An Iowa congressman whose remarks on President Barack Obama and race created a firestorm is still coming to Colorado this Saturday and will talk about immigration at two separate rallies.
Former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo has arranged for U.S. Rep. Steve King to speak at an Elbert County Tea Party event in the morning and a 9-12 Project gathering in Loveland in the afternoon.
King said his message will be that Colorado needs to adopt an immigration law similar to the one Arizona lawmakers passed this year.
King was supposed to be the headliner Saturday at a fundraiser in Hudson for congressional candidate Cory Gardner, then appear with Gardner and other Republicans at a rally in Loveland sponsored by the Northern Colorado Tea Party.
Gardner canceled his event, and then the Tea Party canceled King’s appearance because of his remarks. “I don’t think they thought it through,” King told The Denver Post on Thursday.
He added that no other conservative candidate or group yanked an invitation because of his remarks — which he claims were taken out of context by Media Matters, a national liberal group that monitors conservative outlets.
King said his remarks, either in full or as reported by Media Matters, are defensible.
Tancredo said he called Gardner, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Betsy Markey, D-Fort Collins, to say how disappointed he was at the cancellation.
Neither Gardner nor his campaign manager, Chris Hansen, would comment except to say Gardner does not share King’s view on Obama and race.
Tancredo, who represented Colorado’s 6th Congressional District for five terms, said he got involved after receiving an e-mail from King this week asking, “What is going on with Cory Gardner?”
“Steve is a very, very good friend of mine, the guy to whom I have passed the baton on to on this issue of illegal immigration,” Tancredo said. “When he said he was coming out anyway, I said, ‘Good, let’s have something we can do together.’ “
King appeared Monday on G. Gordon Liddy’s radio show. According to Media Matters, King said, “the president has demonstrated that he has a default mechanism in him that breaks down the side of race — on the side that favors the black person.”
King said he wasn’t quoted fully. He released a transcript showing that after he said, “favors the black person,” he continued to say “in the case of professor Gates and Officer Crowley,” referring to a case involving a black scholar and a white police officer.
Lynn Bartels: 303-954-5327 or lbartels@denverpost.com
