U.S. Rep. Steve King: If not for rape and incest, 'would there be any population left?'

[brooklynite]

Source: Des Moines Register

U.S. Rep. Steve King told the Westside Conservative Club Wednesday that humanity might not exist if not for rape and incest throughout human history.

"What if we went back through all the family trees and just pulled out anyone who was a product of rape or incest? Would there be any population of the world left if we did that?" he said in Urbandale, Iowa. "Considering all the wars and all the rapes and pillages that happened throughout all these different nations, I know that I can't say that I was not a part of a product of that."

The Kiron Republican was discussing his defense of not allowing exceptions for rape and incest in the anti-abortion legislation he tried to pass in Congress. Republican leadership had prevented bills he sponsored on banning abortions from advancing through the House, despite GOP support for the measures, King said.

Just because a conception happened in bad circumstances doesn't mean the result isn't a person, King, who is Catholic, argued.

Read more: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2019/08/14/steve-king-abortion-rape-incest-westside-conservative-iowa-representative-birth-iowa-civilization/2007230001/

[redwitch]

1. Jesus.

I wish he would shut up. Or get raptured.

[marble falls]

16. There's just something sooo wrong with someone who thinks this crap out this far.

[Marie Marie]

40. If getting raptured was real, I can guarantee King will be left behind.

[patphil]

49. King would get craptured.

[Traildogbob]

55. Spelling matters

He needs to get rape-tured. God not gonna give him any assention up the heaven tube.

[SharonAnn]

57. He is such an embarassment to those of us from Iowa.

[tclambert]

58. Okay, I guess Louie Gohmert will have to respond to this challenge to his title

of stupidest member of Congress. C'mon, Louie, you can do it.

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. Which one is King applying to his parents? Or is it both? (nt)

[William Seger]

24. Maybe his mother was a victim of Ape Rape

[Downtown Hound]

3. In fairness, that might be true of his district

Who else would vote for him?

[displacedtexan]

28. That's how I understood what he was saying.

Translation: all of us are rapists and/or participants in incest, so we all have to keep women from aborting our rapey and incesty issue.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

[Cartaphelius]

33. I am guessing his entire

state. They should examine his Family Tree to find out when & where it went branchless.

Could make an interesting picture, in crayon of course.

[MissMillie]

4. He forgets to finish his thought....

…. that a "person" is only worth worrying about until s/he is born.

[Frustratedlady]

5. Well, that explains a lot...King may be a product of war, rape or pillages.

I'll bet his mother would stand proud to hear her son say that. Of course, I don't know his mother, and I certainly consider myself lucky that I don't know her son, either.

King, why don't you retire?

[brewens]

6. As if all the wars and rapes were good for the population of the countries he's talking

about. I'd say without all the slaughter and famine, the population would have done better, but what do I know.

[EarlG]

7. 936 days

That's the amount of time it's take from Donald Trump becoming president to Republican congressmen publicly defending rape and incest.

MAGA!

[bucolic_frolic]

8. Good Lord, what a dim view of human nature

by America's Dimwit

[MicaelS]

9. It always goes back to abortion.

And yet the bible does not mention it anywhere.

And as far as "Thou shall not kill", the original Hebrew states it as "Thou shall not murder"

[Dave Starsky]

46. It doesn't matter what the Bible says...

When you're discussing these things with self-righteous "Christians" who've never even read it.

I make regular sport of deconstructing fulminating, so-called "Christians" I encounter on Jesus-related topics. Maybe 5% of these people that I've engaged with have ever read any one of the Gospels cover to cover.

[Vinca]

10. Ow! It hurt when my jaw hit the floor. And they actually vote for this guy?????????

[sdfernando]

11. Someone should be asking Steve King

which of his children does he want to rape?

[geardaddy]

31. Or which of his children he's already raped.

[Mrs. Overall]

12. How does this f*ckhead keep getting elected?

Do his constituents really share his various bizarre beliefs?

[TryLogic]

32. His comments need to be well distributed in his district. Let's find out what they think.

[IronLionZion]

13. Why doesn't some normal Republican primary him already?

Congress needs to throw him out.

