June 15, 2010 02:02 AM UTC

Cory Gardner, Steve King, and Hot Peppers

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• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: Cancelled for, uh, no particular reason, writes the Fort Collins Coloradoan’s Bob Moore:

Cory Gardner’s campaign manager, Chris Hansen, called me tonight to let me know that the planned Saturday fundraiser with Rep. Steve King has been cancelled.

Hansen wouldn’t elaborate on reasons, but he called me in response to an email I sent him about King’s latest controversial statement…

This Saturday, GOP CD-4 nominee Cory Gardner is hosting a fundraiser in Hudson with special guest Rep. Steve King of Iowa (invitation right).

Rep. King is an interesting choice for a fundraising headliner, generally considered to be one of the most polarizing conservatives in office today (Tom Tancredo gave him a run for this title while serving in Congress)–career highlights include famous misstatements about the murder rate in American cities (hint: lower than Iraq), his heartfelt belief that Joe McCarthy was “a hero for America,” and his assertion that if we had just abolished the IRS, the man who recently crashed a plane into an IRS office would have had “no target.”

And just in time for Gardner’s fundraiser this weekend, fresh meat from Rep. King–cue Media Matters:

Rep. Steve King (R-IA) appeared on the G. Gordon Liddy Show this morning to discuss Arizona’s controversial immigration law and accused Attorney General Eric Holder and President Barack Obama – both critics of the legislation – of harboring animosity towards white Americans.  Specifically, he accused Obama of having a “default mechanism” that favors “the black person.”

King: When you look at this administration, I’m offended by Eric Holder and the President also, their posture.  It looks like Eric Holder said that white people in America are cowards when it comes to race.  And I don’t know what the basis of that is but I’m not a coward when it comes to that and I’m happy to talk about these things and I think we should.  But 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. [Pols emphasis]

Seems like those peppers in the invitation could take on a larger meaning, depending on how much of a firestorm these latest comments turn out to be for King: this doesn’t read like a statement that will stay out of the headlines. Does Gardner risk being tainted by King’s remarks, past and present? And aren’t there some nice un-crazy Republicans who could host a few fundraisers? It’s not like Steve King isn’t entertaining, it’s just…well, Gardner won the primary, didn’t he? At some point, people might stop thinking this is a contrivance, and conclude that Gardner actually would govern with the Congressional fringe–we’d call that an unfortunate development.