Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, who was removed from his committee assignments in January following remarks he made in defense of “white nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization,” resurfaced this week to announce a bill aimed at aiding the homeless and veterans.
That all sounds good until you learn who the congressman has attached to his forthcoming proposal and how he plans to pay for it. King is calling the bill the Diamond and Silk Act, named for a clownish YouTube duo who have leveraged their online popularity into regular appearances on Fox News. Once registered Democrats, Lynnette Hardaway (“Diamond”) and Rochelle Richardson (“Silk”) found new purpose (and cash) in 2015 after President Trump announced his candidacy. They now appear at right-wing functions to entertain attendees with devoted defenses of the president and his party. They comply happily (for a price) and all with an embarrassing and exaggerated “sassy” flair.
King has already invited the duo to a State of the Union address and even to testify on digital censorship. Now he’s bringing them in to jeopardize a bill aimed at something as serious as helping the homeless and veterans. This is both idiotic and cruel to those whom the legislation is intended to serve.
Then there’s the question of how King’s bill is financed. He has set it up to rely on the redistribution of funds redirected from sanctuary cities, the congressman’s office explained in a press release Monday. “The ‘Diamond and Silk Act,’ which may also be referred to as the ‘End Sanctuaries and Help Our Homeless and Veterans Act,’ is the product of a discussion on immigration policy King held with Diamond and Silk earlier this year,” the release states.
And just like that, the chance for bipartisan support for a bill that should be bipartisan goes up in smoke.
I understand the need for cheap shots in politics. But really, at the expense of the homeless and veterans?
