King predicts GOP takeover of US House

By Ed Tibbetts

Quad City Times

Republicans probably will retake control of the U.S. House of Representatives this year, Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said in Davenport on Tuesday.

King, who was in the area to speak at a fundraiser for the Scott County Republican Party, said events could change the political winds between now and November, but he said the prognosis for the GOP is good.

“I believe we can win the majority, and right now, it looks like it's likely to happen,” he said in an interview with the Quad-City Times.

Most nonpartisan analysts aren't making such bold predictions, particularly with Democrats outnumbering Republicans by 72 seats. But King said the “toxic stew” of proposals President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats have put on the table has shifted political thinking.

In fact, he shrugged off the idea that a gridlocked Congress is dysfunctional, a claim U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., made Monday in explaining why he decided not to run for re-election this year.

Instead, King said, the political center is merely undergoing a rightward shift.

“I think it's already shifted in the minds of the American people, and it hasn't shifted in the ballot box yet, so we're at an impasse,” he said.

King represents western Iowa, and he isn't in the Quad-Cities often. But he has become a popular speaker at conservative events, including fundraisers.

King did give credit to the White House in one respect Tuesday. He said the administration's criticism of Republicans for being obstructionist has taken a toll on the public's view of the party.

A New York Times/CBS poll last week gave Obama more credit for trying to reach bipartisan compromise than Republicans. King said some of that was because of Democrats referring to Republicans repeatedly as “the party of no.”

He rejected the idea the party should bend, however.

“We have stood on a series of principles we should not compromise on,” he said.