Former Republican congressman Bob Ney didn’t sugarcoat it, saying “Something’s wrong with Congressman King,” and bashed his former colleague as “way off the reservation.” Reverend Jim Wallis said matter-of-factly, “Steve King is a racist,” adding that the immigration conversation needs to be about morality as well as politics.
Maher then brought up the “white backlash” to the Zimmerman verdict, and reminded the audience that when Obama spoke on race a week ago, he acknowledged that young black men commit crime at a high rate.
Spitzer praised Obama’s speech on the verdict and remarked that the right-wing response was “revolting.” Wallis talked about the fact that when it comes to church services, the country is still segregated in how it worships. Reza Aslan brought the conversation back to immigration again, admitting for the first time in public that “I spent ten years as an illegal immigrant in this country because the laws were so stacked against us.” He claimed that immigration laws are “so prohibitive… because of racism,” and said it’s likely Steve King’s “not the only racist in Congress.”
Watch the video below, via HBO:
—–
Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac