Tuesday Open Thread | Steve King stripped from committee assignments over white nationalism comment

House Republican leaders removed Representative Steve King of Iowa from the Judiciary and Agriculture Committees on Monday night as the party officials scrambled to appear tough on racism and contain damage from comments Mr. King made to The New York Times questioning why white supremacy is considered offensive.

The punishment came on a day when Mr. King’s own party leadership moved against him, with the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, suggesting Mr. King find “another line of work” and Senator Mitt Romney saying he should quit. In an attempt to be proactive, the House Republicans stripped him of his committee seats in the face of multiple Democratic resolutions to censure Mr. King that are being introduced this week.

Those measures will force Republicans to take a stand on whether to go along with the House Democratic majority’s attempt to publicly reprimand one of their own.

Speaking to reporters on Monday night after the congressional Republicans acted, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the party leader in the House, said he was not ruling out supporting a censure or reprimand resolution against Mr. King. He said the Republicans are not removing Mr. King from the G.O.P. House conference itself so he can still attend its party meetings.

“I think voters have that decision to make. But I think we spoke loud and clear that we will not tolerate this in the Republican Party,” said Mr. McCarthy, who conferred privately with Mr. King for an hour on Monday afternoon.

Mr. McCarthy called a special meeting of the Republican Steering Committee to consider removing Mr. King from Judiciary — which has jurisdiction over immigration, voting rights and impeachment — and Agriculture, which is a prized committee for Iowans. Mr. King also lost his seat on the Small Business Committee. The steering committee vote was unanimous.

Mr. King, who has been an ally of President Trump on the border wall and other issues, has a long history of making racist remarks and demeaning comments about immigrants, but rarely drew rebukes from Republican leaders in Washington and Iowa. In November, top Iowa Republicans like Senator Charles E. Grassley endorsed Mr. King for re-election even after a House Republican denounced him as a white supremacist.

But in an interview with The Times published on Thursday, Mr. King said: “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?”

Republican officials quickly turned on him, but the party also came in for criticism from the Senate’s lone black Republican, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina. He noted that the G.O.P. has long remained silent in the face of racist comments.

About SouthernGirl2

A Native Texan who adores baby kittens, loves horses, rodeos, pomegranates, & collect Eagles. Enjoys politics, games shows, & dancing to all types of music. Loves discussing and learning about different cultures. A Phi Theta Kappa lifetime member with a passion for Social & Civil Justice.
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89 Responses to Tuesday Open Thread | Steve King stripped from committee assignments over white nationalism comment

  1. rikyrah says:

    Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) Tweeted:
    Last time Bill Barr was AG he used to power to try to fast-track a bogus scandal abt Bill Clinton to save then-President Bush. This is pretty relevant. Why no more discussion?

    https://t.co/d6VzC1i0uz via @TPM https://twitter.com/joshtpm/status/1085183223951327232?s=17

  2. rikyrah says:

    Ari Berman (@AriBerman) Tweeted:
    Breaking: NY just passed big voting rights bill. It includes:

    -Early voting

    -Pre-registration for 16 & 17 year olds

    -Consolidating state & federal primaries

    -Constitutional amendments for Election Day registration & vote by mail

    Huge for democracy

    https://t.co/2k3sOibnLU https://twitter.com/AriBerman/status/1084987836456226820?s=17

  3. rikyrah says:

    Report: Gymboree preparing to file for bankruptcy and close all 900 of its stores
    Justin L. Mack, Indianapolis Star

    New reports indicate that children’s clothing retailer Gymboree Group Inc. is expected to file for bankruptcy protection and make plans to close all of its remaining stores as early as this week

    According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the San Francisco-based company will file for bankruptcy for the second time in two years and liquidate its Gymboree, Crazy 8, and Janie and Jack stores.

    …………………

    The Wall Street Journal reported that the Janie and Jack stores could be saved if the company can find a buyer for the brand. The company operates about 139 Janie and Jack stores nationwide.

    Gymboree first filed for bankruptcy in summer 2017, leading to the closure of about 350 of its 1,281 locations — most of them Gymboree stores. At the time, the company employed more than 11,000 people, including 10,500 hourly workers.

    The company now operates an estimated 900 retail stores in the United States and Canada under its three brands, according to the company website.

  4. rikyrah says:

    Media Alert:

    Black-ish is going to tackle the issue of colorism in tonight’s episode.

  5. rikyrah says:

    Her wakeup call is going to be glorious to watch..

    …………..

    Candace Owens Came for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Quickly Realized She Wasn’t Ready

    Stephen A. Crockett Jr.
    Yesterday 5:18pm

    Candace Owens is unremarkable.

    In fact, she’s known for being the fourth-most famous black woman who supports President Trump.

    ,…………………….

    For some reason, I don’t know if was for clout, tweets, mentions or just normal conservative trolling purposes, Owens decided on this day of our Lord and Savior, that today was the day that she was coming for God’s favorite representative from U.S. House of Representatives from New York’s 14th District, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, aka breaker of chains, reader of fuckbois, destroyer of oppressive systems and the first of her name.

