King: My 'provocative' comments by design
By Bret Hayworth Journal staff writer | Posted: Tuesday, March 25, 2008
SIOUX CITY -- Anyone who hadn't already taken in the controversial comments of Iowa 5th District Congressman Steve King could have heard an extended primer on the matter during Monday's Downtown Sioux City Rotary Club meeting.
The recitation of past statements came from the congressman himself.
For the first two-thirds of his remarks before the Rotarians, King relayed the rationale behind his comment-stirring remarks. According to King, he plans everything he says, no matter how "provocative" -- it's weighed ahead of time, never off the cuff and designed to stir discussion of key issues.
"What kind of a nation are we if we can't have open dialogue?" King asserted.
The three-term Republican from Kiron also gave a scathing critique of the media's focus on issues. King said he's got to use attention-grabbing language "to transcend" the blackout by the mainstream media.
King began by tangentially referring to the robust discussion he stirred two and a half weeks ago. He didn't directly mention his comments about Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, in which he said terrorists will be dancing in the streets if he wins the presidency come November. King said that would be because of Obama's middle name, Hussein, and because he favors removing troops from Iraq.
On Monday, King said the media's liberal bias on war goes back to Vietnam, when CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite and others tried to keep the focus on the 1968 My Lai massacre of Vietnamese civilians. That media slant, King said, runs through to the Iraq war, including how U.S. soldiers' treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison became an overblown story. King restated his notable remark that what happened at Abu Ghraib was "hazing."
"Torture did not describe it," he said and noted how he picked that descriptor -- "the dictionary coming off the shelf, opening it" -- and finding the most appropriate word. King said he heard from military personnel that the treatment at Abu Ghraib wasn't as bad as what they received from fellow military members in training.
"I wanted to shake America by the shoulders" so the country could move past Abu Ghraib, he said.
King then moved on to his 2004 statement that former U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy was a hero.
"I did know what I was saying," King said. He said the senator derided for blacklisting Hollywood workers when seeking to expose communists in America "was right more often than he was wrong, and history has proven that." King said a scholarly book in the making on the 1950s-era topic will shed new light on McCarthy's sagacity.
He then referenced his 2006 comment that civilians are more at risk of serious injury or death in Washington, D.C., than in Iraq. King explained to the Rotarians how he got the statistic and said, "I am still right on safety in Iraq."
Rotary member Mike Dosland, a banker, said King is correct when he says the positive infrastructure developments in Iraq are overshadowed by media reports of the latest soldier killed there. Dosland was commander of an infantry battalion in Iraq in 2004 and 2005, and Dosland's son is now serving in Iraq.
Of his statements that draw both criticism and support, King said, "that discussion is always healthy," so long as it stays based on weighing facts. In a timely Easter story, King cited Jesus being verbally examined by the high priest Caiaphas before his crucifixion. King noted Jesus responded to Caiaphas, "If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong," while noting that if he was right, he should not be rebuked.
"That doesn't mean I am presenting myself anywhere near Jesus," King said, adding that being correct is a strong defense.
After 22 minutes of media critique and explanation of his past comments, King noted it was "the first time I've publicly talked about this."
At the end of the meeting, King discussed current issues in Congress, including his support for alternative energy development in western Iowa, tax policy and "this economy that has us worried." King again stated his preference to abolish the federal income tax and to replace the Internal Revenue Service with a consumption tax, dubbed Fair Tax.
Read more in Hayworth's Politically Speaking blog at www.siouxcityjournal.com/blogs
The recitation of past statements came from the congressman himself.
For the first two-thirds of his remarks before the Rotarians, King relayed the rationale behind his comment-stirring remarks. According to King, he plans everything he says, no matter how "provocative" -- it's weighed ahead of time, never off the cuff and designed to stir discussion of key issues.
"What kind of a nation are we if we can't have open dialogue?" King asserted.
The three-term Republican from Kiron also gave a scathing critique of the media's focus on issues. King said he's got to use attention-grabbing language "to transcend" the blackout by the mainstream media.
King began by tangentially referring to the robust discussion he stirred two and a half weeks ago. He didn't directly mention his comments about Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, in which he said terrorists will be dancing in the streets if he wins the presidency come November. King said that would be because of Obama's middle name, Hussein, and because he favors removing troops from Iraq.
On Monday, King said the media's liberal bias on war goes back to Vietnam, when CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite and others tried to keep the focus on the 1968 My Lai massacre of Vietnamese civilians. That media slant, King said, runs through to the Iraq war, including how U.S. soldiers' treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison became an overblown story. King restated his notable remark that what happened at Abu Ghraib was "hazing."
"Torture did not describe it," he said and noted how he picked that descriptor -- "the dictionary coming off the shelf, opening it" -- and finding the most appropriate word. King said he heard from military personnel that the treatment at Abu Ghraib wasn't as bad as what they received from fellow military members in training.
"I wanted to shake America by the shoulders" so the country could move past Abu Ghraib, he said.
King then moved on to his 2004 statement that former U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy was a hero.
"I did know what I was saying," King said. He said the senator derided for blacklisting Hollywood workers when seeking to expose communists in America "was right more often than he was wrong, and history has proven that." King said a scholarly book in the making on the 1950s-era topic will shed new light on McCarthy's sagacity.
He then referenced his 2006 comment that civilians are more at risk of serious injury or death in Washington, D.C., than in Iraq. King explained to the Rotarians how he got the statistic and said, "I am still right on safety in Iraq."
Rotary member Mike Dosland, a banker, said King is correct when he says the positive infrastructure developments in Iraq are overshadowed by media reports of the latest soldier killed there. Dosland was commander of an infantry battalion in Iraq in 2004 and 2005, and Dosland's son is now serving in Iraq.
Of his statements that draw both criticism and support, King said, "that discussion is always healthy," so long as it stays based on weighing facts. In a timely Easter story, King cited Jesus being verbally examined by the high priest Caiaphas before his crucifixion. King noted Jesus responded to Caiaphas, "If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong," while noting that if he was right, he should not be rebuked.
"That doesn't mean I am presenting myself anywhere near Jesus," King said, adding that being correct is a strong defense.
After 22 minutes of media critique and explanation of his past comments, King noted it was "the first time I've publicly talked about this."
At the end of the meeting, King discussed current issues in Congress, including his support for alternative energy development in western Iowa, tax policy and "this economy that has us worried." King again stated his preference to abolish the federal income tax and to replace the Internal Revenue Service with a consumption tax, dubbed Fair Tax.
Read more in Hayworth's Politically Speaking blog at www.siouxcityjournal.com/blogs
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Jose S wrote on Apr 1, 2008 3:17 AM:
Thomas G. Welsh wrote on Mar 31, 2008 9:35 AM:
GO STEVE KING! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND KEEP MAKING IOWA PROUD! "
I meant to do that wrote on Mar 26, 2008 8:40 AM:
Joe wrote on Mar 26, 2008 12:50 AM:
Peggy wrote on Mar 25, 2008 10:28 PM: