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On Wednesday morning, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) issued a threat to the country by saying a government shutdown will occur if President Obama follows through on his plans to issue executive orders addressing immigration. POTUS is planning on utilizing his pen and the powers available to him to address specific areas of immigration reform that House Republicans have decided not to take any action towards. After the Senate had passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill over a year ago, the GOP House members have sat on their hands and decided to do nothing, despite the country overwhelmingly supporting reform and providing many undocumented immigrants with a path to citizenship.

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King has been a fierce opponent of comprehensive immigration reform. He has gone out of his way to say remarkably offensive and disgusting things about immigrants, specifically Hispanics. He feels that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an executive order signed by Obama in 2012, is unconstitutional and grounds for impeachment if the President expands it to other immigrants. King was one of key figures that created the mess in the House last month that prevented even a bare-bones border funding bill from getting passed.

Therefore, it is hardly shocking that King would take an opportunity to threaten a self-inflicted Republican crisis if President Obama decides to go through on his promise to use the powers available to him by law and solve problems that need fixing. For a crazed ideologue like King, shutting down the government and going to war with the President is a dream come true. For the rest of the country, this is a nightmare that will inevitably lead to huge political fallout for the GOP. With the last government shutdown still fresh in the minds of voters, there is no appetite to see radical conservatives who live in la-la land throw another temper tantrum regarding the black President.

Below is what the Des Moines Register wrote about King’s comments on Wednesday:

King, R-Kiron, said “all bets are off” on a continuing resolution if President Barack Obama follows through with reported plans to deal with immigration issues without Congress. “If the president wields his pen and commits that unconstitutional act to legalize millions, I think that becomes something that is nearly political nuclear …,” King said. “I think the public would be mobilized and galvanized and that changes the dynamic of any continuing resolution and how we might deal with that.” King said if that happens, House-passed legislation on border security, including rolling back the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA order, “becomes a requirement” for a continuing resolution.

King also criticized Republican leaders who have promised that there will be no government shutdown, insensitively comparing those statements to promises to not send troops to battle. Apparently, in King’s mind, he views holding public office the same as going to war. And his enemy is the President of the United States. I want to remind the people of Iowa’s 4th District that you elected this man to represent you in the United States Congress.

Once again, it appears that the lunatic wing of the Republican Party is positioning itself to call the shots in the GOP and take this country to the brink despite it being wholly unnecessary. The fact that they are preparing to do this weeks before the midterm elections shows that they feel that there will be no repercussions for their actions. Will the American public allow themselves to continue to be abused by these reckless idiots come November?