Rock Rapids, Iowa — Congressman Steve King made his second town-hall appearance of the 39 he has planned this year on Monday. This time he was in Rock Rapids.
In his introduction, King mentioned a quote from George Orwell’s 1984. The quote says that those who control the language control the argument. Those who control the argument control the information. Those who control the information, control the history. Those who control the history control the past, and those who control the past control the future. King says this is ringing true now with the firestorms of false stories in the media and social media. He says we have to view all sources with more skepticism than ever before.
King says that especially since he’s been stripped of his committee assignments, he has turned more and more to President Trump’s administration to get things done.
King says he’s still working on some situations. He says California shouldn’t be allowed to regulate poultry and egg production in Iowa. He says the anti-abortion “heartbeat bill” is moving along at the federal level. He says they’re also trying to pass it state-by-state.
King says he was notified in November by a major political operative that he didn’t name — that his opponents were going to launch a media firestorm against him soon.
In January, King was interviewed by the New York Times, and he says his syntax was misrepresented. The specific quote was, “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?” King claims that he was asking how the term “western civilization” became offensive. King said on Monday that he and his staff did a Lexus Nexus search on his use of the terms “white nationalist” and “white supremacist”, and they couldn’t find one time when he had used that language before. He called the other two terms “abhorrent ideologies” in his speech on Monday, and said that they were “weaponized terms” that Democrats have started using to take down members of his party. When asked what he meant by “western civilization” King said he meant any area that was founded on or where they have now established Judeo-Christian values.
The congressman also noted that some of the people he looks up to the most politically are black people. He also mentioned that black conservatives have been seeking him out to partner with him, because they have been through similar situations where they have been called names.
King says we are at a critical time right now.
King was asked what the path might be to overcoming the issue of losing his committee assignments, he said that he needs to build critical mass in the Republican conference, get the truth into the media, and continue to hold these town meetings.
When asked what his constituents could do to help in his current situation, King said they should pray, spread the truth, and contact Kevin McCarthy.
Probably the most interesting question from the audience was that of Bob Protexter from Sioux City. Protexter told King that Protexter is the grandson of two former mayors of the town of Little Rock and was a student of political science. He then went on to say he was thinking of challenging King for his congressional seat and asked the congressman for his advice. King said he appreciated Protexter’s honesty and his study of political science, but unsurprisingly declined to give any advice on how to defeat him.
King wrapped up by telling about the “blessings” in his life like his church, his wife, and his family.
Around 50 people attended the town hall meeting, about 10 of which were reporters from various tri-state media.
