Posted On: Friday - April 15th 2022 5:31PM MST
In Topics: Immigration Stupidity Political Correctness US Feral Government Race/Genetics Books
Trudging through the Swamp would have probably have been a better title for this short book I just read by ex-US Congressman from Iowa Steve King:
I'm pretty sure it was VDare, but, if not, Michelle Malkin*, who had a couple of links for the purchasing of Steve King's recent short book Walking Through the Fire**. Rather than buy from amazon, I'd rather someone else get some profit, especially Mr. King himself, from whose site I bought it. (OK, I checked the library first, of course.)
Just to make it clear, we're talking about the Iowa Congressman Steve - no "n" King, not the famous horror/suspense novelist Steven King from Maine. Quite the opposite of an immigration patriot, the novelist is the typical rich leftist. (Really, what else would you expect?) Peak Stupidity mentioned him in our 3 year-ago post Nice Church ladies destroy Lewiston, Maine, and I will steer you to this tweet in which tweeter Brandon Morse wrote sarcastically "Here we see @StephenKing’s gated home in MAINE where he deals with all sorts illegal children in the back yard." We have that nice old house of his pictured in our post too, but with the caption "Uh, you refugees want to see my mansion Down East?" "... well ... ya caaan't get theah from heaah!"
Ex-Congressman Steve King IS an immigration patriot, and one of the best. VDare keeps up with all aspects of the immigration issue, and the writers there have mentioned and discussed him countless times, as far as I recall, always in a positive light. There was a connection between Steve King and VDare, as some "journalist''s pointing out that (then) Congressman King's cited VDare made got him labeled a "White Nationalist". That then became a big issue a couple of years back, got him censured by the Congress, something you may recall, and is, in fact, the impetus for this book.
All criticism in this fairly negative review of his book, should be understood with this in mind - he is still one of the good guys. Walking through the Fire is somewhat about Mr. King's work on immigration legislation and support for President Trump on that existential issue. However, that's only in the context of his main purpose of the book, telling us how badly he has been wronged by the NY Times and backstabbing fellow Federal and State officeholders.
I'll try to keep this review short then, to go along with a short book, not really worth the 28 bucks I paid, even with Mr. King's signature in blue magic marker. It's the first section that really turned me off. Mr. King started out trying to distinguish his GOP from the blue-squad of The Party with words about the BLM rioting, the statue destroying, and then a big heaping helping of DRR - Democrats are the Real Racists! His purposeful ignorance or lying about race caused this book to be off-putting from the get-go. He wants to be seen as Mr. Clean on any political correctness. As for those (apparently very scary) charges of anti-semitism, Mr. King has a high single digit number of "did I mention how much I love Israel?" moments in the book.
It was disgusting to read this stuff from a guy who uses the phrase "Walking through the Fire" to show how HE is the teller of truth. Some of this is in a chapter (2 out of 28) called "Sharing the Truth", for crying out loud!
The first section of the book is nothing but Mr. King taking a look back at one particular interview he gave to a guy named Trip Gabriel of the New York Times, in which the author was misquoted at 56 min. in and the fall-out that ensued. Those "odious" (his wording) "White Supremacist" and "White Nationalist" terms were supposed to be separated by a period (a pause, since this was an audio interview) from his defense of "Western Civilization" (which does NOT refer in any way to White people, he tells us, many, many times).
Steve King had been warned too late (in a voice message while he was in the shower) by his communication director, one John Kennedy (ha!) that this interview with Mr. Gabriel was going to be a trap. (The New York Times would do that? Really?!) That this one mis-step cost Steve King his Congressional career says a lot about the cowardice that prevails in the GOP. The minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, took the side of the Lyin' Press and backstabbed Congressman King even later on in the game, as King begged for his committee assignments back - they are apparently very important for getting re-elected. The glimpse into the world of US Congressmen the author gives tells me that not so much time is spent on discussing issues and making strategy as it is in positioning one's self. One bad move, and you're on the outs, especially when your own squad sells you down the river. (Oops, see, that's like one of those things you can't say ... gotta watch every word out of your mouth.)
