By Colin Campbell 4/19 2:13pm

King of the Hill

SWAT team prepares at the Watertown Mall (Photo: Getty)

Pete King on Boston Suspect: ‘What in the Community Radicalized Him?’

With the news that two of the suspected terrorists from last Monday’s Boston Marathon bombing have roots in the Russia’s Muslim-dominated Chechnyan region, Long Island Congressman Pete King says the United States “can’t afford to be politically correct” with its immigration policies anymore.

“I do believe that whether it’s Chechnya or whether it’s really any countries from areas where there is fighting going on–particularly terrorist fighting–that we have to be extra careful, extra scrupulous,” Mr. King argued during a PIX 11 interview earlier this afternoon. “That would include, to me, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Somalia [and] obviously …. somebody of a Chechnyan background. All of that, to me, we can’t afford to be politically correct and say that somebody coming from a country where there’s a Muslim war going on is the same as somebody … from Switzerland, for instance. There’s a difference.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 4/16 11:36am

Boston Bombing

Pete King on Morning Joe. (Screengrab: MSNBC)

Pete King Says Boston ‘Terrorist Attack’ Shows Need for Police Surveillance

President Barack Obama may have been reluctant to use the term “terrorism” to describe yesterday’s deadly explosions at the Boston Marathon, but Long Island Rep. Pete King, who up until recently was Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, thinks there’s no doubt.

“Clearly, this was a terrorist attack,” Mr. King said on Morning Joe today. “You had the multiple explosions. You had someone who was able to penetrate security. Amateurs don’t do that, so this was well-planned and coordinated. It was a terrorist attack. It’s a question of who did it, … it’s too early to say. Obviously we have to consider whether it was Islamic jihad. It could also be white supremacist, it could be anti-government people.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 3/05 11:29am

King of the Ring

(Photo: Facebook)

Pete King Wants to Get His ‘Aggressions Out’ in the Boxing Ring

Congressman Pete King is about to step into the ring, literally.

This Saturday in the Nassau County hamlet of Wantagh, Mr. King is set to go glove-to-glove with “Irish” Josh Foley, a New York State light heavyweight kickboxing champion.

“I’ve actually been doing boxing for a while,” Mr. King explained in a radio interview with Geraldo Rivera earlier this morning. Read More

By Colin Campbell 2/28 1:45pm

Rock You Like a Hurricane

marco-rubio-getty

Pete King Can’t Believe Rubio Has the ‘Balls’ to Fundraise in New York

Congressman Pete King was not pleased with his fellow Republicans who opposed the federal Hurricane Sandy relief package. Accordingly, Mr. King told us he was shocked to learn that Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who’s widely seen as a potential 2016 presidential contender, has been raising cash on Wall Street after voting against the Sandy bill.

“Being from New York we’re not supposed to be suckers,” Mr. King told Politicker this morning. “It’s bad enough that these guys voted against it, that’s inexcusable enough. But to have the balls to come in and say, ‘We screwed you now make us president?’” Read More

By Colin Campbell 1/02 11:19am

sandy aftermath

(Photo: Getty)

Pete King Urges Donors to Stop Giving to House GOP

In the wake of the House of Representatives’ failed vote on Hurricane Sandy relief, Congressman Pete King has gone rogue.

“These Republicans have no problem finding New York when they’re out raising millions of dollars,” Mr. King said on Fox News this morning. “They’re in New York all the time filling their pockets with money from New Yorkers. I’m saying right now, anyone from New York or New Jersey who contributes one penny to congressional Republicans is out of their minds. Because what they did last night was put a knife in the back of New Yorkers and New Jerseyans. It was an absolute disgrace.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 11/29/12 1:26pm

Evasive Maneuvers

Grover Norquist (Photo: Getty)

Republican Creates Best Excuse Yet for Ignoring Grover Norquist

As they face down the fiscal cliff, a growing number of Republicans are abandoning the pledge not to increase taxes that they made to anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist. Today, Hudson Valley Rep. Chris Gibson came up with what might be the most creative excuse yet for breaking the pledge. Mr. Gibson saw his district number change from 20 to 19 during this year’s redistricting process and he reasoned that the pledge no longer applies to him as it was only to the constituents under the previous district number.

