Ignoring IRS Attack and "Jihad Jane," Rep. Steve King Endorses Ethnic Profiling

March 16, 2010 2:29 pm ET — Matt Finkelstein

Since the failed airline bombing on Christmas Day, some conservative lawmakers have endorsed racial and ethnic profiling as a means to prevent future attacks. For example, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) made the self-evident observation that "100 percent of Islamic terrorists are Muslim." Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) added that, while "it's not politically correct to say it," he believes in ethnic profiling because almost "all terrorists are Muslim or Middle Easterners."

Speaking on the House floor last night, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) joined the right-wing calls for ethnic profiling. "Who has been blowing up our planes and who has been hijacking us?" asked King. "It's young Muslim men. So, I would suggest that instead of spread eagle searching the 80 year-old Norwegian grandmother with blue eyes and white hair, we ought to turn our focus in a higher percentage on the people who fit the profile of the kind that are likely to bomb us." King went on to say that the government should also be recording Muslim prayer services to look for warning signs.

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But recent events contradict the notion that all terrorists look alike. Just last week, the Justice Department filed terrorism charges against Colleen Renee Larose, "a petite, blond-haired, blue-eyed" American woman known as "Jihad Jane." And last month, Joseph Andrew Stack -- a 53 year-old white man who was angry with the federal government -- flew a small plane into an IRS building in Texas, killing an American war veteran and injuring several others who worked there.

Notably, while King advocates for ethnic profiling, he has refused to condemn the terrorist attack on the IRS. "I think if we'd abolished the IRS back when I first advocated it, he wouldn't have had a target for his airplane," King said. "It's sad the incident in Texas happened, but by the same token, it's an agency that is unnecessary and when the day comes when that is over and we abolish the IRS, it's going to be a happy day for America."

You get the sense that King might feel differently if Stack's name was "Mohammed."