Rep. Steve King (R-IA) has uttered several untoward comments throughout his congressional tenure, the most recent of which came this week when he asked the New York Times when exactly "white nationalist" and "white supremacist" became offensive terms.
Enough is enough, his fellow Republicans insist.
“Everything about white supremacy and white nationalism goes against who we are as a nation," GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy said in a swift statement. "Steve’s language is reckless, wrong, and has no place in our society. The Declaration of Independence states that ‘all men are created equal.’ That is a fact. It is self-evident.”
Liz Cheney called the remarks "horrid" and "racist."
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is petitioning the GOP to actively support a primary challenge against King.
It’s not enough to condemn @SteveKingIA's unconscionable, racist remarks. Republican leaders must actively support a worthy primary opponent to defeat King, because he won't have the decency to resign. https://t.co/MRAMnuJaym
— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) January 11, 2019
Bush also shared an op-ed penned by Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) on Friday. In the piece, Scott explains why King has no place in Congress.
[A]nyone who needs ‘white nationalist’ or ‘white supremacist’ defined, described and defended does lack some pretty common knowledge," Scott wrote.
Scott goes on to remind Rep. King about crimes committed in the name of white supremacy in this country, including when a white supremacist murdered nine African Americans in a church in Charleston, S.C. in 2015, or when a white nationalist ran over a young woman in Charlottesville last year, and just three months ago when a white supremacist killed two black people in a parking lot in Kentucky.
That's why when King questions what's wrong with the phrase "white nationalism," the Republican Party needs to speak out.
"Some in our party wonder why Republicans are constantly accused of racism — it is because of our silence when things like this are said," Scott said.
These sentiments are "not conservative views."