399 to 1: King lone opposition vote to slavery bill

On Tuesday Congressman Steve King cast the lone vote against a marker to be placed in the new visitor center, Emancipation Hall, to pay tribute to slaves who helped build the Capitol Building. King, who never fails to have logic and reason behind his actions, will surely get some serious backlash from this vote. Luckily for me, Constitution Daily is on the press contact lists for Latham and King and was emailed a link to King’s interview on the Scott Voorhees show on KFAB Radio out of Omaha. You can listen to the segment by clicking here. It is about 10 minutes long.

In short though, King based his opposition vote on past actions taken by the Capitol architect and the liberal left. King said that for years he and others have been fighting the Capitol architect on the religious engravings and inscriptions in the House Chamber. King said the architect has been “scrubbing away any sign of Christianity or religious faith.” And since the Democrats wanted this bill passed they had to make a deal to also recognize religion by engraving the phrase “In God we trust” and The Pledge of Allegiance to the walls of the visitor center. King takes that as a slap in the face. King said, “I’m not fine with using this as a lever, a quid quo pro, in order to make any acknowledgement to Christianity, which has been a central core of American history.”

The interview goes on to talk about equal protection, the Congressional Black Caucus, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Congressman King stated, “I’m more consistent with Martin Luther King, Jr. than many members of the Congressional Black Caucus and I think that’s a fact. It’s not even debatable.” King wrapped it up with what I think is a great quote summing up the conservative thought process toward affirmative action and equal opportunity, “I want equal opportunity. I don’t want preferences for anybody, and that includes me.”

Since this vote will be used against King in the Des Moines Register, Sioux City Journal, opponent’s campaign materials, and everything else, I thought now would be a good time to thank King for taking principled votes no matter the outcomes. From voting against Katrina aid to standing up against Bush’s bailout plan, King has always voted with his conscience. Conservatives don’t have to worry about King casting the right vote when the pressure is on. They can save that worry for other Republicans in and around our state.

I do have to admit, I’m really anxious to see this play out in the press and blogosphere. Votes like these bring out the crazies and it should be an entertaining show.