Rep. Steve King says nonwhites contributed nothing to history

[Cleopatra7]

When confronted with the fact that the GOP is increasingly becoming a party of elderly white Christians, Rep. Steve King said, "This whole ‘old white people’ business does get a little tired, Charlie. I’d ask you to go back through history and figure out where are these contributions that have been made by these other categories of people that you are talking about? Where did any other subgroup of people contribute more to civilization?"

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/19/us/politics/steve-king-nonwhite-subgroups.html?mabReward=CTM&moduleDetail=recommendations-1&action=click&contentCollection=Opinion&region=Footer&module=WhatsNext&version=WhatsNext&contentID=WhatsNext&src=recg&pgtype=article

The absurdity of this statement should be obvious, but given how many people within the Republican Party probably believe this as well. I wish it had been pointed out that until the 1960s or so, Irish Catholics like King himself were not considered "white" and were considered lazy, drunk, incapable of being good Americans on account of their Catholicism, and morally degenerate. Instead, the show just cut to commercials.

ETA: I seem to have gotten Steve King mixed up with the equally odious Peter King. The former is of Welsh, Irish, and Dutch ancestry and the latter is mostly Irish. Nonetheless, my point about the Irish not being "white" until recently shows how these racial goalposts are arbitrary and always changing.

[JMarie]

Steve King, Confederate flag lover, also doesn't know that Iowa was part of the Union.  He doesn't really understand history at all.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/07/11/rep-steve-king-provokes-criticism-displaying-confederate-flag/86953408/

[lascuba]

Pointing out facts to Trump supporters accomplishes nothing. It really does not matter to them. They want to white supremacist in office. 

 

[louisa05]

We do a bad job teaching history.

[47of74]

Steve King is a douche nozzle fuck nugget dumbass dipshit.  He makes all of us here in Iowa look like a bunch of dumb hicks who only have sex with farm animals (h/t Zoe Saldana).  Every time King opens his mouth I cringe.