his supporters that "This election is not going to be easy. But it wasn’t easy in 2018, and we came within 3 points of defeating Steve King. This time, we know we can win. That’s because 'not Steve King' isn’t good enough. It’s not enough to not be blatantly racist. We need someone who will fight for our farmers to get a fair price and for our families to be able to afford quality healthcare, put food on the table, and save for retirement. To do that, we can’t keep propping up the corporate system that is sucking wealth and opportunities out of our district like Randy does.We don’t need another representative who is already bought and owned by corporate interests and the 1%."

This morning he told me that "King set a low bar for a Member of Congress. We must do better than not being blatantly racist. We’re in an extraordinary moment in history: the vibrancy of rural America is declining while we’re facing a global pandemic and nationwide protests calling for justice, accountability, and long overdue changes to address white supremacy and systemic racism. Our next representative must be able to meet these challenges and have a vision for the future of rural Iowa. We can’t accept the status quo of another corporate-backed career politician and allow the rich, powerful, and well-connected to continue bleeding rural America and vulnerable Americans dry."

Reminder: Electing J.D. Scholten Will Make Congress-- Not To Mention Iowa-- A Much More Productive Body

J.D. is running to represent a huge, mostly rural Iowa congressional district currently held by the most bigoted and far right Republican in the House, Steve King. But J.D.'s campaign isn't just about a referendum on King. He's far more concerned about offering voters a positive platform they can relate to. A few days ago, he wrote an OpEd for one of the local newspapers, the Carroll Times Herald.

Carroll County hasn't exactly been Democrat-friendly in recent years. Trump beat Hillary there 6,627 (63.5%) to 3,305 (31.7%). And in the 2018 Blue Wave, the county gave 62.9% of its gubernatorial vote to reactionary Republican Kim Reynolds.

Carroll County, though, was much closer for J.D. than for either Hillary or gubernatorial candidate Fred Hubbell who took just 35.3% in Carroll County. On that same day Hubbell, the gubernatorial candidate at the top of the ticket, won 3,186 votes, the county gave J.D. 4,075 votes (45.7%). It's counties like Carroll where J.D. impressed voters and came so close to winning and it's counties like Carroll he's in the process of winning over even more people. Strong, Clear Antitrust Policy Saves Lives isn't the kind of Republican-lite messaging the DCCC pushes on Democrats running in red districts. Ignoring their advice is what got J.D. so much closer than most of their red-district candidates. He held King down to 50.4% in an R+11 district. J.D. was one of the two or three top-performing Democrats in any district in the country even close to that kind of PVI. If he wins in November-- which is looking increasingly likely-- it's because he's talking to people in places like Carroll County, not to people in DC.

Right now, the failures of our healthcare system are on full display. Hospitals and their healthcare workers are overwhelmed and strapped for resources. Patients are receiving bills for COVID-19 testing and treatment that reach into the tens of thousands of dollars. The death count in America just topped 25,000-- and it could reach a quarter million.

One part of this equation is the concentration of the healthcare industry that has created fewer hospital beds, higher prices, lower quality of care and fewer resources for doctors, nurses and healthcare workers. This undoubtedly has compromised our ability to treat patients during this crisis.

Waves of consolidations and closures have plagued our nation’s hospitals with more than 680 mergers over the past decade alone.

Additionally, the reduction of about 600,000 hospital beds over the last 30 years has left our national public health infrastructure woefully unprepared for a global pandemic. This has affected urban and rural America alike: 72 percent of big metropolitan areas have highly concentrated hospital markets, and 13 percent are very highly-concentrated. And in 2019, rural America saw a record number of rural hospital closures, and another 430 rural hospitals are on the brink of closure if their financial situations do not improve. All in all, our hospital bed capacity is more than 10,000 beds short of the current projected need to respond to the coronavirus crisis.

As resources dwindle, research has proven that hospital mergers also contribute to rising health care costs and likely are a major factor in declining healthcare quality. During this coronavirus crisis, uninsured Americans could face up to $75,000 in hospital bills, an exorbitant fee and even more outrageous considering that hospitals are charging whatever they can get away with because they have the monopoly power to do so. This fact holds true with all consolidated industries: when a few players own a large percentage of the market share, there’s little incentive to reduce costs or improve the quality. It’s also easy to either buy out smaller players or simply push them out of business altogether.

During these recent years of hospital consolidation, a series of mergers and acquisitions has also increased the risk of supply shortages. In 2019 alone, hospital mergers and acquisitions were valued at $91.2 billion. These mergers pushed “just-in-time” supply chains that minimized inventories and downgraded manufacturing capacity.

We recently learned how devastating these anticompetitive mergers can be. The New York Times and ProPublica reported that public officials created a plan to address a glaring hole in our medical system’s preparedness: a ventilator shortage. The federal government signed a contract with Newport Medical Instruments, a small company in California to produce cheap, mobile ventilators that could accelerate production in the event of a pandemic. The work started and the company was on schedule to file for market approval, when Covidien, a multi-billion dollar company, bought Newport to prevent them from building a cheaper product that would undermine Covidien’s profits.

