Ol' Dead Eyes
Add "press conference" to the list of phrases Congressman and longtime lightbulb-hater Steve King does not understand. For days he's been hyping an anti-immigration-reform "six hour press conference" that he'd be putting on today, and by "press conference" he seems to have meant "combination outdoor filibuster and mini-rally for tea party hangers-on."
The actual event seems to be quite the shindig:
King promised to host a respectful exchange of ideas and invited colleagues of both parties and on either side of the immigration debate to join him for what he hoped might become a Lincoln-Douglas-style debate. […]
As the event began, King stood on a makeshift stage with Reps. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.), Paul Broun (R-Ga.), Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.) and Randy Weber (R-Tex.), all of whom were wearing red ties and dark suits.
First, that ain't both sides of the debate by a stretch, and second, Newt Gingrich has copyrighted the phrase "Lincoln-Douglas debate" so you had better be prepared to fight for it, pal.
So who makes up the crowd for this sort of thing? Pretty much what you'd expect for a Steve King function:
One woman from California held up a sign that read, “Rubio Lies, America Dies,” a reference to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a lead negotiator on the Senate immigration bill.
Another older gentleman held up a sign that cited three immigration demands: First, “strong boarders,” [sic] second “No Amnesty” and third, “No Voting Rights.”
Strong boarders
are the foundation of a rent-based economy, so I'll give him that one. But as you might guess, the theme of the rally has been
a bit scattered.
The attendees are not necessarily on message, as evidenced by this sign equating the IRS to the Nazi Schutzstaffel, or SS, military unit: [pic]
Or maybe they are on message:
Steve King on IRS: "It's not even the government's business how much money you make. That's part of freedom!"
— @daveweigel
Will Steve King hold out for the promised six hours? Will immigration reform and/or the basic premise of tax collection be thwarted by this stalwart crowd of a few hundred people who finally got to break out their anti-everything signs from a few summers back? Will anyone still be talking about this tomorrow? And will Louie Gohmert be able to find his way home afterwards, or will he still be wandering the lawn three days from now?