SALON

Friday, Jun 15, 2012 1:46 PM UTC

Steve King: If I offend you, you don’t belong here

The GOP congressman defends comparing immigrants to dogs. Don't like it? Then you're not an American, he says.

By

Topics: 2012 Elections, Immigration,

Steve King: If I offend you, you don't belong hereSteve King (Credit: Reuters/Larry Downing)

Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King caught flak last month after he was recorded comparing immigrants to dogs, in remarks first reported here at Salon. But now the Tea Party lawmaker  is doubling down on the analogy, and saying that you probably don’t belong in this country if you are offended by his remarks.

At a town hall event in late May, King said the U.S. should pick only the  best immigrants from around the world the same way one chooses the best dogs from a litter of puppies. “You get the pick of the litter and you got yourself a pretty good bird dog. Well, we’ve got the pick of every donor civilization on the planet,” King told the crowd. The comments, recorded by the liberal group American Bridge, quickly attracted condemnation from Democrats, pro-immigrant groups and even the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute. The campaign of King’s Democratic challenger Christie Vilsack said, “If we’re going to have a real discussion on immigration, we should start by acknowledging that immigrants are human beings.”

But in an interview with Fox News Latino’s Elizabeth Llorente published yesterday, King defended his rationale. “I’ve long used these examples. We’ve skimmed the cream of the crop off every civilization on the planet,” he said. And while his previous analogy used bird dogs, this time he pointed to a different breed of dogs: “In my house, we have raised really good, high-quality Labrador Pointers; we’ve received the pick of the litter from all over the planet. You pick the vigor, the most perky.

“If someone is insulted by that, I don’t know that they belong in this country,” he continued. ”Jesus talked about animals and compared people to animals. I’m Catholic, my bishop is my shepherd and we are his sheep.”

King dismissed the controversy over his remarks as “manufactured by my opponents” and said he’s “not too worried” about political fallout. In fact, those trying to make hay over his comments are just trying to prey on Hispanics who may not understand what’s going on, King explained:

“It’s such a rotten thing to do to a society that needs to pull together — victimizing those who have a hard time understanding what’s going on. There are a lot of Hispanics reading, they need to know that the left are seeking to divide people and capitalize on it.”

And King apparently wants to take Mitt Romney down with him. The presumed GOP nominee had one of the harshest immigration policies of any Republican presidential candidate, and his immigration adviser is none other than the author of Arizona’s infamous SB1070 “papers please” law. All this makes King feel pretty good about the top of the ticket. “I disagreed with [Karl] Rove and [George W.] Bush then on immigration. I think Romney has a pretty solid position on immigration,” he said.

In response to the new comments, Vilsack campaign manager Jessica Vanden Berg told Salon, “Instead of apologizing, congressman King has doubled down on this unproductive rhetoric. Just days after Focus on the Family and evangelical leaders from across the nation came together and called for a bipartisan solution that respects the god-given dignity of every person, congressman King continues to compare immigrants to dogs. That’s not what we’re taught in Iowa, and these aren’t the values we expect from our elected officials.”

But if the political heat gets too much for King here, it’s not clear where he would go: “I’m too old to emigrate to Canada, they don’t want me up there,” he told Llorente. On that, he’s probably right.

Alex Seitz-Wald

Alex Seitz-Wald is Salon's political reporter. Email him at aseitz-wald@salon.com, and follow him on Twitter @aseitzwald. More Alex Seitz-Wald.

Next Article

You Might Also Like

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

Gripping photos: The people of the Turkey protests (slideshow)

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • The protests take on a festive element as police forces move out of the park and square. Wearing a gas mask, this young man dances to traditional Turkish music in front of Taksim Square’s Ataturk Monument.

  • In Gezi Park since March 31st, this protester, originally caught off-guard by the Government’s teargas and water cannons, went out and bought a Russian army mask from WWII, preparing for what was to come.

  • This rambunctious boy seems to be enjoying the chaos. After taking this picture he threw a stone at the already destroyed building in the background.

  • Forming a line, the police face off directly with protesters in Taksim Square. After a while, they retreated and there was a general cheer – a back-and-forth dance that has been common since the beginning of this protest.

  • An elderly woman in Gezi Park reads the news. The tent community occupying the park was violently destroyed on June 16th.

  • Many different groups had set up booths to promote their cause in Taksim Square and Gezi Park. Standing in front of one, this man waves his flag while posing with conviction.

  • Many home-remedies are used to minimize the effects of tear gas. This woman has put a milky solution on her face, removing her mask after the tear gas dissipated. Before sunrise, the police came again for another round of teargasing.

  • People capitalize on the uprising -- selling flags, beer, gas masks, sky lanterns and spray paint to name just a few of the popular items.

  • On Monday morning, June 11, the police execute a strong offensive. Many plain-clothed police officers, like the ones seen here, clash with protesters in the side streets away from the main stand-off in Taksim.

  • The authorities seem to be most aggressive in the night, pushing protesters away from the square and park. After being teargassed this young woman catches her breath with other protesters on Siraselviler Street.

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

More Related Stories

Comments

 53 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username ( settings | log out )

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves": Growing up primate

Recommendations