King: Obama pressure on BP a 'shakedown' Congressman's Manning opponent blasts King's defense of oil giant, looks to make it issue in race
U.S. Rep. Steve King
Matt Campbell
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Kiron, took to the national airwaves this week to attack President Obama for pressuring British Petroleum to create a $20 billion escrow fund to pay for damages related to the two-month-old oil catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico.
Meanwhile, King’s Democratic opponent in the fall, Matt Campbell of Manning, strongly criticized the western Iowa Republican’s defense of Texas Congressman Joe Barton’s characterization of Obama’s meeting with BP officials as a “shakedown.”
“I think Joe Barton was spot-on when he called it a ’shakedown.’ That’s part of this administration’s process,” King said Monday on the Laura Ingraham radio show.
For his part, Barton went so far as to apologize to BP.
King went on to say that Obama wants to “swallow up as many Fortune 500 companies as they can.”
“If you look at all that they have nationalized during this administration and some starting during Bush’s administration it should tell you that they want to swallow up as many Fortune 500 companies as they can,” King said. “I think the leverage brought on Joe Barton by I’ll say, the conference, was unjust. I think he should’ve been able to stand there and let his remarks stand and make his own decisions.”
Campbell said he was shocked at the radio interview comment and related press statements from King about the oil disaster.
“The establishment of an escrow arrangement by BP to cover claims resulting from the oil spill in the Gulf is entirely appropriate given the magnitude of the oil spill and its unprecedented nature,” Campbell said.
Campbell said King is missing the point.
“Steve King is increasingly showing he is out of touch with main-stream Iowa public sentiment,” Campbell said.
Republican congressional leaders and a leading likely Republican presidential candidate for 2012, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, have challenged Barton’s comment
“Mitt Romney disagrees with Joe Barton’s comments,” said Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom. “The only people who are owed an apology are the families and businesses of the Gulf Coast who deserve a president who will stop the finger-pointing long enough to focus on how to alleviate their suffering.”
Reader Comments
Posted: Monday, June 28, 2010
Article comment by:
Sarah Lokken
Steve King does not represent the ideals and temperaments of most Iowans and has become increasingly out of touch. No matter what your political alliance, please seriously consider voting for Matt Campbell this November (www.mattcampbellforcongress.com). It's time to silence the ignorant, heinous and self-serving behavior of Steve King.