    At the age of 30, @AOC was so fiscally irresponsible that she hadn’t saved up enough money to rent an apartment in the Washington D.C area…

    But sure, let’s trust her with the future fiscal-planning of America. #SocialismSucks

    — Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) January 13, 2019

    ………………………

    The issue wasn’t that Ocasio-Cortez couldn’t afford to have an apartment in Washington, D.C., it was that she also needed one in New York. While she works on Capitol Hill, she doesn’t live there full-time as she needs to be around her constituents as well, which is what Ocasio-Cortez was referencing when she mentioned the cost of rent and affording to live in both places. But, I guess according to Owens, Ocasio-Cortez should have been saving all of her coins from bartending since she knew this day was coming. None of it really matters as it didn’t take long for one Twitter-user, Nathan Bernard, to come and collect Owens’ things.

    While The Root was not able to independently verify claims that Owens did, in fact, live rent free and then sued her landlord claiming “toxic mold sickness” Nathan Bernard did provide links to both Owens’ alleged lawsuit and the landlord’s counter suit.

    At the age of 28, Candace Owens was so fiscally irresponsible that she rented a $3,500 apartment, lived there for six months rent-free, then claimed she had gotten “toxic mold sickness” and threatened to sue her landlord to avoid paying rent, legal documents prove pic.twitter.com/2rRUwvJfnn

    — Nathan Bernard (@nathanTbernard) January 14, 2019

  6. Liza says:

    Truth. But what kind of person would sign on with Trump at this point in his (fake) presidency?
    https://twitter.com/CharlesMBlow/status/1085241779211907072

  7. Liza says:

    This is totally disrespectful and disgusting. Was it really an attempt to insult Mrs. Obama who is so opposed to junk food?
    https://twitter.com/Jduckham/status/1084951731023298562

  8. rikyrah says:

    Breaking news: With just 73 days to go until Britain is scheduled to leave the European Union, lawmakers voted down the withdrawal deal that had been painstakingly negotiated between Prime Minister Theresa May and the European Union. May has until Monday to come back to Parliament with a Plan B.

  9. Ametia says:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWnfeUwJUss

    Keep this video on heavy rotation.

  10. Ametia says:

    Mitch ‘Turtle Face’ McConnell Blocks Bill That Could’ve Reopened the Government

    Senate Republicans are willing to die on this hill wall despite years of having complete control of Congress and doing nothing to make it happen. Now, the plan appears to be to continue to hold federal workers hostage until the president gets his way and can hook his Xbox up to the big TV in the living room.

    According to the Hill, Democratic Sens. Chris Van Hollen (Md.) and Ben Cardin (Md.) asked for consent to look at a package of bills that would’ve effectively reopened the government which is currently facing the longest shutdown in American history.

    From The Hill:

    One bill would fund the Department of Homeland Security through Feb. 8, while the other would fund the rest of the impacted departments and agencies through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.

    Under Senate rules, any senator can ask for consent to vote on or pass a bill, but any senator can object. McConnell blocked the two bills, saying the Senate wouldn’t “participate in something that doesn’t lead to an outcome.”

    McConnell for weeks has said he would not bring legislation to the floor on the shutdown unless there was a deal between President Trump and

    https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/425414-mcconnell-blocks-house-bill-to-reopen-government-for-second-time

  11. rikyrah says:

    John Harwood @ JohnJHarwood
    per Gallup, Trump is the only POTUS in history of polling never to reach 50% approval in first 2 years

    also the only POTUS whose average approval for first 2 years (39%) was below 40%

    averages for predecessors: Obama 52%, GWB 70%, Clinton 48%, GHWB 70%, Reagan 50%, Carter 54%

  12. rikyrah says:

    Open thread—The Brexit vote

    That’s right, everyone. Vladimir Putin’s first serious attack against the West comes to a denouement today between 8 and 9pm BST. The House of Commons votes on Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal, and the tea leaves don’t look good for Mrs. May.

    Let’s rewind to why this vote occurred: former PM David Cameron—he of pig-head fornicator fame—was facing grumblings from the Eurosceptics in the Tories who were making noises about making trouble for him in his last general election. So, to mollify them, he put a referendum on membership in the European Union in the Conservative manifesto. His party won, and the referendum went ahead.

    Now, this referendum was solely advisory. It had no force of law. In the UK, Parliament is sovereign. Parliament had every right to disregard the results of the plebiscite.

