The Daily 202: 'The last election was a wake-up call.' Why GOP leaders are turning on Steve King.

By James Hohmann
January 11 at 9:52 AM

THE BIG IDEA: The top three Republicans in House leadership each rebuked Rep. Steve King on Thursday after the Iowa Republican wondered aloud how the terms “white nationalist” and “white supremacist” became “offensive” during an interview with the New York Times.

“Steve’s language is reckless, wrong and has no place in our society,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said. “Everything about white supremacy and white nationalism goes against who we are as a nation.”

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) said it was “offensive to try to legitimize those terms.” He credited King for issuing a statement after the story published that said, “I reject those labels and the evil ideology that they define.”

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who just became No. 3 in GOP leadership by winning the race for conference chair, tweeted: “These comments are abhorrent and racist and should have no place in our national discourse.”

“Both McCarthy and Scalise were silent in October when asked for comment on incendiary remarks King had made then,” Felicia Sonmez notes. “At the time, Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio), then the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, was the only member of House GOP leadership to rebuke King.”

more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2019/01/11/daily-202-the-last-election-was-a-wake-up-call-why-gop-leaders-are-turning-on-steve-king/5c381f651b326b66fc5a1c11/