Suddenly, the ventilator program was dead. It took years for the government to line up another contract, and as you can see from this pandemic, it’s been too little, too late. Now, we have states trying to fill the gap by finding their own ventilator supply and sending supplemental ones to other states. These policies and practices are not sustainable for consumers and completely unfair to the hardworking doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals who are working on the healthcare front lines. It’s a mess, and we must do better.

We need to reflect on these failures and have the foresight to make much-needed changes to our healthcare system. That starts with enforcing our antitrust laws in the healthcare industry and preventing the creation of these monopolies that can rake in profits at the expense of our health and well-being. Here are a couple of key steps we can take:

• Give the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice more funding and resources to review and monitor mergers in the healthcare industry and challenge anti-competitive conduct.
• Adopt stricter scrutiny on anti-competitive conduct in horizontal mergers between hospitals as well as vertical mergers between hospitals, drug manufacturers, pharmacies, insurers and more.
• Repeal state COPA statutes that protect healthcare organizations from federal antitrust scrutiny and lead to healthcare mergers.

Will enforcing our antitrust laws solve everything? Will it magically give every American affordable, quality healthcare? Of course not. But it is a strong step in the right direction to lower hospital costs, improve patient care and ensure the resources needed to fight the next pandemic.

Everyone in Carroll County and across Iowa and the country is worrying about the pandemic. J.D. is telling his neighbors that it has shined a bright and deadly light on the failures of our healthcare system, especially in rural Iowa. In particular, concentration in the healthcare industry has resulted in hospital closures and fewer hospital beds, higher costs, lower quality care, and limited resources to treat patients. The result is that Iowa has the 49th latest "peak date" in the nation of when we project the highest number of single-day deaths. Please consider chipping in to help J.D. fund his campaign by clicking on the Blue America 2020 congressional thermometer on the right.

This afternoon, he told me that "Steve King has continued to praise President Trump's response to the coronavirus and downplay the reality and seriousness of this pandemic. In Iowa, we continue to see dramatic jumps in confirmed COVID-19 cases, stressing our already-fragile and under-resourced hospitals. Our leaders need to have the foresight to anticipate problems and work to avert them before there are catastrophic consequences. Unfortunately, King's leadership style is memes, proving just how urgently we need new representation."

Midnight Meme Of The Day!

by Noah

"Republican Lawmaker" is the new "Florida Man." it's two words that, well, you just cringe when you see them together. It's always a "Jeez, what now?" moment. For years we've seen headlines like "Florida Man Shocked When Pet 20-Foot Python Eats Daughter" or some such thing. Or, how about trying on "Florida Man Claims He Only Drank At Stoplights, But Not While Driving" for laughs? As for "Republican Lawmakers," we get things like "Republican Lawmaker Punches Wife In Face For Not Undressing Quick Enough," or "Republican Lawmaker Yells 'Go Back To Puerto Rico' At California Rep." To be fair, "Republican Lawmakers" usually contain their most insane vocal moments to statements or actions of misogyny, mass shootings, racism, rape, or their twisted version of god. Floridians take a more no holds barred approach to insanity but republicans are making great progress in their attempts to catch up.

So now we've gone from now former Missouri "Republican Lawmaker" Todd Akin's infamous words "If it's a legitimate rape..." to Iowa's current "Republican Lawmaker" Steve King saying what amounts to "Hey, everyone has a bit of rape and incest in their family tree. What's the big deal?" Well, Steve King's statement may ring more true out in the cornfields of Iowa or other places where one best not stop for gas, food, or lodging, but just what is King trying to justify here? Is this more of that permissive Republican society "It's ok to grab 'em by the pussy" thing that Trump's 62 million supporters went for so enthusiastically back in 2016? Must be. Like Trump, who has praised King in the past, Steve King is an avowed, open, white supremacist and also like Trump, King apparently sees sexual assault as normal, approvable or at least forgivable behavior. Iowans have even voted for their beloved representative more times than the nation has voted for Trump (so far). Damn, I can't wait to hear "Republican Lawmaker" Steve King's views on Jeffrey Epstein!

Of course, none of this should be surprising coming from a Republican Party whose "Republican Lawmaker" members accept being a traitor to one's country as normal and approach every Russian oligarch with their hand out. "Hey, everybody has a little treason in their family tree!"

Can You Imagine Being Endorsed By Dracula? Mussolini? Jack The Ripper? How About Steve King?

Every Democrat running for Congress against an incumbent Republican is hoping to find a video like this one of white supremacist Steve King endorsing his pal Donald J. Bacon. I hope Kara, the progressive Democrat running for the Omaha-based congressional district currently occupied by Bacon can make good use of it. This particular tape was mae in 2016 and shows King, the ardent white supremacist and rape-and-incest booster proudly endorsing Bacon. The two have been fast allies ever since, almost always voting in tandem. They both vehemently oppose a woman's right to Choice. They both vehemently oppose the Green New Deal, Medicare (let alone Medicare-For-All). They both oppose David Cicilline's bill to ban the sales of military assault weapons and cop-killer bullets to civilians. They're both against raising the minimum wage; in fact neither thinks there should even be a minimum wage! "When I look into his eyes," said King, "I see someone who I want to represent Nebraskans and Iowans."

