Congressman Steve “Calves the Size of Cantaloupes” King of Iowa doesn’t always say (or do) the right thing. So it shouldn’t have come as a shocker when he admitted to an MSNBC panel his belief that no one but whites have contributed to the advancement of Western civilization.
King was responding to Charles Pierce of Esquire magazine, who criticized the lack of diversity at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.
“If you’re really optimistic, you can say that this is the last time that old white people will command the Republican Party’s attention, its platform, its public face,” Pierce had told the other guest. “That hall is wired by loud, unhappy, dissatisfied white people.”
That’s when King interjected with the rhetorical question all white supremacist hold on the tips of their tongues:
“This ‘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’re talking about, where did any other subgroup of people contribute more to civilization?”
“Than white people?” a stunned Chris Hayes asked.
“Than Western civilization itself,” King went on. “It’s rooted in Western Europe, Eastern Europe and the United States of America and every place where the footprint of Christianity settled the world. That’s all of Western civilization.”
“What about Asia? What about Africa?” queried April Ryan, a black journalist.
“We’re not going to argue the history of Western civilization,” Hayes interceded, placing a hand on the congressman’s shoulder as if urging him to either remove his foot from his mouth or his head from his ass. “Let me note for the record that if you’re looking at the ledger of Western civilization, for every flourishing democracy, you have Hitler and Stalin as well.”
With King’s comment, Melania lifting parts of First Lady Obama’s 2008 convention speech, and actor Antonio Sabato, Jr. demanding that immigrants fleeing Latin America follow the rules of the U.S. immigration system — as he did when he came to the States from Italy — all in all, it was an absolutely batshit first day for the Republican National Convention.