Steve King (file photo)
Republican Congressman Steve King has taken to Twitter to lash out at critics of his recent comments on abortion — and he’s sending fundraising email about the uproar.
King backs an abortion ban that does not include exceptions for rape and incest. On Wednesday, King mused out loud at that given the pillaging of centuries past, there might not be any population of the world left if all the products of rape and incest were removed from family trees.
Iowa Republican Party chairman Jeff Kaufmann said the party platform opposes all abortion and aligns with King’s policy position, but King’s line of reasoning was offensive. “It’s the implications and how he put that,” Kaufmann said, “in terms of where our populations come from.”
Four other Republicans have announced they plan to challenge King in next year’s primary. The Iowa GOP’s chairman said the party is neutral in the primary – and it’s up to voters in the fourth congressional district to decide.
“It is not up to the chair of the party to determine who should or shouldn’t be in congress,” Kaufmann said. “The fourth district is going to determine what they think of the congressman and what they don’t think of the congressman.”
Liz Cheney, the top-ranking woman among Republicans in the U.S. House, called on King to resign this week. King, on Twitter is demanding on apology from Cheney. King has also tweeted at several of the Democratic presidential candidates who condemned his remarks. King accused Cory Booker of supporting the “killing of little black babies” and King tweeted at Joe Biden, saying: “Don’t look now, but Elizabeth Warren just passed you up in Iowa.”
An email King sent to supporters today asks them to make a “No Abortions, No Exceptions” pledge.