Help end this long national nightmare.

Help end this long national nightmare.

He is someone who pushed for the government shutdown last fall. When it ended, he said he wanted it to keep going. I think he’s someone who’s not interested in finding any kind of solutions or making Congress work. He’s much more interested in driving a partisan divide. His answer to everything is no. He does not want to get anything done. He wants to be an obstructionist. He’s said he wants to be a better obstructionist and he wishes there were more obstructionists like him in Congress; and that’s exactly what the people of Iowa don’t want right now. […] What I think people have realized is just how damaging congressman King is, not only to the future of Iowa and the future of our country, but also for the Republican Party. He really does not meet what the definition of a Republican used to be; he really is a Tea Partyer. When he says government is broken, he’s not complaining—he’s bragging about that. He doesn’t want the government to function. He doesn’t believe in good government; he believes in no government.

But the biggest contrasts are probably when it comes to Social Security. When I was 7, my father was killed in a farming accident, and Social Security is the only thing that kept my family from falling so far down that we couldn’t get back up. So I believe in strengthening and protecting Social Security, while he voted to raise the retirement age to 70, and has said he wants to actually raise it to as high as 75 (because Wal-Mart will hire people until the age of 74). That’s a stark contrast. […] If you’re referring to plans like chained CPI or raising the retirement age, I am dead-set against those. I would not support either under any circumstances—and that’s where the people of Iowa’s 4th Congressional District are on this.

Rep. Steve King, the Republican's go-to guy on immigration reform , is facing the toughest challenge in his career as Congress's most obnoxious loudmouth. That challenge is coming from Iraq veteran, former Pentagon official, and native Iowan Jim Mowrer. And in an interview for Salon, Mowrer isn't afraid to paint King as he is : a destructive tea party hero.Lest you worry from that that Mowrer is going to be a Third Way type, bemoaning partisanship, here's what he has to say about a touchstone issue for real Democrats and progressives: Social Security and efforts by some, including Democrats, to cut benefits:He also wants a national minimum wage of $10.10 and comprehensive immigration reform, key issues among what Mowrer calls the "stark contrast between us on almost every major issue and, frankly, almost everyissue." It would take volumes to chronicle everything that King has made himself ridiculous over, but Mowrer hits some of the highlights in this interview.

What's most encouraging is how clearly and simply he makes the case against tea party nihilism, and how damaging their anti-government rhetoric—and actions—have been for the whole country. Steve King has really carried the flag for the extremist movement, and even though he's a thorn in the side of Republican leadership and they've attempted to marginalize him and his closest tea party allies, they also let them win. Hence the government shutdown last year and the border bill and last month's utter fiasco of a border funding bill. King isn't just damaging Iowa, he's damaging the nation, and Mowrer hopes to put an end to that.

Chip in $3 today to help Daily Kos elect Jim Mower, and defeat Steve King.