Sickening-- and so was Bacon's response: "Congressman King's endorsement is a tremendous honor. I have great admiration for the Congressman for his strong moral courage and his deep devotion to serving our nation." OMG! "Strong moral courage and his deep devotion," a description of a virulent racist and neo-Nazi who the Republican Party kicked off his committees and left adrift in no position to impact any legislation. This is the kind of crud Bacon feels "tremendous honor" to be endorsed by? What the hell is wrong with Don Bacon? Even Dick Cheney's daughter, Liz Cheney, a far right congresswoman from Wyoming and a member of the GOP House leadership team and demanded that King resign.

Meanwhile, despite King's multiple offensive statements, including his overt support of white nationalism and his recent comments on rape and incest, Bacon has resisted repeated calls to censure his friend or in any way distance himself from the Iowa 4th representative.

I asked Kara Eastman what she thinks about the man purporting to represent her district and her neighbors. "I am standing with Nebraskans who are disgusted by Congressman Steve King 's hateful words," she told me. "Congressman Don Bacon continues to enable this behavior by siting back, accepting his endorsement and once again, refusing to stand up for our Nebraska values." If you'd like to make sure Kara replaces Bacon and J.D. Scholten replaces Steve King, please click on the Blue America 2020 congressional thermometer on the right and contribute what you can to their campaigns. And by the way, minutes ago J.D.-- the populist, progressive Iowan preparing to banish King from Congress once and for all, told me that "What we’re seeing right now is that Steve King is becoming more and more toxic. It’s important to see if the rest of the GOP are going to continue to be silent or are they going to call King out."

Has Steve King Resigned Yet?

J.D. Scholten came very close to beating racist incumbent Steve King in 2018. With no help from the DCCC, congenitally distrustful of progressives, Scholten a former baseball player and first-time candidate, outraised King better than three to one and, in a district with a PVI of R+11 where Obama lost both times and where Trump clobbered Hillary 60.9% to 33.5%, held King to just 50.3%.

Since then, King was kicked off his committee for his unhinged racism and has been shunned by his own party. Not only is Scholten running for the seat again, this time King has 3 Republican primary opponents-- state Senator Randy Feenstra, former Irwin Mayor Bret Richards and former state Rep. Jeremy Taylor-- with at least two others talking about jumping in. Yesterday GOP hard-ass Liz Cheney, a member of McCarthy's leadership team, publicly told him to resign.

The predictable latest storm was over a comment he made on the campaign trail. While raging against women's Choice, King started down a bizarre path-- even for an anti-Choice lunatic like him. Speaking at the Westside Conservative Club King asked his right-wing audience. "What if we went back through all the family trees and just pulled out anyone who was a product of rape or incest? Would there be any population of the world left if we did that? Considering all the wars and all the rapes and pillages that happened throughout all these different nations, I know that I can’t say that I was not a part of a product of that." Yeah, especially generations of incest.

"Again, Steve King is disgracing Iowa and putting his selfish, hateful ideology before the needs of the people of Iowa's 4th district. This time, he's excusing violence. But countless times before, he has spewed racist statements and promoted white nationalism that ultimately led to him getting stripped of his committee assignments. Our campaign is different. We're proud to bring all people together, represent real Iowan values, and fight for positive change for Iowa."

If you'd like to help J.D. replace King in Congress... well, that's precisely what that 2020 Act Blue Blue America congressional thermometer above is for.

J.D. Scholten Will Beat Steve King In Iowa This Time Around

Yesterday our old pal, former baseball player JD Scholten launched the second part of his campaign to replace Iowa neo-fascist and white nationalist Steve King with a stunning video narrated by Kevin Costner (Field of Dreams). Last cycle-- with zero help from the DCCC, of course-- JD shocked the political punditry by nearly beating King in the gigantic rural Iowa district that sits in the northwest and central part of the state, stretching from Sioux City to Ames and New Hampton in Chickasaw County in the eastern part of Iowa-- 38 counties. JD won the 3 most populous of those counties-- Story, Woodbury and Cerro Gordo, but in the end King squeaked by 157,676 (50.4%) to 147,246 (47.0%). That's quite an achievement in a district with an R+11 PVI and where Obama lost both times and where Trump beat Hillary 60.9% to 33.5%. It's worth mentioning that on caucus day in 2016, Bernie cleaned up in IA-04,not just beating Hillary, but in many counties beating Trump as well:

• Woodbury Co.

Bernie- 1,920
Trump- 1,600

• Story Co.

Bernie- 2,737
Trump- 1,152

• Cerro Gordo Co.

Bernie- 1,108
Trump- 597

• Boone Co.

Bernie- 715
Trump- 412

• Winnebago Co.

Bernie- 230
Trump- 115

• Dickson Co.

Bernie- 358
Trump- 342

• Clay Co.

Bernie- 303
Trump- 292

• Butler Co.

Bernie- 350
Trump- 332

• Grundy Co.

Bernie- 206
Trump- 198

• Shelby Co.

Bernie- 232
Trump- 203

JD performed 24 points better against King in the district than Hillarydid against Trump in 2016. Pretty impressive when you consider that the DCCC and Pelosi were hostile to his candidacy. Too progressive for such a red district-- despite how much better Bernie did than Hillary in the district. They have their heads up their asses. And whether they help him this time or work to sabotage him, you can help J.D. replace racist asshole Steve King this time around by clicking on the Blue America 2020 thermometer on the left and contributing what you can.

