On radio this morning, Glenn interviewed Rep. Steve King (R-IA), who is leading the gang of 70 House Republicans planning for a showdown with Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) over the immigration bill congressional leadership is trying to push through by July 4.
“Steve King is another guy under attack, because he is part of… a gang of 70 that understands that any bill on amnesty that is going to be passed, no matter how good it looks in the House will have to go back for reconciliation,” Glenn said. “They will strip all of the good things out of it and add all the bad things from the Senate that John McCain, John Boehner, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and the president all want that will be reconciliation, then the Republicans will all vote against it in the House, but it will pass and you will have amnesty.”
While TheBlaze exclusively broke the story of the 70 House members yesterday, so far we only know the identity of three of the Congressmen – Steve King, Michele Bachmann (R-MN), and Louie Gohmert (R-TX).
Glenn is eager to release the names of all the Republicans that have chosen to stand up against the bill, but because of the political threat these representatives will face, Rep. King has not yet decided whether or not the names will be made public.
“At this point, I am of the opinion that I don't want to release them for fear they might be targeted as well,” Rep. King explained. “And yet, if they get released, we're going to defend those folks as much as we can.”
Next Wednesday, June 19, in Washington D.C. there will be an open forum that will feature “border security, anti-amnesty members of Congress.” The debate is slated for 9AM to 12PM and then again from 2PM to 5PM. In between, members of Congress will join with an already-planned Tea Party rally against the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative organizations.
“We need orderly demonstrations here in the capitol. Part of our First Amendment rights are orderly demonstrations,” Rep. King explained. “And we're going to stay within the ethical guidelines and do it as a press conference, but it is going to be the longest press conference likely held in the history of this Congress, and we want to have an open dialogue.”
“So I ask people, yes, come to Washington, be there present at the press conference, be respectful, listen, learn, weigh in when you can,” he continued. “I think that we'll be able to project this message out through all the media, including C-Span, if they will cover it, and let the people in America understand that when – if you grant a legalization process, the ultimate result is amnesty, if you grant amnesty, you can never promise that you can enforce immigration again ever.”
Rep. King made some news yesterday when he tweeted “20 brazen self professed illegal aliens have just invaded my DC office. Obama's lawless order gives them de facto immunity from U.S. law.”
“Who were these people and what happened,” Glenn asked.
“Well, I don't know,” Rep. King responded. “They were a group that are self-professed dreamers as they call themself, brought into the United States by their parents and so it wasn't their willful act, and they came into the office about 20 of them, about, you know, our office is busy. We schedule sometimes three meetings simultaneous and take them in different area, they fill the office, there was no room for people to come and go. They refused to leave, and so that went on for, I think, according to their tweets, 40 minutes, and then the Capitol Hill police arrived, and asked them to leave. And so the Capitol Hill police antenna was pretty good, but they were wearing graduation gowns and mortarboards. I just thought it was very disrespectful and when with you get to the point where people that are by law directed to be placed into deportation proceedings, if they are so brazen that they will fill a member's office and then demand that we legalize their illegal activity, you know, there's something about mercy. If you look through the Bible, mercy is not the province of the civil government. It's the province of God and mercy is always accompanied by repentance. Saw no sign of repentance yesterday. It was a demand. And that's what we are dealing with. If we can't secure the doors to my office, if we can't secure the doors to a Congressional office building, how in the world does John McCain and Chuck Schumer think we'll secure the borders?”
The ramifications of this immigration bill could prove to be dire for both the future of this country and the future of the congressmen who are choosing to stand against the legislation. But Rep. King reiterated that a vigilant and informed public is the best and most effective weapon.
“Effectiveness in Congress will be marginalized and diminished at minimum. It's possible we could use committee positions and gavels an those thing, but the best protection we have for standing up for the Constitution and the American dream is the support of the public and I know that if I'm going to be bold and strong, I have to have a nationwide fundraising network in order to be independent from the dependency of the party and I need to have a national media presence, so that if they come after me, America will know it and Americans need to step up and defend,” Rep. King explained. “It's about the cause. It's about the principle. For me, easy path to follow. You can show up and vote and fold he the directions. The other is follow your conscience, keep your oath of office that requires an active public as vigilant as you ask your members of Congress to be.”