[PatSeg]

14. His comments tell us more about him

than they do about human history. Any man who downplays rape has probably been guilty of it or fantasizes about it. What a sick bastard.

[TryLogic]

30. That's the way it looks to me.

[marble falls]

15. The King family gene pool would have been deeper if Steve had been pulled out ...

of it.

[Baitball Blogger]

17. Holy shit.

[world wide wally]

18. He left out his own pedigree.... Beastiality.... His mother and an insect I would guess.

[Chakaconcarne]

19. Keep digging your own Grave Steve.....

[Delphinus]

25. But is he really ...

digging his own grave? Will they vote him back in?

[Mrs. Overall]

20. Looks like Steve King finally got his ancestry.com results back.

One of my favorite comments on Twitter so far.

[47of74]

35. Lol. Stolen.

[japple]

45. Yeah! Score one for Uncle Daddy!!!

eom

[docgee]

21. You've got to be fucking kidding me.

[jpak]

22. Pig

Yup

[The Liberal Lion]

23. My goodness

Just when you thought a republican couldn't get more depraved Steve King says "Hold my beer".

We have certainly reached the point, if these are that souls the right wing folks choose as their representatives, where the sharing of this nation can no longer be possible.

[Bromwell]

26. This is the kind of crazy whacked out "logic" these

clowns are forced to come up with constantly, to defend their indefensible positions.

Ever notice that the GOP always seems to end up twisting itself into knots trying to justify/explain their crazy beliefs. This one is just as crazy a justification as "arming teachers" or having armed guards everywhere to defend us against mass shootings....

Of course taking a SANE or logical position is not in the cards for them I guess

Must be hard being a Repug.....

[47of74]

27. when he and Reynolds pull their bullshit I have to

fight my move out of Iowa urge.

[keithbvadu2]

29. And the Catholic Church's acceptance of bastards has been...?

And the Catholic Church's acceptance of bastards has been...?

[SharonAnn]

39. Definitely not good.

[SayItLoud]

34. And the repubics will reply:

"Oh that crazy wacky Steve King...there he goes again". Then crickets.

[SunSeeker]

36. Trump approves of that message.

[dlk]

37. Thank You, Steve King, for Finding Yet Another Way for Republicans to Denigrate Women

Republicans are truly the women-haters party.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

38. King is an incel. . . . nt

[genxlib]

41. When your worldview depends on the Bible

You are pretty much stuck with the idea that the offspring of Adam and Eve were boning each other.

[Demonaut]

42. those aren't his kids?

poor Mrs King

I hope he does not have daughters

[Blue_Tires]

43. Damn it, Iowa...

Be better than this

[Ztolkins]

44. Does he have kids?

If so, is he saying he raped his sister?

[MBS]

47. Iowa, can't you find someone else, please?

[Botany]

48. So Steve you would be OK if somebody raped your wife or one of your 3 kids married a 1st cousin?

The man is an asshole from wiki .... I was seeing if he had family.

Animal rights
In February 2010, King tweeted about chasing and shooting a raccoon that had tried to enter his house during a blizzard, prompting criticism from animal rights groups. He defended his actions, saying the animal might have been rabid.[69]

In July 2012, King opposed the McGovern Amendment (to the 2012 Farm Bill) to establish misdemeanor penalties for knowingly attending an organized animal fight and felony penalties for bringing a minor to such a fight. He was also one of 39 members of the House to vote against an upgrade of penalties for transporting fighting animals across state lines in 2007.[70] King received a score of zero on the 2012 Humane Society Legislative Fund's Humane Scorecard.[71][72][73] Afterward, he put out a video clarifying his position, stating that it would be putting animals above humans if it were legal to watch humans fight but not animals.[74]

In July 2012, King introduced an amendment to the House Farm Bill that would legalize previously banned animal agriculture practices such as tail-docking, using banned arsenic based drugs in chicken feed, and keeping impregnated pigs in small crates. "My language wipes out everything they've done with pork and veal," King said of his amendment.[75] The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) President Wayne Pacelle said the measure could nullify "any laws to protect animals, and perhaps ... laws to protect the environment, workers, or public safety."[76]

In May 2013, King introduced another amendment to the House Farm Bill, the Protect Interstate Commerce Act (PICA), saying, "PICA blocks states from requiring 'free range' eggs or 'free range' pork."[77] In 2014, the controversial provision was dropped.[78]

[Video Drone]

50. Who knew the Beatles were prophets?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

51. That says a lot more about him than I wanted to know.

[Mme. Defarge]

52. A politician only says this when

there’s nothing left to lose.

