David Duke - Page 2

The Steve Scalise controversy had a fairly simple resolution. When the accusation had emerged that he had spoken in 2002 to a white supremacist group associated with former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke, he ought to have stepped aside temporarily and asked the House Republican leadership to conduct a full investigation. That would have confirmed that Republicans would not permit anyone to lead the party who kept such associations, and without punishing Scalise before the facts were known.

The Sacramento Bee published an editorial Wednesday in which it criticizes California Republican Kevin McCarthy, Majority Leader in the U.S. House, for defending Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) over allegations that he addressed a gathering associated with white supremacist David Duke in 2012. (Scalise has apologized quickly, though it is not clear whether he knew about the group’s beliefs or if he even addressed the group at all.)

Nearly 20 years ago, when he was an up-and-coming politician, Rep. Steve Scalise reportedly told a reporter that he’s like David Duke without the baggage. “This is what I remember about the first time I met Steve Scalise nearly 20 years ago: He told me he was like David Duke without the baggage,” Stephanie Grace, a longtime reporter on Louisiana politics, writes in the liberal New Orleans Advocate.

A member of John Boehner’s inner circle is under fire even as the House Speaker is at his most vulnerable. Exactly one week before the House GOP’s top official will seek re-election to his post, multiple sources report that his deputy, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, spoke at a conference of white supremacists back in 2002.