Just one day after calling for civility, Governor Kim Reynolds announced the endorsement of Iowa’s least civil Congressman.
Just one day after calling for civility in public discourse, Governor Kim Reynolds announced the endorsement of Representative Steve King, a man whose comments are so incendiary even many Republicans have spoken out against him. Governor Reynolds also made King a co-chair of her campaign.
At a press conference yesterday, Governor Reynolds attempted to walk back her comments about a wide swath of her constituents, liberals, being “unhinged,” saying she only meant to aim those pre-planned comments at a “small group of people.”
Interestingly, this was after her press secretary Pat Garrett sent a list to inquiring reporters that detailed why liberals as a whole were “unhinged.”
Reynolds went on to call for civility in public discourse. However, her action today is in direct contradiction of that call.
Representative Steve King is notorious for his divisive and offensive comments.
He earned national criticism for a controversial statement about “[restoring our] civilization with somebody else’s babies.”
King also said that Al Qaeda would be “dancing in the streets” if Barack Obama was elected President, compared marriage equality to someone marrying their lawnmower, and proudly displays a Confederate flag on his desk.
Not only that, but his campaign tactics are questionable to say the least. A recent investigation revealed that King has paid his family hundreds of thousands of dollars to work on his campaign.
“By elevating Congressman Steve King to a co-chair of her campaign, Governor Reynolds is abetting the hate and division the Congressman proudly promotes every day,” said Iowa Democratic Party Chair Troy Price. “The values that Congressman King represents are contrary to everything that Iowa stands for. Governor Reynolds should be ashamed of herself for using calls for civility to distract from her own lack of commitment to respectful public debate.”