[keithbvadu2]

53. Republican: legitimate rape cannot get pregnant

Republican: legitimate rape cannot get pregnant

https://www.google.com/search?ei=C-XYXOOrHYLS0gLo9qjIDg&q=legitimate+rape+cannot+get+pregnant&oq=legitimate+rape+cannot+get+pregnant&gs_l=psy-ab.3...38770.42606..44614...1.0..0.159.1595.0j11......0....1..gws-wiz.......0i71.SP27hfoYf2U

https://www.mic.com/articles/48691/the-7-most-outrageous-gop-explanations-for-why-rape-victims-can-t-get-pregnant

The 7 Most Outrageous GOP Explanations For Why Rape Victims Can't Get Pregnant

[keithbvadu2]

54. New republican meme: Rape is a 'misdeed' by a 'parent'. (Rapist is a 'parent')

New republican meme: Rape is a ‘misdeed’ by a ‘parent’.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212089664

(The rapist is called a 'parent')

A GOP state lawmaker who recently gave an impassioned speech about being raped as a 16 year old says she feels attacked after a Republican colleague passed out literature describing rape as a “misdeed of the parent” that doesn’t justify having an abortion.

[Firestorm49]

56. Right when you think you've heard it all.....this BS.... from another Republican. God help us all.

[sakabatou]

59. Has he been censured yet?

[Shoonra]

60. To a limited extent, Steve King is right .....

... If, magically, we could trace back everyone's lineage all the way back, to medieval times, to ancient times, even to neolithic times, we'd find in many (perhaps most) lines of descent at least one pregnancy by rape or incest. I'm talking about more than 120 generations, back to Biblical times and maybe even earlier. In point of fact, until the 19th century, most peasants could and did marry only someone who was within walking distance, which meant there were a lot of cousin marriages, which some might consider incestuous. As for rape, it was an unfortunate accompaniment to invasions, war, imprisonment, and lots of other circumstances throughout history.

My point is that King is right that lots of people, maybe most, had, somewhere in their ancestry over the past hundred and more generations, an awkward source of pregnancy. But if it hadn't happened, and it didn't happen for lots of people, then there'd still be plenty of babies only these would all have come from socially acceptable procreation. It's not as if mankind required rape to be perpetuated.

I get antsy when I hear men (and it's ALWAYS men) talk about a rape pregnancy somehow being part of God's Great Plan that mustn't be disturbed. Keep that up and just a matter of time before a rape suspect defends himself in court with the argument that he was doing God's will.

It's barbaric to make a woman go through pregnancy, with all its difficulties and dangers, and bear her rapist's child. It's perverse to expect her to carry that baby, and worse to expect her to raise it (and if she does, will the rapist return to insist on seeing 'his child'?).

[maxsolomon]

63. He's carrying his Anti-Choice position to it's logical extreme.

Rape (more than incest I'd wager) was probably pretty commonplace 10,000 years ago. It was certainly common in warfare throughout history.

But would the population be lower without it? Doubtful.

King's just bullshitting to justify his anti-choice position. It's probably music to the ears of Whipipo who'll never face an unwanted pregnancy.

[treestar]

64. Before mass transportation

Most people did not go more then a few miles from when they were born. During those times, almost everyone married no farther away than a 12th cousin, even where they did not know each other growing up.

Eleanor and Franklin were 5th cousins. Less aristocratic families likely don't even know who their fifth cousins are.

[Democat13]

61. Just wondering

Do Republican men ever try to imagine what it would be like to be a woman who is a victim of rape or incest? Do Republican men ever try to imagine the horror of being pregnant as a result of rape or incest? Oh, what am I thinking? In order to imagine what it would be like to be in another's situation would require empathy, and as we know, Republicans somehow construe empathy to be a bad trait.

[malthaussen]

62. Presumably he knows his own family best. n/t