This time, King has 3 primary opponents-- state Senator Randy Feenstra, former Irwin Mayor Bret Richards and former state Rep. Jeremy Taylor-- and two more waiting in the wings. The NRCC, which would prefer to see King lose, says they won't get involved in the primary, showing again that they're more Democratic than Cheri Bustos' wreckage of a DCCC. Scholten's best chance to win the seat in this blood red district is if King is the GOP candidate again. He's toxic and too extreme for Iowans anymore and he was kicked off the agriculture committee, so isn't even in a position to help his constituents at a time when Trump's trade war is devastating the local economy.

"Too many Iowan families feel like they’re getting kicked in the dirt, suffering from an economy and a government that just doesn’t have their interests at heart," he wrote in his announcement statement. "We need a system that works for all people-- not just special interests and those who are lucky enough to be at the top. That’s exactly why we’re in this fight: to fix our healthcare system, fight for an economy for all, and secure our democracy."

House GOP Throws 2 Crooks And A Nazi Overboard

Recently, J.D. Scholten, who's still considering another run against Steven King in northwest Iowa, told me that "In the last decade, King has missed 82% of the Small Business Committee hearings and nearly 40% of the Agriculture Committee hearings. He continues to abdicate leadership for his own personal agenda as the 4th district continues to fall behind." Now he misses 100% of the meetings on those two key committees, since the Republican leadership kicked him off both and many Republicans are hoping one of the 3 Republicans challenging King in a 2020 primary beats him. McCarthy is well aware that without a seat on the House Agriculture Committee, King is even more useless to his constituents than he usually is. (And he usually is.)

But King isn't the only Republican who finds himself in this predicament. Tuesday Splinter published a really funny piece of reporting by Samantha Grasso, The GOP's Lonely Heartless Club. She wrote that "Duncan Hunter of California, Chris Collins of New York, and Steve King of Iowa have a whole lot of time to do nothing in the House of Representatives, where nobody wants to sit next to them during lunch or play tag with them at recess. The three Republicans were basically excommunicated from the House GOP when they were pulled off their committee assignments, forcing them to watch the 116th Congress from the sidelines."

Hunter, the vaping congressman, and Collins were both stripped of their committee assignments last summer after being federally charged with misusing campaign funds for personal use with his wife and insider trading, respectively. Both pleaded not guilty, ran for reelection in their districts, and (somehow??) still won. However, under a new House GOP conference rule adopted shortly after the elections, any representative under indictment for a felony must be removed from committees and leadership posts “until the legal matter gets resolved,” according to Politico.

Ammar Campa-Najjar nearly beat Hunter last year and is running against him again. Today he asked, "Can someone please tell me why taxpayers have to continue paying Duncan Hunter’s salary? Given that Hunter is now simply watching from the sidelines and unable to perform the basic duties of his job as a Congressman, he should do the right thing and immediately return his entire salary to the taxpayers or donate it to a local charity. It’s one thing to put taxpayers through the embarrassment of watching their Congressman get indicted on 60 charges, but to also make them pay your salary while you sit around and await your criminal trial-- now that’s just adding insult to injury."

Meanwhile, King is spending his time kicking rocks over by the edge of the playground as punishment for defending white nationalism and white supremacy in an interview with the New York Times last month.

Without their committees, Hunter, Collins, and King have been left to twiddle their thumbs or desperately vie for some C-SPAN time with short House floor speeches at odd hours of the day. And while they might have some luck with congressional caucuses, that venue is all but pointless without the help of other representatives. From Politico:

The members could also put more energy into congressional caucuses or lobby their colleagues to move their bills, though there is little guarantee for success. It’s much more difficult for a single lawmaker to wield influence in the House, whereas in the Senate, any lone member can hold up floor proceedings...

Yet caucuses are hardly a substitute for congressional committees, where lawmakers hone their policymaking skills and climb the party ranks... That means the castaways would likely need the cooperation of their colleagues to be effective-- and there is little appetite, especially among Democrats, to work closely with the trio of lawmakers who are under indictment or condemned for racist remarks...

“Zero” is how Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) described the level of interest among his colleagues in working with Collins, Hunter or King.

Hunter and King, clearly upset that no one wants to come over to their houses after school for Xbox and Totino’s Pizza Rolls, did not return Politico’s requests for comment. But Collins told the site he plans on using his newfound free time to focus on constituent services, attend more district events, get underutilized congressional caucuses running again, and possibly co-sponsoring bills that lost their GOP backers in the midterms.

“I’m disappointed, but I’m making the best of it,” Collins told Politico.

Inspiring!

It's widely believed that the House GOP leadership is encouraging local Republicans to primary Collins so that progressive Democrat Nate McMurray doesn't take the R+11 seat away from them, something he nearly did-- by a fraction of 1%-- in 2018. I spoke to Nate today-- who is almost definitely running for the NY-27 seat again-- and he told me "The people of our region were lied to. They were told their vote was essential, that a vote for the party was more important than a vote for integrity. We can never trust these men or the people who helped them stay in office."

Steve King-- The Republican Party's Sacrificial Lamb? Do They Think That Will Protect Trump?

