{"id":1151,"date":"2019-01-26T04:30:57","date_gmt":"2019-01-26T09:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=1151"},"modified":"2019-02-09T10:42:37","modified_gmt":"2019-02-09T15:42:37","slug":"steve-king-gets-praise-recites-poetry-at-first-iowa-town-hall-since-recent-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=1151","title":{"rendered":"Steve King gets praise, recites poetry at first Iowa town hall since recent controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Robin Opsahl Des Moines Register <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published 8:15 PM EST Jan 26, 2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PRIMGHAR,\nIa. \u2014 Pamela Harmon, a retired nurse and 4th District resident, stood up\nat U.S. Rep. Steve King’s town hall meeting Saturday morning to address the\nembattled representative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“As\nI came up today I thought it must be difficult to come with\nthe difficulties you’ve been through, to come back and face your\nconstituency. And I was wrong,” Harmon said. “You’re proud and\ntalented and we’re proud of you, and thanks for coming to see us.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ncrowd applauded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More\nthan 40 Iowans braved the snowy weather to attend, a group largely made up of\n4th District residents and King supporters. It was the first Iowa crowd King\nhas publicly addressed since his controversial New York Times quote on white\nnationalism and white supremacy resulted in his committees being stripped and a\nHouse rebuke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Congressman Steve King takes questions during a town hall meeting in Primghar Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019. Zach Boyden-Holmes\/The Register <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u25ba\nMore:<\/strong> Fact-checking Steve King’s claims about immigration\nstatistics. What does the data show?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nquiet crowd wrapped in winter wear did not question King about his\ncomments. Before asking their questions, several said they did not believe the\naccusations against King.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You\nbeing accused of being a racist, and all that other stuff,” said\nKelly O’Brien, the O’Brien County GOP chair, “I know you’re not,\nSteve. I’ve known you forever.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

King\nechoed that sentiment in his opening remarks. He compared the\nbacklash to his recent comments on white supremacy and nationalism to the\n“inquisition” U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh faced during\nthe Judiciary Committee hearings on his nomination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

King\nsaid his comment to the New York Times \u2014 “White nationalist, white\nsupremacist, Western civilization \u2014 how did that language become\noffensive?\u201d \u2014 was part of his defense of Western civilization. He said the\nbacklash was about the left “policing our language.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I\u2019ve\nmade more than one mistake, we all have,” King said. “I should have\nnever done an interview with the New York Times.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25ba\nMore: <\/strong>Everything that’s happened with Rep.\nSteve King since his New York Times comments<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\ntook questions from the crowd, which his staff vetted for content. King\nsaid his committee removals meant less now that Republicans weren’t in charge\nof the House, but still said conservatives will miss having him on the\nJudiciary Committee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“There’s\na 70 percent chance they\u2019ll attempt an impeachment of Donald Trump,”\nhe said. “And they need seasoned members to give them an opportunity to\ndefend themselves and defend them.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

King\nalso answered numerous questions on border security and immigration. He stood\nby his stances that the federal government needs to build a wall on the\nU.S.-Mexico border, and lightly criticized Trump for caving on the recent\ngovernment shutdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“He\ndidn’t stick with this one the way I thought that he said that he\nwould,” King said, adding that “I think that he’s closer to declaring\na state of emergency.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When\ncrowd members asked King about getting livestock and farm workers into the\n4th District \u2014 which often are immigrant populations \u2014 he said border\nsecurity needs to be addressed first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We\ncan\u2019t get to the rational solutions because we\u2019ve irrationally let our\nborders stay open,” he said. “The first thing is secure the border\nand then talk about everything else.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\nwas King’s first stop in a town hall series he has planned for the year. He has\nsaid he will hold public meetings in all 39 counties throughout the 4th\nDistrict. O’Brien County is in far northwest Iowa, and Primghar\nis far from most of the major cities in the district \u2014 more\nthan an hour from Sioux City, nearly three hours from Ames and two and a half\nhours from Mason City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25ba\nMore:<\/strong> Learn about the Iowa district that re-elects Steve\nKing year after year<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Judy\nKulligan, a Sheldon Democrat who attended the town hall, said the location was\ndeliberate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“He\npicked Primghar and O’Brien County for a reason,” she said. “He knew\nthis would be safe, he knew people weren’t going to come out on a cold morning\nand drive in the snow to challenge him. He knew it’d be easy and that’s why he\ncame here.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

King\ngot 65.2 percent of the vote in O’Brien County in last year’s election. He\nwon 50.4 percent of the vote in the district, making it his closest\nelection since he started his nine terms in the House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

King\nhas held few town halls in recent years. In 2017, King told the Sioux City\nJournal he held fewer of them because of fears over safety and\npotential derailment by protesters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nrepresentative said he preferred tele-town halls and requested\nmeetings with community members, where he could discuss policy without opening\nup the floor to protesters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u25ba\nMore:<\/strong> Steve King has a history of controversial remarks. Here are\nsome that riled people up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\nalso tangled with the media over coverage of his victory party after the\nNovember midterms. He barred the Des Moines Register and other media\noutlets from attending. There were no reports of media outlets denied access in\nadvance of Saturday’s town hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\nwas also King’s first 4th District event since Republican challengers\nannounced they would run against King. Iowa State Sen. Randy Feenstra announced\nhe was running in early January. Jeremy Taylor, a Republican Woodbury County\nsupervisor, announced his candidacy Thursday. Bret Richards, an Irwin\nRepublican, is also running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But\nGaye Kammerer, a Primghar King supporter at the town hall, said she hasn’t\ngiven challengers any thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

King\nended the town hall by reciting Rudyard Kipling’s poem, “If\u2014”.\nKipling is a famous British poet who published controversial\npro-Imperialist poems, including one titled “The White Man’s Burden.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings \u2014 nor lose the common touch\u2026” the poem reads. “Yours is the Earth and everything that\u2019s in it, And \u2014which is more \u2014 you\u2019ll be a Man, my son!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published 8:15 PM EST Jan 26, 2019 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Robin Opsahl Des Moines Register Published 8:15 PM EST Jan 26, 2019 PRIMGHAR, Ia. \u2014 Pamela Harmon, a retired nurse and 4th District resident, stood up…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-politics","category-state-politics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8VBh7-iz","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1393,"url":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=1393","url_meta":{"origin":1151,"position":0},"title":"Pro-Trump Project 2025 leader suggests a new American Revolution is underway","author":"Donnie","date":"July 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Former President Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Chesapeake, Va., on June 28.(Steve Helber \/ Associated Press) By\u00a0Ali SwensonJuly 3, 2024\u00a012:33 PM PT NEW YORK\u00a0\u2014\u00a0\u00a0 The leader of a conservative think tank orchestrating plans for a\u00a0massive overhaul of the federal government\u00a0in the event of a Republican presidential win said\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "National News"","block_context":{"text":"National News","link":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?cat=21"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/75.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/75.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/75.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/75.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/75.webp?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":616,"url":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=616","url_meta":{"origin":1151,"position":1},"title":"Bill Dix resigns from Iowa Senate after video with lobbyist is posted","author":"Donnie","date":"March 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"William Petroski,Brianne Pfannenstiel and\u00a0Jason Noble, The Des Moines Register March 12, 2018 (Photo: Zach Boyden-Holmes\/The Register) \u00a0 Sen. 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