Rep. Steve King blasted for 'our civilization' tweet
U.S. Rep. Steve King, an Iowa Republican who last July said white Christians have contributed more to Western civilization than any other “subgroup,” on Sunday found himself again the subject of criticism, this time for saying that Muslim children are preventing “our civilization” from being restored.
King, who was retweeting a message endorsing Geert Wilders, a far-right candidate for Dutch prime minister, said Wilders “understands that culture and demographics are our destiny. We can't restore our civilization with somebody else's babies.”
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The original tweet, from the anti-European Union Voice of Europe media organization, displays a cartoon with an image of Wilders plugging a hole in a wall labeled “Western Civilization.” Nearby, bearded protesters hold signs that say, “Infidels, Know Your Limits” and “Freedom of Speech Go To Hell.”
The caption reads: "Hundreds of Islamists shouting 'Allahu Akbar' in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Wilders is right for over 10 years."
King was on the receiving end of criticism from both sides of the political spectrum.
Conservative columnist Bill Kristol tweeted, "Is it worth making the obvious point that what American history has been about is 'restoring' ourselves with 'somebody else's babies?'"
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean called King "a total ignoramus and no one takes him seriously. He does give off good quotes to outrage people though."
U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo, (R-Fla.), who serves Florida's 26th District in the state's southeastern tip, near Miami, tweeted the hashtag #concernedGOPcolleague, asking King: "What exactly do you mean? Do I qualify as 'somebody else's baby?'"
In a pair of tweets endorsing King's tweet, former Ku Klux Klan Imperial Wizard David Duke said that if Americans were considering moving, “sanity reigns supreme in Iowa's 4th congressional district,” in the state’s northwest area, which King represents.
The Washington Post last month noted that while just 64% of the U.S. population is white and non-Hispanic, nearly 89% of Iowans describe themselves that way.
Duke on Sunday also tweeted, simply: “GOD BLESS STEVE KING!!! #TruthRISING”
King has often made provocative comments about “civilization” and what he perceives as a declining role in its development for white Christians.
Meeting last September with Wilders and another anti-immigrant politician, Frauke Petry of Germany, King tweeted a photo with the caption, “Cultural suicide by demographic transformation must end.”
During the Republican National Convention in July, King created an uproar by asserting that white people have contributed more to the advancement of human civilization than any other "sub-group of people."
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Last September, King spoke out against silent protests by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, calling them "activism that's sympathetic to ISIS."
The often strident Wilders is sometimes referred to as the “Dutch Trump.” He earned the nickname not just for his love of extreme comments — he has tweeted about “left wing elitist losers,” among others — but also for his explicit anti-Muslim views. Wilders has called for the Koran to be banned, and his party’s platform calls for prohibiting new mosques, which he compares to “Nazi Temples.” He has also proposed closing Dutch borders and making “the Netherlands ours again,” The Post reported.
Like Trump, Wilders also sports an outrageous blonde hairdo and is married to a woman of Eastern European descent.
Polls for the Netherlands’ March 15 election have shown Wilders in a close race with incumbent Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
Follow Greg Toppo on Twitter: @gtoppo