“The Congressman signed the pledge as a candidate in 2010 for the 20th Congressional District,” his spokeswoman explained. “Regarding the pledge moving forward, Congressman Gibson doesn’t plan to re-sign it for the 19th Congressional District, which he now represents (the pledge is to your constituents of a numbered district).” Read More

By Colin Campbell 8/15/12 1:21pm

State Senate

Eric Ulrich and Pete King in what may make good material for campaign literature. (Photo: Ulrich Campaign)

Ulrich Unveils Pete King Endorsement [Update]

City Councilman Eric Ulrich, campaigning for the Republican nomination to take on incumbent Senator Joe Addabbo, got a nice little boost for his campaign this afternoon when he announced that Congressman Pete King is endorsing his electoral effort. Although Mr. King doesn’t represent the Queens district, his turf isn’t too far away and the veteran representative very well might be the state’s top GOP official.

“Eric understands that the way to put New Yorkers back to work and grow our economy is by lowering taxes on families and small businesses and reigning in the reckless government spending that has created unsustainable deficits and threatens our competitiveness,” Mr. King said in the statement. “His conservative principles of limited government, safe streets and a strong quality of life will make him an excellent representative in Albany and I urge all Republicans to vote for him on September 13th.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 5/14/12 10:45am

arguments

(Photo: YouTube)

Pete King Tangles With Ryan Lizza Over NYPD [Video]

Congressman Pete King, the head of the House’s Homeland Security Committee, has been generating some media buzz recently with his forceful rejection of a Democratic amendment which would restricting federal funding from police forces declared to be discriminatory by the Attorney General. While the amendment wouldn’t directly impact the NYPD, the subtext of the legislation was clearly intended to send a message regarding the Muslim-surveillance controversy unearthed by The Associated Press earlier this year. And on a recent CNN discussion, Mr. King pushed back hard when The New Yorker‘s Ryan Liza tried to give credit to The AP’s report.

“First off, there is no profiling, that’s the absolute nonsense that people like you and others are propagating,” Mr. King stated flatly when the topic was broached.

“I’m not propagating anything I’m just telling you that there’s been some very legitimate questions raised about what the NYPD is doing!” Mr. Lizza shouted back. Read More

By Colin Campbell 5/10/12 1:40pm

NYPD

Pete King Blasts Dems’ Police Funding Amendment [Video]

Yesterday afternoon, the U.S. House of Representatives saw an amendment reach the floor designed to stop all federal funds from flowing to any law enforcement entity that the Department of Justice has identified as engaging in any racial or religious profiling. The amendment, which was obviously intended to address the recent controversy about the NYPD’s surveillance of Muslims, was supported by every Democrat in New York City, but ultimately failed to pass largely on Republican-led opposition.

“In September of last year, I asked the Department of Justice to investigate what we now know was a pattern of surveillance and infiltration by the New York Police Department against innocent American Muslims in the absence of a valid investigative reason,” the amendment’s sponsor, New Jersey Rep. Rush Holt, said, launching into a lengthy criticism of the NYPD but finally declaring the legislation had broader aims. “Profiling is wrong. Profiling on the basis of the race, ethnicity, and religion is a violation of core constitutional principles.”

Congressman Pete King, an outspoken defender of all things related to homeland security, took to the floor to blast the amendment. Read More

By Colin Campbell 3/19/12 12:37pm

optimisim

Congressman Israel (Photo: NY1)

Steve Israel: Redistricting Helped Team Blue

New York Congressman Steve Israel, who heads up the House Democrats’ campaign efforts, made an interesting pitch to NY1′s Errol Louis on Inside City Hall last Friday. He argued the most New York is now in play with the judge’s new congressional redistricting plan.

“Right in New York, as a result of the map the courts have approved, we have races all over the state that will be competitive,” he said, before ticking down a laundry list of newly competitive seats. Read More