OK, then the middle bulk of this book has some background on Mr. King (married young, small-time construction business, etc.) and lots of writing on the very good work he has done in defending Western Civilization. He also wrote a lot about his anti-abortion stance, which culminated in his getting his own "Heartbeat" bill derailed by the National Right to Life organization, one of 3 that the GOP wanted on-board before they'd pass the bill. (That's how Congress works, I guess...) He has been in support of Conservative issues in general.
Most importantly, that defense of Western Civilization includes his work on border issues. Without the flamboyancy and BS, Steve King comes off as a proto-Trump on the issue. (Though Mr. King supported Ted Cruz in the '16 primary election, he and President Trump had a good relationship, and Trump did not burn him when the others, the backstabbers in the US Congress and in Iowa, were doing so.)
Though always very careful to say things to the effect that it doesn't matter the race of the people, only the culture or religion, Mr. King does a pretty good job in laying out the case against massive immigration and multiculturalism. While on a MSNBC panel discussion at the '16 GOP convention, he wan't going to tolerate blatant anti-White talk, so there was this [pages 164-165]:
"This whole white people business does get a little tired, Charlie", I answered calmly. " I would ask you to go back through history and figure out where are these contributions that have been made by these other categories of people that you're talking about. Where did any other subgroup of people contribute more to civilization?Right on! That's some Steve Sailer-level truth.
Moderator Chris Hayes tried to walk me into a trap. "Than white people?" he asked with a leer. I refused the bait. I never talk about racial superiority, but I do talk proudly about cultural superiority. The subgroup in question I specified not as white but "as Western Civilization itself." I explained that Western Civilization was "rooted in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and the United States of America, and every place where the footprint of Christianity settle the world."So, White people then, right?***
As the Times conceded, "Frantic yelling ensued." ...Yeah, and poor Steve King was misjudged that time too. This is the theme throughout the book. "I am not a racist. They misquote me to make it look like I am, while THEY are!" Look, I went to Africa even, with $300,000 of Franklin Graham's support, to bring 3 young survivors of a bus crash in Tanzania to America to heal them and bring them back (at least) (Chapter 25).****
Yeah, the Lyin' Press got Steve King, with support from his gutless, backstabbing party organization. That's the theme of the book. Mr. Trip Gabriel must have been mentioned 3 dozen times, spread out through the book. Mr. King seems positively haunted by the man, it seems. (I supposed that's something you'd expect in a Steven King book, haha!) I kept thinking "let it go!" Not only should he let it go now, but he should have let it go early on. It's as if Trip Gabriel is the angel Gabriel and the New York Times is God. Well, I just now got to it, and the Appendix starts with:
The New York Times reporter Trip Gabriel, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, and many of the characters in this book now own the position; that the New York Times is gospel.Yeah, but you've been treating it as such too, Mr. King! Early on in the book, I was thinking "why not have ignored the NY Times and stated to the Congress and your constituents that you didn't CARE about the fake news they spout. This is very much what Donald Trump was very good at. Speaking of this McCarthy POS, why treat him like your superior? You got voted in by the people of Iowa - I don't think they'd have given a crap about the NY Times and Kevin McCarthy.
But that's just me, and I've not spent more than a few day's visiting the home of the Potomac Regime.
Ex-Congressman Steve King never learned that he would have been better off sticking to his guns and not trying to explain "I am not a racist!" every day. How many examples out there have we had? (VDare's Washington Watcher II just compared and contrasted 3 ways of dealing with the smear tactics, in Ohio GOP Hopefuls Vance, Mandel, Gibbons Show Different Ways To Handle The “Racist” Smear.)
I'm sorry to say it, Steve King, but I don't think what you went through is close to proverbial "walking through fire". There are bloggers and podcasters out there who talk about race who would state simply that this country and all of us are better off under the White Man's civilization than any other. "Western Civilization" may be a stand in, but not if you keep on denying, denying, denying. You probably still wouldn't be a Congressman anymore, but you could claim more courage if you had spoken the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
PS: I noticed today that VDare has a 13 minute podcast hosted by James Kirkpatrick on March 26th, about Steve King's Walking through the Fire. I will publish this first and check it out later.
* She wrote one of the 3 blurb/recommendations published on the back of the book cover, along Michelle Bachmann and Jim DeMint.
** Interestingly, Good Reads has 5 books, including this one, with that title. I didn't know walking through fire was a thing now ...
*** After all, isn't Latin American civilization rooted in Christianity?
**** Sure, it was private money, and you feel for the 3 young ones... but, is this the best use of the Congressman's time, when there are plenty of Americans in bad shape too?
Comments:
MBlanc46
Saturday - April 16th 2022 10:01AM MST
PS Simply another example of the Repubs not being our friends. I don’t know of a single one of them who will stand up and say that he (I don’t have a lot of use for female pols) represents the interests of white Americans. If they won’t do that, they’re not on my side.
Dieter Kief
Saturday - April 16th 2022 5:59AM MST
PS
Hey Mod - thx for your request! I found this:
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=bach+chor+kontanz&docid=608053673029756719&mid=4C845066AA23F66FDF924C845066AA23F66FDF92&view=detail&FORM=VIRE
This is the Constance Bach Choir in a lockdown-production Oh Lord Let Your Sweet Angel - From The Johannes Passion
Here is a short Good Friday organ piece from Bach's "Little Notebook": Christus lag in Todesbanden - in the beginning you see the Luther-Church against a perfectly blue western sky
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrblbob_MaQ
An ever so good easter time to ya all - -
PS
If someone has the patience to listen to the ca. 30 minute long piece online: Look out for the Via Crucis for choir, organ / or piano and solists written by Franz Liszt in 1878 - this one is musically far out. At times you couldn't say what you hear: Pink Floyd? Steve Reich? Brian Eno? ...
Hey Mod - thx for your request! I found this:
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=bach+chor+kontanz&docid=608053673029756719&mid=4C845066AA23F66FDF924C845066AA23F66FDF92&view=detail&FORM=VIRE
This is the Constance Bach Choir in a lockdown-production Oh Lord Let Your Sweet Angel - From The Johannes Passion
Here is a short Good Friday organ piece from Bach's "Little Notebook": Christus lag in Todesbanden - in the beginning you see the Luther-Church against a perfectly blue western sky
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrblbob_MaQ
An ever so good easter time to ya all - -
PS
If someone has the patience to listen to the ca. 30 minute long piece online: Look out for the Via Crucis for choir, organ / or piano and solists written by Franz Liszt in 1878 - this one is musically far out. At times you couldn't say what you hear: Pink Floyd? Steve Reich? Brian Eno? ...
Moderator
Saturday - April 16th 2022 5:23AM MST
PS: That'd be a good name for a band, Robert, maybe one that plays at the clubs in The Catskills... do they still have any of that?
Happy Easter to the PS crowd. Dieter, do you have a certain version in mind of the Constance(?) Back Choir from youtube
Happy Easter to the PS crowd. Dieter, do you have a certain version in mind of the Constance(?) Back Choir from youtube
Dieter Kief
Friday - April 15th 2022 11:51PM MST
PS
Yes Robert, the Good Friday is one of the hints that are in place here. _ Happy Easter everybody, after the Good Friday could have been passed with Franz Liszt (Via Crucis (impressive work - well done by the Kosntanz Bach Choir) and - Johann Sebastian Bach - Motett Jesu' My Joy.
Yes Robert, the Good Friday is one of the hints that are in place here. _ Happy Easter everybody, after the Good Friday could have been passed with Franz Liszt (Via Crucis (impressive work - well done by the Kosntanz Bach Choir) and - Johann Sebastian Bach - Motett Jesu' My Joy.
Robert
Friday - April 15th 2022 7:47PM MST
PS: Speaking of 'Trudging through the Swamp', there are some who like to call a certain Ethnic Group 'The Red Sea Pedestrians.'
On this Good Friday, I wish you all a Happy Easter.
On this Good Friday, I wish you all a Happy Easter.