Canteloupes Vs. Mortarboards: the Media Attack on Rep. Steve King
08/12/2013
A+
|
a-
Print Friendly and PDF

The loud leftist press continues to hammer Rep. Steve King about his statement that many more drug smugglers than valedictorians would be amnestied under the DREAM aspect of the big freebie legislation. Once lib scribblers agree upon an easily defined target to vilify, they are sharks smelling blood.

King stated that “for everyone who’s a valedictorian, there’s another 100 out there that weigh 130 pounds and they’ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert.”

If King had used a sports metaphor, he might have been better off. If he had said “calves the size of soccer balls” it would have avoided images of Hispanic agricultural pickers, which the amnesty hustlers hate with a passion. Raza types want to promote the false idea of Hispanic scholastic achievers being the norm rather than the exception. The same message is attempted by DREAMer kiddies wearing graduation outfits whenever they are mooching amnesty or begging for a free college education.

There are plenty of stories in the diversity-enthralled media about more Hispanic students entering college, but not so much reporting about how many actually graduate. In fact, less than half of Hispanics make it through a four-year education. Plus, many diverse students require intense remedial classes in English and math to learn basic skills they should have mastered in high school.

The upshot is the continuing failure of Hispanics to achieve academically. While more than half of Asians in the US have college degrees, only 9 percent of Mexicans reach that level. For details, see the Educational Attainment page of the larger 2012 Pew study The 10 Largest Hispanic Origin Groups: Characteristics, Rankings, Top Counties. The chart shown here is from that report. (For comparison, 40 percent of white Americans have earned a bachelor’s degree.)

The point is that Congressman King was entirely accurate in his characterization of Hispanics as not natural valedictorians. Wearing mortarboards doesn’t make them scholars.

Steve King: Immigration remarks not debunked, Politico, August 11, 2013

In what became a heated argument, Rep. Steve King on Sunday once again defended his controversial remarks about drug smugglers among immigrants who could be legalized under the DREAM Act, setting off a tense exchange with Republican strategist Ana Navarro.

Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the Iowa Republican was asked to a respond to a his remarks that “for everyone who’s a valedictorian, there’s another 100 out there that weigh 130 pounds and they’ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert.”

King said his statements were accurate and have been misconstrued.

“My numbers have not been debunked. I said valedictorians compared to people who would be legalized under the act that are drug smugglers coming across the border. My characterization was exclusively to drug smugglers,” King said.

Host David Gregory said the remark had been debunked in that it was impossible to know how many valedictorians or drug smugglers would be involved in the DREAM Act.

“Then, what’s their number? How many valedictorians do they suggest? And I’ll tell you, I’ve seen the drug smugglers,” King said. “For this to be characterized by Dick Durbin as valedictorians, I’m telling the American people that I recognize that. … But this proposes to legalize a lot of people that will include the people who are drug smugglers up to the age of 35.”

Gregory then thanked King and turned to the roundtable, at which point Navarro went after King.

“I think Congressman King should go get some therapy for his melon fixation. I think there might be medication for that. I think he’s a mediocre congressman with no legislative record and the only time he makes national press is when he comes out and says something offensive about the undocumented or Hispanics,” Navarro said, saying he’s been “helpful” to the debate by getting other Republicans to denounce his remarks.

Gregory brought King back to allow him to respond.

“First of all, I spoke only of drug smugglers. And if Ana understands the language, she should know that. I didn’t insult her or other Republicans,” King said.

“I’m not undocumented, congressman, I vote,” Navarro interjected.

“There are people in America who are dying today because of our immigration policy and our open border. … We need to secure the border first, restore the rule of law. Then we can have this discussion that you want to get to, let’s not be insulting people in the process,” King said.

“You’re going to talk to me about insulting people, congressman?” Navarro shot back, continuing her attack on King.

“This is a man who couldn’t even get elected senator in Iowa. That’s why he’s not running there. This is a man whose district has been polled and supports immigration reform in the majority. So, you know, he is — this is his call to fame,” Navarro said.

Print Friendly and PDF