January 24, 2019
I am a friend and fan of Steve King. I
freely and publicly admit it.
King is the only politician — in
Washington, D.C., or Des Moines — to step up to the plate every
time I have contacted GOP-elected officials for assistance for my
family or for my business.
On June 3, 2016, when all other
politicos in my party ignored requests to speak at the dedication of
the family’s new $5.5 million White Wolf Web newspaper printing
plant, Steve immediately responded he would be there.
King was the day’s highlight,
delivering a well-crafted address that spoke of the important role a
free press plays in assuring our individual freedoms. And he did so
despite a major logistics problem that had him rushing to Sheldon
from Sioux City where he was preparing for a live televised debate
later that evening.
Yes, I agree with those who say King
sometimes speaks without thinking. I’ve even introduced him at
Republican gatherings myself as “The mouth from the West.” But as
one woman said at my Wednesday morning Bible study, “I always agree
with what he says even when I don’t appreciate the way he says it.”
I won’t say the most recent story
doesn’t have some elements of truth, but I have little trust in
America’s major media’s reporting, including The New York Times,
which printed the exclusive interview. According to King, The Times
totally misquoted him.
“We discussed the changing use of
language in political labels,” King said. “We discussed the
worn-out label ‘racist’ and my observation that other slanderous
labels have been increasingly assigned to conservatives by the left,
who inject into our current political dialogue such terms as Nazi,
fascist, white supremacist — western civilization. How did western
civilization become a derogatory term?” asks King.
According to King, he was quoted out of
context.
I can’t help but reflect on the fact
that the attack on King began just a few days after the Democratic
majority took control of Congress. The charges against N’West
Iowa’s strongly opinionated, highly conservative spokesperson were
well planned and meant to take attention from the closed government
fiasco. The shifting of attention is something the right and left
side of the aisle needed to see happen. They needed to take attention
away from their own bad behavior. King, even to those in his own
party, became the sacrificial lamb.
I, for one, am tired of all the
infighting, party-empowerment politics being demonstrated by the
members of Congress. I would like those elected to represent and
serve us to do just that and not always be putting themselves and
their party interests first. The House and Senate should focus on
solving our national and international problems instead of bickering.
I am sure they still are regularly receiving a government paycheck.
On Friday, Jan. 11, I flew to
Cincinnati on business. My flight was out of Sioux Falls, SD, at 6:05
in the morning.
I’m TSA pre-approved and usually have
a shorter line through airport security. Not last Friday. The
TSA-preapproved line was closed because many TSA employees “failed
to show up for work.”
I can’t imagine asking my employees
to work week after week for a paycheck they’ll get sometime. Both
of our nation’s political parties are turning their back on this
issue waiting for the other to break.
But what it is really breaking are the
backs of faithful civil servants forced to work a second job — and
only one with pay — to keep their heads above water.
Maybe that is something worth
considering for reprimanding. Certainly, our tireless congressman,
Steve King, who speaks the mind of so many in his district, is not.
Peter W. Wagner lives in Sibley. He
is the founder/publisher of The N’West Iowa REVIEW and may be
reached at pww@iowainformation.com.