Craziest Republican of the Day: Steve King

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Point of personal insanity!

There's an abundance of craziness in the Republican Party, but it's like our CRD series was tailor-made for the Iowa congressman.

Last Friday, we was CRD for the seventh time, well ahead of anyone else. Today makes eight.

And this one's a doozy:

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), an outspoken critic of just about everything President Obama supports, is considering introducing a bill that would repeal everything Obama has signed into law.

Yes, everything.

Now, I get that King and Obama don't see eye-to-eye on most things, and that King doesn't much care for what Obama's done as president. But even the most extreme partisans usually acknowledge that the president, of whichever party, has the democratic legitimacy and authority to sign bills into law. Sure, the opposing party may seek to overturn some of those laws, or just amend them, but that's usually as far as it goes. King's proposal goes well beyond that, to the point where he seeks to erase the president from legislative history. (I would note that as much as Democrats disliked George W. Bush, they never ever went this far. Not even close.)

Not only that, but he fails to appreciate how American democracy works. The president signs bills into law, but it's Congress that passes them. Even if he objects to everything Obama has done, does he also object to every single bill Congress has passed that the president has signed, even where Republicans were supportive (which wasn't often, admittedly)? If so, he might as well just take a public dump on the Constitution. And resign in shame.

Again, I don't expect King, a right-wing extremist by any measure, to be on Obama's side on anything, and, sure, I expect him to work to undo certain pieces of legislation. But let's take a look at some of the legislation that would be repealed if King got his way:

-- Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

-- Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act 

-- Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act

-- Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act

-- Emergency Aid to American Survivors of Haiti Earthquake Act 

-- Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act

-- Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act 

-- Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act 

-- Small Business Jobs and Credit Act

-- Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act

-- Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act

-- James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act 

-- Food Safety and Modernization Act 

-- United States-South Korea Free Trade Agreement Implemention Act 

So King is apparently against fair pay, in favor of smoking, in favor of hate crime, against HIV/AIDS treatment, against helping the survivors of the Haiti earthquake, against providing support to veterans and their families, against the freedom of the press, against sanctioning Iran, against helping small businesses, in favor of cruelty to animals, against feeding children, against helping 9/11 relief workers, against food safety, and against free trade with a key Asian ally, South Korea.

Maybe he is or isn't any of these things, but his irrational hatred for President Obama, his refusal to allow that the president did anything right, is clearly blinding him to anything and everything but absolute partisanship.

Maybe next week he'll propose shutting down General Motors and firings its employees. Because of course it was Obama who saved the industry from collapse.

Or maybe he'll propose finding Osama bin Laden's body, bringing it back to life through the power of prayer, and reinstalling him as head of al Qaeda. Because of course it was Obama who issued the order to kill him.

And that means it was wrong.