1.17.19 Steve King Crossed a Line

Steve King Crossed a Line

“There is a line, one that far-right politicians know they must not cross,” writes Janell Ross for NBC News. She contends that Rep. Steve King (R-IA) recently crossed that line. Ross notes that King has a history of racist comments, including likening undocumented Mexicans to dogs and praising neo-Nazis’ books. “But it wasn’t until this week, after King was quoted defending white supremacy, that he found himself booted from the congressional committees where he served,” Ross writes. Since then, all Republican House members, including King, have supported a resolution condemning his remarks. He’s also been stripped of his committee posts. In the past, King has also been very vocal about his concern over the decline of white birth rates. “You cannot rebuild your civilization with somebody else’s babies. You’ve got to keep your birth rate up, and that you need to teach your children your values,” he said in 2017. According to PRRI’s American Values Survey, nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of Americans say that the U.S. becoming a majority-nonwhite nation by 2045 will be a mostly positive change, including eight in ten (80 percent) Democrats and two-thirds (67 percent) of independents. However, only 36 percent of Republicans agree that the growth of the nonwhite population will be positive. More than six in ten (61 percent) Republicans believe that the shift to becoming a majority-nonwhite country will be a mostly negative development.
Karen Pence Teaching at School That Bans LGBT Employees and Kids

Immanuel Christian School, a private Christian school outside of Washington, D.C., recently hired Karen Pence, wife of Vice President Mike Pence, as a part-time art teacher. According to an online application, prospective employees must disavow gay marriage and transgender identity. “Moral misconduct which violates the bona fide occupational qualifications for employees includes, but is not limited to, such behaviors as the following: heterosexual activity outside of marriage (e.g., premarital sex, cohabitation, extramarital sex), homosexual or lesbian sexual activity, polygamy, transgender identity, any other violation of the unique roles of male and female, sexual harassment, use or viewing of pornographic material or websites, and sexual abuse or improprieties toward minors as defined by Scripture and federal or state law,” the website states. Karen Pence previously taught at the school for over a decade while her husband was serving in Congress.Recent PRRI data shows that Americans were less likely to perceive discrimination against gay, lesbian, and transgender people in 2018 than they were five years prior to that. In 2018, a majority (55 percent) of Americans believe that gay and lesbian people experience a lot of discrimination in the U.S. That’s a 13-point drop from 2013, when nearly seven in ten (68 percent) Americans said the same. Perceptions of discrimination against transgender people are also significantly lower today. Roughly six in ten (59 percent) Americans say that transgender people face a lot of discrimination in the U.S. today, while more than seven in ten (71 percent) expressed this opinion in 2013.
White Non-College Americans Moving Away From Trump?

Some of the president’s strongest supporters, white non-college Americans, may be moving away from him as a result of the government shutdown, according to a new pollfrom CNN. The survey finds that among this group, only 45 percent approve of the job the president is doing, compared to a 54 percent approval rating among this group before the shutdown. The CNN poll also found that a majority (56 percent) of Americans are placing most of the blame for the shutdown on Trump, while only 32 percent are primarily blaming the Democrats. The shutdown is in its 27th day, having broken the record for the longest shutdown in the country’s history. 
Florida Official Receiving Calls to Resign Amid Islamophobic Comments Toward Michigan Representative

A recent HuffPost article reported that Anabelle Lima-Taub, a Florida official who serves as Hallandale Beach Commissioner, is facing calls to resign this week after making Islamophobic remarks toward Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), who is Muslim. Lima-Taub shared an online petition to remove Tlaib from Congress and added in a post, “A Hamas-loving anti-Semite has no place in government! She is a danger and [I] would not put it past her to become a martyr and blow up Capitol Hill.” The post has since been deleted, but not before Tlaib responded, calling out Lima-Taub’s words as an example of Trump-era rhetoric that she believes emboldens hate speech. Other organizations such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) have called for Lima-Taub’s resignation, saying, “Xenophobic stereotypes must not be embraced by any elected official.”Tlaib recently became one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress, along with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and both have been the targets of Islamophobic comments and criticisms. A July 2018 PRRI poll shows widespread agreement among the country that Muslims face substantial discrimination in the U.S. More than six in ten (62 percent) Americans say there is a lot of discrimination against Muslims, while roughly three in ten (31 percent) say there is not. There is also a widening political gap in perceptions of discrimination faced by Muslims. Over eight in ten (82 percent) Democrats say there is a lot of discrimination against Muslims, compared to 64 percent of independents and 38 percent of Republicans.