Congressman Peter King has been named 'America's worst congressman'by Scottish journalist Alex Massie writing in the Daily Beast. The story was also picked up by Salon.com.
King should consider it a badge of honor.
Massie points to King's role as a supporter of Irish Republicanism and says as a result, he's unfit to lead the House Homeland Security Committee.
King should indeed be very happy at the honor coming from a right wing- British writer who has regularly featured in publications such as the Daily Telegraph which consistently opposed the Irish peace process.
Massie writes that "For years, King, who represents a chunk of New York's Long Island, was in fact the terrorists' best friend. King wasn't merely an apologist for terrorism, he was an enthusiastic supporter of terrorism."
This is the old Britspeak of course. King was no such a thing. Alone among American politicians he stood up to the British and publicly challenged them on Northern Ireland, their very own Gaza Strip at the time.
Some British like Massie have never forgiven him for exposing what was really going on in Northern Ireland at a time when Her Majesty's government were desperately trying to put a clamp on it and hide it from prying eyes.
If toadies like Massie had their way that would still be the same situation in Northern Ireland,Britain's dirty little secret, instead of what it is.
Were it left to Mouthpiece Massie the peace process would never have happened.
The truth is an end to the long decades of violence would never have been achieved were it not for men like Peter King
He spoke for Irish nationalists in America and revealed issues such as the shoot to kill policy of British forces, the murder by British agents of Patrick Finucane, a lawyer who had the temerity to represent Republican suspects, and he led efforts to ensure that ten Northern Irish Republican prisoners would not starve to death on hunger strike,which the British allowed anyway.
But What Massie totally misses is Pete King was a voice for moderation, continually urging Sinn Fein to begin a political path and get away from the violence.
King leveraged his status as a respected American with Sinn Fein, the political wing of the IRA to urge them strongly to pursue the then nascent peace process.
When Sinn Fein decided to take his advice and that of other leading Irish Americans, the situation was transformed by the IRA ceasefire and the beginning of the Irish peace process that today is a showcase to the world on how to resolve ethnic conflicts.
Peter King played a major role in achieving that and no Brit apologist will change that.
Consider it a badge of honor, Congressman, that the Brits are singling you out again
As for Mr. Massie, perhaps he might be better employed finding out just how far up the chain of command to Downing Street and Margaret Thatcher perhaps that the orders to gun down a defenseless lawyer called Pat Finucane in front of his young family went.
When it comes to terrorism the Brits have very little to learn from anyone.