Wednesday, January 23, 2008

King Compares Himself To Joe Namath, Blasts Culver

King attempts to link Chet Culver with Nancy Pelosi. Is it a sign he has sights set on Terrace Hill?

Seeking to play the role of colorful, loveable underdog, U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, is comparing himself to 1960s football great Joe Namath.



The reason: King sees a parallel between Namath's 1969 New York Jets win over the favored Baltimore Colts in and the western Iowa Republican's efforts for the taxpaying "underdogs", notably King's opposition to certain relief funding in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and a child health-care bill King thinks would line the pockets of illegal aliens.

Here is King in his most recent column:

In 1969, on the eve of Superbowl III, the brash quarterback of the underdog New York Jets, Joe Namath, famously said, “We’re gonna win the game. I guarantee it!” The brash statement set off a media frenzy, and the highly favored Baltimore Colts were soundly beaten by Namath and the upstart Jets, 16-7. The historic victory brought about the merger of the old NFL and the upstart AFL. Namath, after the game said, “There are a lot of underdogs in the world. Maybe it meant something to the underdogs in life.”

The taxpayer is always the underdog. When I voted “NO” on $51.5 billion of wasteful spending on Hurricane Katrina, because there was no responsible plan, others said it was heartless. The history of the money going to Gucci bags and massage parlors speaks for itself today.


In the column, King argues that an 18-month extension of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) is superior to a bill he and President George W. Bush opposed.

King, the subject of much speculation about a possible challenge to Democratic Gov. Chet Culver, used the column, which is sent to newspapers and posted on his Web site, to attempt to link Culver -- who supported Bush-killed bill -- with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. King did so in trademark fashion.

Speaker Pelosi and Governor Culver tried to push SCHIP bills through Congress that reflected her San Francisco agenda and values; not Iowa Midwestern common sense.


This article is cross-posted at Iowa Independent.com.

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