On Monday, Congressman Steve Scalise “acknowledged that he spoke at a conference of the European-American Unity and Rights Organization (EURO),” a white supremacist organization run by David Duke, a former Grand Wizard in the Klu Klux Klan. But, in the aftermath, Speaker John Boehner said that Scalise will maintain his central role in the House Republican leadership. Only one Congressman of either party, Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) has called on Scalise to resign his post as House Whip, the chamber’s third most powerful position. In a statement, Maloney said that “[i]t is beyond offensive that a member of House leadership would knowingly court such a hate group, and it is doubly insulting that Congressman Scalise asserts that he didn’t know who David Duke was or the hate promoted by that group.” Maloney added that “Speaker Boehner should demand Congressman Scalise resign his leadership post immediately.” The Chicago Tribune and USA Today have also called on Scalise to step down from leadership. Scalise has defended his address to the racist group as an isolated incident, claiming he didn’t know about EURO’s agenda at the time. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which labels EURO a “hate group,” says Scalise’s defense is “not believable.” As a member of the Lousiana state legislature, Scalise voted against making Martin Luther King’s birthday a state holiday, twice. His most recent vote against the MLK holiday was in 2004. Nancy Pelosi harshly criticized Scalise, but stop short of demanding he be removed from leadership. The Hill speculates that more Democrats have not called on Scalise to resign because they “are quite happy to see Scalise continue to be a part of the GOP leadership.” One African-American Democrat from Lousiana, Congressman Cedric Richmond, has defended Scalise. “I don’t think Steve Scalise has a racist bone in his body,” Richmond said. In 2002, Sen. Trent Lott resigned his leadership post after being captured on film “singing the praises of segregationist Sen. Strom Thurmond.”
Posted on: Thu, 01 Jan 2015 21:24:03 +0000
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