John Gizzi kicks off his Nov. 4 Newsmax article about Republican Iowa Rep. Steve King with a bit of soft gushiness:
With several polls showing a closer-than-ever race for Rep. Steve King (R-IA), the controversial Republican assured Newsmax that he was in strong shape to win a ninth term.
As national Democratic money pours into Iowa’s 4th District, King dismissed media claims he was facing a defeat.
“Things aren’t as bad for me as you’re hearing,” King told Newsmax. King is best known for his outspoken opposition to illegal immigration.
A new Emerson Poll shows him leading Democrat J.D. Scholten by 51 to 42 percent.
This then becomes full-blown misleading:
King has long been under fire from national media over his hardline stand against illegal immigrants.
This year, the “Des Moines Register” abandoned King and gave its endorsement to Democrat Scholten.
In addition, political action committees, including Land O’Lakes dairy company, have switched from King to Scholten.
Gizzi is falsely portraying King as being nothing more than merely “against illegal immigrants” and that the newspaper and Land O’Lakes abandoned King solely because of that stance.
The Register summed up its decision to endorse King’s opponent without once mentioning his stance on “illegal immigrants” (unless you count a reference to King’s “virulent xenophobia”): “In his almost 16 years in Congress, King has passed exactly one bill as primary sponsor, redesignating a post office. He won’t debate his opponent and rarely holds public town halls. Instead, he spends his time meeting with fascist leaders in Europe and retweeting neo-Nazis.”
Similarly, Land O’Lakes withdrew its support for King after it was pointed out to the corporate entity that King “is the member of Congress most openly affiliated with white nationalism. He has retweeted a Nazi sympathizer and has displayed a Confederate flag on his desk.”
Curiously, Gizzi never details any of King’s white nationalist ties and sympathies, let alone admit that this is the reason for the current growth in criticism of King. It’s only alluded to when Gizzi quotes a member of the National Republican Congressional Committee, tweeted that King’s “actions, comments and retweets are completely inappropriate. We must stand up against white supremacy” — not that Gizzi ever describes the actions the person is referring to — then allows King to play off the criticism by saying that “The NRCC hasn’t backed me since 2012.”
Gizzi’s article is nothing more than a lame puff piece by a reporter who’s more than willing to overlook the actual story.