The GOP has long had a habit of putting it's most extreme members on the House Judiciary Committee-- crackpots like Matt Gaetz (FL), Louie Gohmert (TX), Andy Biggs (AZ), Ken Buck (CO), Jim Jordan (OH), Darrell Issa (CA) and, as you probably know by now, Steve King. Monday evening, the Republican Policy and Steering Committee voted unanimously to kick King off all his committees. At Judiciary he served on the subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security and, ironically enough, had just been confirmed by Kevin McCarthy as ranking member on the subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice. Since Jamie Raskin (D-MD) has been doing fantastic work on that same subcommittee, I asked him what it means that King will no longer be with them. He didn't mince any words: "While spouting the venom of AltRight white nationalism and the delusions of anti-George Soros paranoia on the Judiciary Committee, Steve King has also been a major whiner and fabricator about how right-wing conservatives face discrimination on Facebook, Twitter, Google and so on. It’s amazing to me how far King and his brethren have gotten with the social media by browbeating them about imaginary political discrimination while the Republicans remain completely silent about the paranoid conspiracy theories of Alex Jones et al.  And it's fascinating to watch the GOP Members now try to distance themselves from King knowing that we are going to denounce him when they did not utter a peep when they were in the majority and could have controlled him. King is a perfect reflection of the white nationalism Trump has set loose in the land with the acquiescence or endorsement of most Republicans."

Another member of the House Judiciary Committee who was serving with King, Ted Lieu, had a similar perspective and mentioned that "Stark, raving racist Steve King was not so dumb as to say stark, raving racist things during most House Judiciary Committee hearings. But he wasn't smart enough to figure out that the US Constitution prevents Republicans from regulating the free speech of Google, and that Apple-- not Google-- makes the iPhone. He asked the Google CEO last year about the iPhone, to which Mr. Pichai simply stated 'Congressman, iPhone is made by a different company.' But when Steve King is left unfiltered, such as when writing his posts on Twitter, his hateful rhetoric comes out in spades. I am very pleased Republican Leadership finally took action against Mr. King. Now I urge Republican Leadership to look at that person in the White House..."

No doubt McCarthy is aware that when John Boehner removed right-wing extremist Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) from his Agriculture Committee assignment it was dooming him to political extinction in Kansas' humongous-- and humongously rural-- first district. He had to have that in mind this week when deciding to kick King-- who represents Iowa's biggest and most rural district as well-- off the Agriculture Committee (and its subcommittees on Nutrition and on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture). Throwing him off the Small Business Committee and its subcommittees on Agriculture, Energy and Trade and on Contracting and Workforce, were just icing on the bye-bye, Steve cake.

Monday night, Pelosi has a meeting of her leadership team. Some of the more conservative members opposed naming King by name in the Resolution of Disapproval, proposing the Democrats just condemn racism in a more general way. Pelosi shot down that idea instantly suggesting some serious manning-up was needed on her own team. Yet when the Resolution was presented on the floor it did not name King and was so pusillanimous that even King himself voted for it. I guess manning up wasn't something Pelosi's team was interested in doing. My guess? Conservative freshmen New Dems and Blue Dogs said it would jeopardize their reelection shots-- and someone without two brain cells to rub together and pretend to have a brain considered that meaningful. (Someone in Pelosi's office told me that culprit was Clyburn and that there's a "deal" but isn't sure what the deal is.)

In Republicanville there certainly seems to be a desire to separate the party from King's overt racism and neo-fascist politics without confronting the issue of how King's agenda is now the GOP's agenda. So Chris Hayes did it for them:



The Washington Post's Michael Gerson made a similar point-- albeit more targeted at Individual One than at the party as a whole-- in his column Monday. "In their criticism of Rep. Steve King, you get the sense that Republicans are actually relieved to be in the position of attacking racism for a change, instead of being forced to defend it from the president. They seem to be signaling that they are not really the bigots they appear to be. Republicans seem desperate to explain that they are normal and moral-- despite all the evidence. Attacking King reveals some sense of shame at what they have become. Yet, in the end, Republican critics of King manage to look worse rather than better. If racism is the problem, then President Trump is a worse offender. And the GOP’s relative silence on Trump is a sign of hypocrisy and weakness. By any standard, Trump says things that are reckless, wrong, abhorrent, offensive and racist. Until Republicans can state this reality with the same clarity and intensity that they now criticize King, they will be cowards in a time crying for bravery."

As Seung Min Kim and Mike DeBonis reported for the same paper early yesterday morning, "Trump professed ignorance" about the whole King racism scandal roiling his party and Washington. That also noted that "Trump had no qualms about engaging in racially offensive comments of his own over the weekend" and that "the fresh controversies underscored the GOP’s ongoing struggles over the issue of race, even as condemnations from senior Republicans of King’s remarks grew louder on Monday and lawmakers argued that his voice didn’t represent the party." So punishing King while ignoring the herd iff elephants in the room-- and the one-eyed aunt in the attic-- looks too be official GOP policy on this.

It reads better if you click on the image

Finally-- The End Of Steve King?

