GOP Rep. Steve King Tells African-Americans In Ferguson To Straighten Up and Fly Right

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) gave an interview where he told African-Americans in Ferguson that race wasn’t an issue and that they needed to “settle down” and “straighten up and fly right.”

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Rep. King dismissed racial profiling in Ferguson, “I’ve seen the video. It looks to me like you don’t need to bother with that particular factor (racial profiling) because they all appear of a single origin, I should say, a continental origin might be the way to phrase that.”

King referenced a tweet that he claimed was from an African-American man, “He called upon them all to settle down, said ‘I’m getting tired of this. I’m tired of you burning down our communities, my communities’ and essentially said straighten up and fly right. I thought that was a good message. I was glad to see it.”

Finally, he added that if everybody had guns, none of this would be happening, and all black people have tattoos, “They’re not going to loot the gun store because there’s someone in there with one,” King continued. “I’m not sure why they’re not looting the tattoo parlor except that might have some of the strongest, friendliest relationships there.”

This was typical of the Republican response to anything involving race. They deny that the problem exists. Republicans blame the victim for what happened. They throw in a healthy dose of racism and claim that if everyone had guns, there would be no violence.

Unlike Rand Paul, Steve King doesn’t try to hide his race issues. Rand Paul doesn’t really discuss race. He blames big government for all racial issues and is trying draw in minority voters by wrapping the same conservative ideological agenda around race.

This country does have a racial problem and people like Steve King fan the flames for political gain on a regular basis. Republicans would never think of telling Cliven Bundy’s all white mob to settle down, but they see no problem with speaking to African-Americans that way.

The situation in Ferguson has once again revealed the Republican Party’s true colors. America may be red, white, and blue, but the GOP’s rhetoric is all white.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association