Rep. King on Jackson: 'There's nothing good about this guy'
(CNN) - New York Rep. Peter King called on the media to "knock out the psycho-babble" and stop covering Michael Jackson because "this guy was a pervert."
"He was a child molester. He was a pedophile. And to be giving this much coverage to him day in and day out, what does it say about us as a country," King said Sunday in front of the American Legion Hall in Wantagh. "We're too politically correct. No one wants to stand up and say, 'We don't need Michael Jackson.'"
King, a nine-term Republican representative from New York's Third Congressional District, said the media has "disgraced itself," noting that there are people dying everyday.
"There are men and women dying today in Afghanistan. Let's give them the credit they deserve," he added.
Jackson went on trial for child molestation allegations in 2005, but was acquitted after a 14-week media circus of a trial in Santa Maria, California. A decade earlier, prosecutors in Los Angeles declined to file charges in their own 13-month child molestation investigation. That case settled out of court, reportedly with Jackson paying millions in damages.
"There's nothing good about this guy. He may have been a good singer, did some dancing, but bottom-line is - would you let your child or grandchild be in the same room with Michael Jackson? What are we glorifying him for?" King said, asking instead that the public honor people like servicemen, teachers and firefighters.
King defended his comments in an interview Monday with CNN radio affiliate WOR, “The fact is that what he has done as far as young children are concerned, young boys are concerned, is a horrible example to set to the world.”
“…Anyone who causes evil or endangers children, to me that supersedes anything else. And do we as a culture really want to be defined by Michael Jackson's singing and dancing or by the fact that he became a worldwide spectacle for abuse of children? “
King was chairman of the powerful House Homeland Security Committee from 2005 until the Democrats took over the House in January 2007.
He won 64 percent of the vote in his re-election victory last November.
Earlier this year he said he was considering a run for the Senate next year, taking on Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, who replaced Hillary Clinton as New York's junior senator.
Thank you! MJ was an obvious musical talent. I don't know if charges against him were true or not, but the fact that there is so much media attention to an entertainer dying (or likely accidently killing himself with drugs) shows how pathetically aligned our culture is with celebrities. I'd much rather hear the stories of our brave men and women in the military putting their life on the line for our country every day.
OMG...Guess even our "leaders" forget our Judicial ways of "INNOCENT until proven guilty"...
wow, this is an angry person~ nothing was ever proven about Michael Jackson molesting anyone. War has been on the front page everyday for the last 8 years. michael jackson left an amazing legacy of music and dance for millions of people. let it go~
thank god he said it. it's what 95% of americans think. media is awful. Yes, CNN specials, FOX specials...ABC/Nbc...I mean give it up and report real news.
Although I mourn the loss of any human life, I agree with Rep. King. The good will never outweigh the bad.
I sincerely hope the Jackson family sues this guy for slander.
This guy is an Idiot.. if the paretns of the kids thought michael jackson did somethign wrong.. why get lawyers? Why not go to the police??? because they wanted MONEY
A-men Amen- A-men A-men
New York Rep. Peter King is a moron. The GOP just doesn't have a clue about much of anything these days.
I'm with you, Pete. Get him out of the news already... What a sad, sick circus...
Idiot. I wish both dems and gop-ers would think before they speak.
Once again the republicans show an unbelievable degree of mean-spiritedness. They can't even let the dead lie in peace. I have no real use for Michael Jackson either, but there are others who feel differently. This is more and more their mode of operation.
The republicans have given up their claim to fiscal responsibility, we will be paying for their misguided attempts to return to lassez-faire economics for decades, and they have nothing left but spurious calls for cutting taxes and fear mongering. If they survive as currently constituted, they'll be in the political wilderness for decades.
I agree 100% with Rep. Peter King.
Coming from the party that's brought us Larry Craig and Mark Sanford, this is pretty rich.
King, you are so wrong about MJ. Yes, he was charged with molestation. He was also acquitted. Just because you don't like him is no reason to publicly defile his character while many people are in mourning. This shows that you are a crass and classless human being.
So should one assume that Rep King was not an Elvis fan? Because Elvis surely did marry Priscilla when she was a minor. If Rep King doesn't like MJ fine, but RESPECT and RECOGNIZE that this man was an ICON, not just some dude who made a bunch of albums. I think the exhaustive media coverage reflects how much of an IMPACT MJ truly had in this world. With regards to him being a pedophile, he was CLEARED of ALL charges. Honestly, if my child were molested a cash settlement would NEVER be enough to pay for my child's innocence. Thank you.
Last I know he was found innocent.
BRAVO King, You are The King!
Jealous you're not worthy of getting this kind of coverage, huh?
How dare you. Let those without sin cast the first stone. What is hiding in your closet. You are not saying how the first young man that accused MJ of these charges came out and said that he did not do it. You are just hating that a black man is receiving this kind of coverage. I didn't see you saying anything about Elvis.
While I may not agree 100% with the Representative I whole-heartedly concur with his assessment.
It's bread and circuses
Amen to that, we will be hearing more of him in death than in life as well, enough is enough already.
Hey politicians!!!!
People who live in glass houses
should'nt throw stones!!
Remember Sanford??
He wanted to impeach Clinton
then he walked the same path
over and over
You politicians stick to what you know how to do
Pull the wool over your constituents eyes.(and your families)
MJ may have payed money
but many people had their hands out
(or their kid's hands)
At least he changed the world for the better
with his music.
What legacy will you leave??
He's right about the coverage–Way too much!! He was a gifted singer and dancer–cherish the good memories you have of him but it's definitely time to let it go...
Check your Constitution, Mr. Congressman. CItizens of your country are innocent until proven guilty – MJ never was. Eccentric? definitely, but the same people who slam him in death are the ones who made him that way. Let us mourn in peace for a change...