Steve King's Iowa district is very, very rural and very, very red. The PVI is R+11 and Trump beat Hillary there 60.9% to 33.5%, significantly outpolling both McCain (50.2%) and Romney (53.4%). Usually King wins in a walk and doesn't even campaign much. This past November, though, he nearly lost, first time candidate and progressive baseball player J.D. Scholten holding him to 50.4%, his smallest win number ever. If only the DCCC hadn't decided J.D. was too progressive for Congress and decided to spend zero on his campaign, while telling national unions and Democratic institutional donors not to give him any money...

I had dinner with J.D. last week and I don't think he's made up his mind about running for the IA-04 House seat again. He may. Or he may run for the Iowa Senate seat currently occupied by Trump-enabler Joni Ernst. Remember, if J.D. could do so well in an R+11 district, how well would he do in an R+3 state with a swingy political history? That said, though, over the weekend, the Des Moines Register noted that even Republicans seem to have had it with King's unbridled racism. And that includes both Ernst and Grassley, both of whom usually support and enable King.

The growing backlash follows an interview with the New York Times earlier this week in which King, who represents Iowa's 4th District, lamented why terms like "white nationalist" and "white supremacist" are offensive.

King attempted to clarify the statements. He issued a release denouncing white nationalism and white supremacy and took to the House floor Friday to address the matter, which he called "a freshman mistake."

But backtracking hasn't slowed the blowback.

"I condemn Rep. Steve King’s comments on white supremacy; they are offensive and racist-- and not representative of our state of Iowa," Sen. Joni Ernst tweeted Saturday. "We are a great nation and this divisiveness is hurting everyone. We cannot continue down this path if we want to continue to be a great nation."

Ernst also linked to a Washington Post op-ed from Sen. Tim Scott in which the South Carolina Republican pulled no punches addressing King's history of racially-charged rhetoric and the lack of action by his party to curb it.

"King’s comments are not conservative views but separate views that should be ridiculed at every turn possible," Scott wrote in the piece.

Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley echoed the remarks from Ernst and Scott on Saturday while speaking with a pair of reporters from Axios.

“I find it offensive to claim white supremacy. I will condemn it," Grassley reportedly said.

Both senators have offered King support in the past or campaigned with him. Shortly before the 2018 election, King released of video of Grassley in which Iowa's senior senator called King an "ally" who he needed in the House.

After the election, Grassley distanced himself from King but did not repudiate him.

Two Iowans this week announced plans to primary King ahead of the 2020 election. One of them, state Sen. Randy Feenstra of Hull, has come out swinging. [Note: Feenstra is an obsessed and deranged homophobic maniac, nearly as bad, in some ways, as King.]

"Our current representative’s caustic nature has left us without a seat at the table," Feenstra said on Twitter. "We don’t need any more sideshows or distractions, we need to start winning for Iowa’s families."

The other Republican challenger, Bret Richards of Irwin, said in an interview with the Des Moines Register about the contrasts between himself and King: “I know who I am. I know I won’t embarrass the state.”

Iowa officials said they were neutral in the potential primary.

Gov. Kim Reynolds issued an ultimatum to King after the election and has said she will stay out of the primary battle but appeared with the Kiron representative during her campaign.

Former 2016 presidential candidate Jeb Bush wrote on Twitter that “Republican leaders must actively support a worthy primary opponent to defeat King because he won’t have the decency to resign.”

Longtime King supporter Bob Vander Plaats, a former Iowa gubernatorial candidate and president of The Family Leader, a conservative political organization, also rebuked the 16-year congressman.

On Face the Nation yesterday, the House Minority's greasy lying Leader, Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), told Margaret Brennan that he will meet with King today to talk with him about his racist problem. McCarthy, of course, can't open his mouth without trying to mislead people-- he is a Republican politician in the age of Trump-- but if you access the interview at the 5:40 mark you'll hear him tap-dancing around what he plans to do about King... almost blaming Pelosi!




UPDATE: McConnell Slams King

Republicans are embarrassed-- and it's a lot less risky to take it out on Steve King than on Señor Trumpanzee. McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, said there is "no place in the Republican Party, the Congress or the country for an ideology of racial supremacy of any kind... I have no tolerance for such positions and those who espouse these views are not supporters of American ideals and freedoms. Rep. King’s statements are unwelcome and unworthy of his elected position. If he doesn’t understand why 'white supremacy' is offensive, he should find another line of work."

Iowa Republicans Will Have To Chose Between 2 Right-Wing Nuts, One Obsessed With Homosexuality And One Obsessed With Racism

Republican homophobic maniac Randy Feenstra may stop thinking about sex with men long enough to run against Steve King

Anthony Brindisi was a worthless New York state senator, beloved by the NRA and never shy about abandoning his own party when they tried passing progressive legislation and crossing the aisle to vote with the GOP. Perfect for the DCCC, right? Absolutely. This year he ran in a little-noted race in upstate New York against a pathetic right-wing, Trump-enthused backbencher, Claudia Tenney. It was a pure lesser of two evils race in a district Obama won twice but where Trump beat Hillary 54.8% to 39.3%. NY-22 is a north-south district that stretches from Lake Ontario through Rome, Utica, Oneida and Cortland to Binghampton and the border with northeast Pennsylvania above Scranton. There are 8 counties and Brindisi won 3 of them, including the only two-- Oneida and Broome-- with sizable populations. This is how close it was:

Brindisi spent $4,528,959 and Tenney spent $3,143,743 but those figures were smaller than the outside spending. The DCCC spent $2,191,416, Pelosi's SuperPAC spent $2,503,046 and DCCC satellite groups spent over a million more-- almost $6 million to elect a worthless Blue Dog who will absolutely be voting with the GOP over and over and over.

