Kiernan Criticizes King

New Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Michael Kiernan had said his priority was to get Chet Culver re-elected as governor. In a release today, Kiernan comes after a man who may want to take on Culver next year, Iowa Republican Congressman Steve King. Today, King voted against the stimulus package. In the release, you'll see below it says King voted with the "extreme wing" of his party on the stimulus bill. You should recall no house Republican voted for the bill today.

Here's Kiernan's release:

DES MOINES, IA – Days after announcing his interest in running for Governor of Iowa in 2010, Congressman Steve King (IA-05) once again placed the interests of the Republican Party ahead of the hardworking people of Iowa. Today, when given the opportunity to support a responsible economic recovery package that is expected to create 37,000 jobs in Iowa, Congressman King continued to ‘Just Say No.’ It appears King prefers to champion his extreme political ideologies over the needs of Iowans struggling during these tough economic times.

“Congressman Steve King is putting his personal partisan interests ahead of Iowa's interests” said Michael Kiernan, Chair of the Iowa Democratic Party. “If Congressman King is serious about running for Governor, he must stop being an obstructionist and start offering real solutions instead of advocating for failed economic policies of the Bush Administration.”

On Monday, during a taping of Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press” when Congressman King announced his interest in running for Governor, he stated “his most important job now is to work to reunify the Republican Party in the state.” Someone should explain to Congressman King that if he wishes to continue to serve as an elected official, whether in the U.S. House of Representatives or in Iowa’s Capitol, he needs to stop being an obstructionist and start addressing the needs and concerns of the people of Iowa.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is the product of great compromise by Democrats and Republicans. Members from both parties recognized the need to put aside their differences in order to address the greatest economic crisis facing our nation since the Great Depression. However, Congressman Steve King continued to ‘just say no’ to the people of Iowa and voted in lock step with the extreme wing of the Republican Party instead of the over 75,000 Iowans currently looking for jobs.