Steve King

Tuesday evening, J.D. Scholten was the first guest on Marianne's week long down-ballot progressive summit. (Tonight, Hector Oseguera will be on with Marianne; here's the schedule.) Tuesday, while J.D. and Marianne were chatting, Iowans were voting in their primaries. J.D. wasn't challenged so, no drama there. But his opponent, GOP neo-fascist and arch-racist-- largely disowned by the DC Republican establishment-- Steve King had 4 primary opponents.

J.D. is running to represent a huge, mostly rural Iowa congressional district currently held by the most bigoted and far right Republican in the House, Steve King. But J.D.'s campaign isn't just about a referendum on King. He's far more concerned about offering voters a positive platform they can relate to.

by Noah"Republican Lawmaker" is the new "Florida Man." it's two words that, well, you just cringe when you see them together. It's always a "Jeez, what now?" moment. For years we've seen headlines like "Florida Man Shocked When Pet 20-Foot Python Eats Daughter" or some such thing. Or, how about trying on "Florida Man Claims He Only Drank At Stoplights, But Not While Driving" for laughs?

Every Democrat running for Congress against an incumbent Republican is hoping to find a video like this one of white supremacist Steve King endorsing his pal Donald J. Bacon. I hope Kara, the progressive Democrat running for the Omaha-based congressional district currently occupied by Bacon can make good use of it. This particular tape was mae in 2016 and shows King, the ardent white supremacist and rape-and-incest booster proudly endorsing Bacon. The two have been fast allies ever since, almost always voting in tandem. They both vehemently oppose a woman's right to Choice.

J.D. Scholten came very close to beating racist incumbent Steve King in 2018. With no help from the DCCC, congenitally distrustful of progressives, Scholten a former baseball player and first-time candidate, outraised King better than three to one and, in a district with a PVI of R+11 where Obama lost both times and where Trump clobbered Hillary 60.9% to 33.5%, held King to just 50.3%.Since then, King was kicked off his committee for his unhinged racism and has been shunned by his own party.

Yesterday our old pal, former baseball player JD Scholten launched the second part of his campaign to replace Iowa neo-fascist and white nationalist Steve King with a stunning video narrated by Kevin Costner (Field of Dreams). Last cycle-- with zero help from the DCCC, of course-- JD shocked the political punditry by nearly beating King in the gigantic rural Iowa district that sits in the northwest and central part of the state, stretching from Sioux City to Ames and New Hampton in Chickasaw County in the eastern part of Iowa-- 38 counties.

Recently, J.D. Scholten, who's still considering another run against Steven King in northwest Iowa, told me that "In the last decade, King has missed 82% of the Small Business Committee hearings and nearly 40% of the Agriculture Committee hearings.

The GOP has long had a habit of putting it's most extreme members on the House Judiciary Committee-- crackpots like Matt Gaetz (FL), Louie Gohmert (TX), Andy Biggs (AZ), Ken Buck (CO), Jim Jordan (OH), Darrell Issa (CA) and, as you probably know by now, Steve King. Monday evening, the Republican Policy and Steering Committee voted unanimously to kick King off all his committees.

Steve King's Iowa district is very, very rural and very, very red. The PVI is R+11 and Trump beat Hillary there 60.9% to 33.5%, significantly outpolling both McCain (50.2%) and Romney (53.4%). Usually King wins in a walk and doesn't even campaign much. This past November, though, he nearly lost, first time candidate and progressive baseball player J.D. Scholten holding him to 50.4%, his smallest win number ever. If only the DCCC hadn't decided J.D.

Republican homophobic maniac Randy Feenstra may stop thinking about sex with men long enough to run against Steve KingAnthony Brindisi was a worthless New York state senator, beloved by the NRA and never shy about abandoning his own party when they tried passing progressive legislation and crossing the aisle to vote with the GOP. Perfect for the DCCC, right? Absolutely.