None of this really has anything at all to do with Iowa neo-Nazi Steve King, the topic. I just wanted to draw a contrast between how DCCC & Friends spent millions on a dirty NRA-loving Blue Dog and was happy to let Steve King off scott free.

Last week I had a great dinner with King's opponent, JD Scholten, who may run for the Iowa 4th district seat again in 2020 or may-- as I hope-- run for the U.S. Senate seat that Joni Ernst is occupying. JD, a first-time candidate and a strong grassroots progressive, raised an astonishing $3,253,487. Although a few grassroots groups like Blue America, People for the American Way, Ultraviolet, and MoveOn spent some money on JD's behalf, Pelosi's PAC and the DCCC adamantly refused to spend a nickel on the race. Had they, JD would be in Congress and King would be living in Hungary or some other friendly fascist-leaning state. That wouldn't serve the interests of the DCCC, where they hate independent-minded progressives like Scholten and prefer conservatives like Brindisi. And in this case, they like using King as a fundraising bogeyman and have no real interest in seeing him leave Congress, let alone America.

JD held King to a meager 50.3% win. Consider that in 2016, King took 61.2% of the vote, in 2014 he took 61.6% and the only time a Democrat did even close to as well as JD did was when the DCCC and Pelosi's SuperPAC spent almost $1 million to push the former governor's wife Christie Vilsack, who held King down to 53.0%.

On Wednesday, Iowa's Republican governor, Kim Reynolds, announced she will not come to King's aid in what promises to be a lively Republican primary for his seat. In 2018 she had chosen him as a co-chair of her reelection bid.

"The last election was a wake-up call for it to be that close," Reynolds said during an interview in her formal office at the Iowa Statehouse, "That indicates that it does open the door for other individuals to take a look at that."

King won re-election in 2018. But despite a nearly 70,000 registered voter advantage that Republicans have over Democrats in the district, King only beat his Democratic challenger, former professional baseball player J.D. Scholten, by three points.

"I will stay out of the primary," the governor said, "I'm not going to weigh in."

The revelation by Reynolds follows critical comments she made about King following the November election when she said, "I think that Steve King needs to make a decision whether he wants to represent the values of the 4th District or he needs to find something else to do."

King has faced criticism in the past for endorsing a white supremacist mayoral candidate in Toronto last year and comments about immigrants.

Tuesday morning, three-term State Senator Randy Feenstra, a Hull Republican, announced that he would run for King's seat in 2020.

"The President needs effective conservative leaders in Congress who will not only support his agenda, but actually get things done,” Feenstra said in a statement. “Today, Iowa’s 4th District doesn’t have a voice in Washington, because our current representative’s caustic nature has left us without a seat at the table. We don’t need any more sideshows or distractions, we need to start winning for Iowa’s families,” the statement also said.

King's son, Jeff, who serves as the Congressman's campaign manager, responded, "Today, misguided political opportunism, fueled by establishment puppeteers, has revealed that Mr. Feenstra is easily swayed by the lies of the Left. Today’s announcement by Feenstra is the third attempt by the establishment in as many primary cycles to take the 4th District out of the hands of grassroots Republicans. Further, it’s an obvious attempt to undermine an effective and leading Congressional ally of the President’s whom Trump frequently refers to as ‘the world’s most conservative human being.’ From his statements, it appears that Mr. Feenstra offers Republican voters nothing but warmed over talking points from liberal blogs and failed Democratic candidates.”

In an interview with the NY Times yesterday, King was embarrassing Iowa again by asking "White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization-- how did that language become offensive?"

By the way, Feenstra, 49, serves as assistant majority leader in the Iowa state Senate. He's a mentally disturbed evangelical who graduated from an evangelical high school and got his bachelor's degree from Dordt College. He isn't an actual Nazi like King but he's a 100% Trumpist and an extreme right radical and hysterical homophobe who seems so hung up on men sleeping with each other (he claims to oppose it) that rumors have been whispered that he sleeps with boys on the down low.

2018 In Review: Special NAZI Edition-A Holiday Cornucopia Of Republican Wackos. The Whole World Is Watching, Part 9

by Noah

Well, the year is almost over and my annual year in review will soon come to an end. But, before I get to that point, I thought it might be nice to shine a light on some of the other lesser republican nutjobs, assorted party luminaries, up and comers, relative unknowns, and ordinary Republican citizens alike. Today’s installment is a small sample of Republicans who really let their Nazi flag fly in 2018. That’s not to ignore the fact that to be a Nazi is to be a Republican and vice-versa, but I’ve chosen these few Hitler worshipers for special mention. They are just choice examples of what it is to be a republican in 2018.