  13. rikyrah says:

    Alec MacGillis (@AlecMacGillis) Tweeted:
    “If the US has someone whom historians will look back on as the gravedigger of American democracy, it is Mitch McConnell.” Provocative essay by major historian of Third Reich:

    https://t.co/zJnT8bjFnX https://twitter.com/AlecMacGillis/status/1084942105921896448?s=17

  14. NBC NEWS, Y’ALL! Now we see why these mofos hired Megyn Kelly. Birds of a feather.
    https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1085228801003540485

  15. rikyrah says:

    Robert Mueller’s office, in a new court filing, says that it wants more time with ex-Manafort associate Rick Gates as he “continues to cooperate with respect to several ongoing investigations.” pic.twitter.com/0ex3p4f6XI

    — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 15, 2019

  16. Ametia says:

    Word of the Day : January 15, 2019

    45 is a liason with Putin and Russia

    Liaison: noun LEE-uh-zahn

    Definition
    1 : a binding or thickening agent used in cooking

    2 a : a close bond or connection : interrelationship

    b : an illicit sexual relationship : affair

    3 a : communication for establishing and maintaining mutual understanding and cooperation (as between parts of an armed force)

    b : a person who establishes and maintains communication for mutual understanding and cooperation

    4 : the pronunciation of an otherwise absent consonant sound at the end of the first of two consecutive words the second of which begins with a vowel sound and follows without pause

    https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/liaison-2019-01-15?pronunciation&lang=en_us&dir=l&file=liaiso03&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=wotd&utm_content=pron

  17. rikyrah says:

    “I never worked for Russia”

    We have entered the point in our experiment where Traitor Donald Trump has to avow that he, in fact, is no traitor.

    This avowal stands in stark contrast to the reporting that came out this weekend. We all know about the New York Times story which broke news that the FBI initiated a counterintelligence investigation into Trump after he fired Director James Comey. Then on Saturday the Washington Post reported that Trump confiscated the notes of the interpreter present in his meeting in Helsinki with Vladimir Putin.

    Never in the history of the Republic have we had a man in office who has had to say that he’s never worked for a foreign government. We’ve had great presidents, mediocre presidents, and disastrous ones. But Trump is on another plane of reality.

    ……………………..

    The fact is, it’s not only Trump. We have the fact that Russia funneled money to the NRA, which then funneled it to GOP politicians. The entire Republican Party is ensnared in the Russia scandal, not just its head. We have a major political party in this country which is in bed with a foreign power. This is a situation the country has never faced.

    Everything about the times through which we’re living is unprecedented. A relatively weak power is using spycraft to destabilize the world’s only superpower, with alarming success. It has found enthusiastic stooges by stoking racial and cultural animus. It has exploited known weaknesses in America’s political structure to install a puppet president. “The Manchurian Candidate” was off by a few decades, and Trump didn’t even have to be brainwashed. Where we go from here is anybody’s guess.

  18. Liza says:

    Feel good break, y’all deserve it.

    So I’m listening to my recommended YouTube mix this morning and The Staple Singers are singing “I’ll Take You There”. Sometimes I check out the comments and this was the first one:

    “I came back from Vietnam in late 1970 and by the summer of 1972 I was working for an airline up at LAX and living in a sweet apartment in Huntington Beach, California. I remember this recording and I remember burning holes thru pair after pair of socks, dancing in the kitchen while listening to this song on my record player (Garrard turntable & Harmon Kardon amp) and knocking down (steel) cans of Coors Banquet (no Coors Light back in the day). I was home from The Nam, alive and living large.”

    Amazing, isn’t it? Some folks survive and do well no matter what.

    So here’s to US, and everyone else determined to reach the light at the end of the tunnel.

    • majiir says:

      This comment right here from Barr is full of BS, and he knows it! He’ll do whatever DJT demands/wants him to do.

  19. rikyrah says:

    👏👏👏

    Dale Ho (@dale_e_ho) Tweeted:
    BREAKING: We won! Federal Court blocks Trump Administration from adding citizenship question to the Census. Details to come.

    https://twitter.com/dale_e_ho/status/1085184117182996480?s=17

    • Ametia says:

      Paying more attention to what these racist pieces of shit say, than what policies policies they enact, is not going to bring an end to the racist polices.

      It’s SYSTEMIC.

  20. rikyrah says:

    Wish him well

    I was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and am undergoing treatment at the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. I ask for your prayers at this time. Please see my full statement, below. pic.twitter.com/8CUIk1qFVY

    — Alcee L. Hastings (@RepHastingsFL) January 14, 2019

  21. rikyrah says:

    NPR (@NPR) Tweeted:
    JUST IN: Carol Channing died Tuesday morning, her publicist said. She was 97 years old.
    Channing’s trademark platinum blond hair framed her always smiling face, her wide-eyed innocent style belied a very savvy mind, and her voice was unmistakable.

    https://t.co/9TKukNHl9r https://twitter.com/NPR/status/1085152118309154816?s=17

  22. rikyrah says:

    He has never met a Black person that he didn’t think belonged in jail😒😒

    https://twitter.com/fawfulfan/status/1085116704085155840

  23. rikyrah says:

    Good Morning, Everyone 😄😄😄

  24. Good morning, everyone!

    Steve King need to be expelled from Congress.

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