Rep. Steve King is one of the most extreme of the extreme right in Congress, and he says some of the most dehumanizing, evil-spirited, and downright hateful things any member of Congress has ever spoken.
Late last night on the House floor, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) spoke in support of a Republican amendment to the Department of Homeland Security funding bill that would exempt DHS construction projects from a law requiring federal contractors to pay laborers the prevailing wage and benefits for the area. That law, known as Davis-Bacon, serves to protect union laborers from being drastically underbid by non-union contractors. In effect, the law prevents a 'race to the bottom' in federal contracting bids, which in turn protects working-class wages in the building trades.
But not according to Steve King, who once again likened the law to anti-gay legislation decried by Democrats and argued that it is an unacceptable intrusion into the free market, where "labor is a commodity just like corn or beans or oil or gold, and the value of it needs to be determined by the competition, supply and demand in the workplace."
KING: If you wanna do as many Democrats have said on this floor, and that is that any relationship between two consenting adults the federal government shouldn't be involved in, well this is a relationship the federal government should not be involved in. For the federal government to tell me that I can't say to my own son, I'd like to climb in the seat of your excavator and sit there for $10 an hour, federal government says I can't, he's gotta pay me some $28 rate or whatever that is. But the government has no business interfering and no business driving up these costs. And we must go through this period of austerity. That requires that we not impose federal union scale on federal construction projects. [...] And I think the free market should set the wages. Labor is a commodity just like corn or beans or oil or gold, and the value of it needs to be determined by the competition, supply and demand in the workplace.
After King finished his remarks, Rep. Norman Dicks (D-WA) asked where King's family construction business is located. King explained, and then a live mic caught him saying, "Now he'll send the unions to organize [us]." Watch (transcript beginning at 1:52):
To King and Randian Conservatives like him, people aren't people, they are things who have no value except that which CEOs ascribe to them. It reminds me of the quote from the movie, Island of Lost Souls: Are we not men? To Rep. Steve King, we are not men or women or children, we are beans and corn.
Mushed reminded me of these quotes from King:
CLAIMED HIS WIFE "IS AT FAR GREATER RISK BEING A CIVILIAN IN DC THAN AN AVERAGE CIVILIAN IN IRAQ":
On June 12, on the House floor, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) downplayed the violence on the ground in Iraq, claiming his wife is taking a greater risk by living in Washington, D.C. King said: "27.51 Iraqis per 100,000 die a violent death on an annual basis. 27.51. Now what does that mean? To me, it really doesn't mean a lot until I compare it to people that I know or have a feel for the rhythm of this place. Well I by now have a feel for the rhythm of this place called Washington, D.C., and my wife lives here with me, and I can tell you, Mr. Speaker, she's at far greater risk being a civilian in Washington, D.C. than an average civilian in Iraq. 45 out of every 100,000 Washington, D.C. regular residents die a violent death on an annual basis. [Center for American Progress's Blog, Think Progress]
OFFERED LEGISLATION TO STRIKE DOWN THE REAUTHORIZATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT (VAWA) BECAUSE ACCORDING TO MR. KING VAWA GOT IN THE WAY OF MARRIAGE : Last year Rep. Steve King offered an amendment to H.R. 3402 - Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act, which would struck down the reauthorization of violence against women section (VAWA) of the bill. He justified the amendment because in his words VAWA "demonstrated a certain hostility particularly against men, but also involves itself in the relationship of marriage that I think we should stay out of." [Transcripts, House Rules Committee, 109-1st, September 27, 2005]
And here are a few more from the Steve King Files:
Rep . Steve King 'empathizes' with the Austin Texas suicide attack on the IRS
Rep. Steve King says Rep. Grijalva's district has ceded to Mexico
Hey, Steve King! Exactly where SHOULD gays wear their sexuality?
Rep. Steve King smears Obama's name: "radical Islamists will be dancing in the streets'