1. Rep. Steve King (KKK-IA) – How could I not start with the pride of Iowa himself, Steve King. This Steve King is not to be confused with the famous author Stephen King. That Steve King is a swell guy and a progressive. He writes horror stories. Iowa’s Steve King IS a horror story. He is proud of what he is and so are Iowa voters who keep re-election him no matter what he says of or does. He is a racist par-excellence and that sits fine with them. King may be best known for his 2013 statement that immigrants are mostly evil marijuana smugglers with “calves the size of cantaloupes.” But this year he gave a whole charred hearted endorsement to a white supremacist mayoral candidate in Toronto.

King also made some headlines this year when he said that members of an Austrian Nazi party called Austria’s Freedom Party would all be Republicans if they came to the U.S. He’s correct of course. None of this fazed Iowans one bit. He was reelected in November.

2. Arthur Jones - Arthur Jones was the Republican Party’s nominee in Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District in the 2018 Midterms. Jones received over 20,000 votes in the local GOP Primary after, amazingly or not, running unopposed. He was picked to run against incumbent Democrat Dan Lipinski. After the primary the fact that Jones is a Nazi and a Holocaust Denier made the national news. Local Republicans suddenly claimed to be shocked and appalled. It was “We had no idea wink wink” time. Some even suggested that Republicans abstain from voting. Of course, they could, if they had wanted to make sure their guy didn’t win, recommend that their voters vote for Lipinski who might as well be a Republican anyway. Jones got over 56,000 votes from Nazi-supporting Republicans (very fine people) in his district but he lost. Sounds like the Illinois 3rd isn’t a great place to live or even pass through.

Oh, and Jones wasn’t the only Neo-Nazi who ran as a Republican in 2018. There’s Sean Donahue, Republican House candidate in Illinois, Paul Nehlen Republican House candidate in Wisconsin, and Patrick Little Republican Senate candidate in California; just to name 3. Fortunately, they didn’t get to their goal but just the fact that they were able to run in the Republican Party speaks volumes.

3. Susan Lamerton – And speaking of Nazi-supporting republicans (very fine people), Tampa, Florida TV station WFLA reported that neighbors described the decorations outside realtor Susan Lamerton’s house in New Port Richie, FL as “pure hate.” The Nazi-themed decorations featured skeletons dressed as concentration camp victims, replete with Stars of David on their chests and tattoos. Some of the skeletons were seen giving a Heil Hitler salute, and a sign near them reads “Arbeit Macht Frei,” the German phrase translating to “work sets you free” that was emblazoned on the gates of Auschwitz and other concentration camps. A search of Lamerton’s social media accounts revealed that last year, she shared posts from the Angry Patriot Movement blog, a pro-Trump fake news website.

“Drain the swamp and send the idiots home,” the realtor wrote alongside a link that claimed Donald Trump got “the final laugh” during a battle of words with Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA). Lamerton’s “Liked” pages include “Team Trump,” her county’s Republican Party page and pages for Melania Trump and Donald Trump Jr. There was no word as to whether or not Lamerton would be hired to design the staging for the 2020 Republican National Convention.

4. Walter Kanzler - Or should we call him Walter KKKanzler? KKKanzler, a Florida (There’s that state again!) gun dealer celebrated National Gun Day by openly selling his wares at the Kentucky Expo Center. He offered Nazi Christmas ornaments and KKK robes at his table. KKKanzler’s homepage features a Nazi hat with a swastika. KKKanzler claims he has no political agenda. The Kentucky State Fair board says it is now, finally in 2018, considering a ban on such items at its venues.

5. Tucker Carlson – Tucker Carlson, the prime time pride of FOX “News” and Neo-Nazis all across the land! Carlson has made a career of fighting the idea that diversity of any kind is an American value, has repeatedly attacked the NAACP and called it a joke, and often tried to play down the effects of slavery on the human psyche. In Carllson’s disturbed mind, “the Mexicans” are interfering with our elections by “packing the electorate.” But, his top moment of Nazism this year was his claim that “white genocide” is going on right now in South Africa. In your deluded dreams, Tucker. In your deluded dreams. Carlson has gotten so encouraged by his viewers and FOX “News” employers that even one top conservative (just one apparently), Bill Kristol, stated in his blog that Carlson’s show is now “close to racism.” Really? Ya think? Close?

6. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) – So often it’s Florida! What a shocker. When it came time for the 2018 State Of The Union Address back in January, most people in congress invited their wives, husbands, hurricane victims, recently returned military personnel, a person from their district who saved innocent lives… you get the picture. Not Rep. Gaetz of Florida’s 1st District! Of all of the people he could have invited, he invited a real Holocaust-denying, white nationalist NAZI named Chuck Johnson! Way to go Gaetz! You just took that giant leap out of your Nazi closet and showed the world what you are! Were you just trying to curry favor with Trump and the rest of the Republican Party leadership. Was that it? If so, I’m sure you succeeded. I’m guessing your district is quite a bunch of goosesteppers. When the controversy over his guest surfaced, Gaetz said he didn’t know about Johnson’s Nazi beliefs. Qutoe, “I had no idea who he was.” Yeah, right. You invite the guy to be your guest at an ultra high profile national event and you just didn’t know much about him. Sure. Gaetz’s love of Nazis didn’t perturb voters in his district at all. In fact, it probably helped. He was reelected in November. Flor-i-duh.