GOP House Majority Whip Admits Delivering Speech To White Supremacist Group
Rep. Steve Scalise, the third-most powerful Republican in the House of Representatives, was just forced to admit an ugly truth.
Steve Scalise is 49-years old, and has held public office since 1996. In 2008 he was elected to represent the people of Louisiana’s 1st district in the U.S. House of Representatives, after Bobby Jindal was elected governor. In just a few days he will become the House Majority Whip, the person responsible for ensuring the Republican agenda is fulfilled by convincing congressmen to vote the way he wants them to.
But just six years before coming the Washington, Scalise spoke before a White Supremacist group founded by former Ku Klux Klan (KKK) grand wizard David Duke.Â
The Washington Post is confirming that Scalise, who earlier today could not remember delivering the speech, indeed did speak before the European-American Unity and Rights Organization (EURO), which appears on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s list of active White Nationalist hate groups.
“In 2002,” Rep. Scalise’s spokesperson Moira Bagley said today, “he made himself available to anyone who wanted to hear his proposal to eliminate slush funds that wasted millions of taxpayer dollars as well as his opposition to a proposed tax increase on middle-class families.”
“He has never been affiliated with the abhorrent group in question,” Bagley added. “The hate-fueled ignorance and intolerance that group projects is in stark contradiction to what Mr. Scalise believes and practices as a father, a husband, and a devoted Catholic.”
Louisiana political blogger Lamar White, Jr., broke the story yesterday, reporting that “Scalise was reportedly armed with a microphone at the Landmark Best Western in Metairie and talking about tax policy to an international convention… of white supremacists and neo-Nazis.”
Some responses via Twitter:
YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST READ @CenLamar‘s original post about the soon to be ex- new House Whip @steveScalise. http://t.co/KTsqkN2Fcq
— Shoq (@Shoq) December 29, 2014
Steve Scalise probably taking crisis management advice from David Vitter, who somehow survived the D.C. Madam scandal.
— Ethan Klapper (@ethanklapper) December 29, 2014
Not buying Scalise’s excuses. You can’t be an elected Republican in Louisiana and not know the name David Duke.
— Zeddonymous (@ZeddRebel) December 29, 2014
Couldn’t tell. Because hoods. RT @TPM: House Majority Whip Steve Scalise spoke at a white nationalist meeting in 2002 http://t.co/d2lG6ImkQp
— Sanho Tree (@SanhoTree) December 29, 2014
To understand why @SteveScalise must resign, you need to read ALL of this post http://t.co/fyp4uGUUo5
— Joe Conason (@JoeConason) December 29, 2014
Anyone surprised to see @ChuckCJohnson defending Scalise for speaking at a white supremacist conference? “Alleged?” pic.twitter.com/iNGDFsyxMQ
— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) December 29, 2014
Scalise railed against the Housing & Urban development fund & voted against a MLK holiday but he’s totally not racist. Wink, wink.
— Matt Murphy (@MattMurph24) December 29, 2014
“I was unaware that I was addressing a convention of Nazis” is not such a great excuse, as excuses go: http://t.co/v8FeE5kaXy
— Jeffrey Goldberg (@JeffreyGoldberg) December 29, 2014
Remember that in 2002 — the same year Scalise may have spoken to a David Duke group — Senate R’s booted Lott for his Thurmond comments.
— Steve Kornacki (@SteveKornacki) December 29, 2014
Somewhere, Frank Underwood is laughing at Steve Scalise.
— Daily Kos Elections (@DKElections) December 29, 2014
Rep Steve #Scalise admits he spoke before white nationalists. And remember, this guy is HOUSE LEADERSHIP! https://t.co/elTv6Gb6IV
— DynamicScoringIsShit (@Beau1u) December 29, 2014
But Scalise spokesperson says he was unaware of group’s “hate-fueled ignorance and intolerance” at the time, poorly staffed
— Robert Costa (@costareports) December 29, 2014
Scalise allies say he was unaware of the group’s associations at the time. A Nexis search shows EURO/Duke got sig. press in 2002.
— Robert Costa (@costareports) December 29, 2014
From a 2004 post on Stormfront pic.twitter.com/99wEqSCg8V
— Sam Stein (@samsteinhp) December 29, 2014
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Also, these updates:
2008: Steve Scalise implied that the guy he was running against was Muslim (3rd circle)- I still have this flier. pic.twitter.com/Hxl5OM4FcA
— Neal Boyd (@grimcity) June 19, 2014
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Image of Rep. Scalise by Gage Skidmore via Flickr
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