Republicans Try to Fix Damage Scalise’s 2002 Speech Could Do in 2016

[hue]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/31/us/politics/scalises-speech-to-white-supremacist-group-clouds-republicans-plans.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&bicmp=AD&bicmlukp=WT.mc_id&bicmst=1409232722000&bicmet=1419773522000&_r=1&smtyp=cur&bicmp=AD&bicmlukp=WT.mc_id&bicmst=1409232722000&bicmet=1419773522000&_r=0

WASHINGTON — House Republican leaders, poised for a celebratory takeover of Congress next week, instead found themselves scrambling Tuesday to defuse a racially charged controversy over one lawmaker’s speech a decade ago to a white supremacist group.

After staying silent Monday when news broke that Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the third-ranking House Republican, had appeared before a group called the European-American Unity and Rights Organization, Speaker John A. Boehner and the majority leader, Representative Kevin McCarthy, on Tuesday afternoon issued coordinated statements of support for Mr. Scalise, who acknowledged “regret” and said he had made a mistake.

“More than a decade ago, Representative Scalise made an error in judgment, and he was right to acknowledge it was wrong and inappropriate,” Mr. Boehner said, adding, “He has my full confidence as our whip, and he will continue to do great and important work for all Americans.”

The controversy erupted as Republicans were making a renewed effort to reach out to black voters. It threatened to cloud their agenda after capturing control of the Senate and adding to their House majority in last month’s election. Republicans anticipated using their new power to focus on economic growth and potentially find areas of common ground with President Obama, both elements of a broader push to demonstrate that the party can govern at a time when lawmaking in Washington has all but come to a halt...

“Everybody there knew EURO was putting it on, and David Duke was the national president of EURO,” said Corey Ortis, a Louisiana representative for the European-American Unity and Rights Organization from 2000 to 2004 who attended the conference. “You don’t go to a James Brown concert and not know it’s James Brown. It is what it is. But I can see why Steve Scalise would say he didn’t remember very much.”

[Skittles]

1. repukes and their "mistakes"

[Sunlei]

5. like when mr CIA torture report called the man who died a 'mistake'.

[marble falls]

2. Too little too late. This is going to cost them.

[66 dmhlt]

7. Oh, come on ...

I think we should cut Scalise some slack

After all, it's just damn hard to tell a KKK Rally from a GOP one.

[1step]

3. Time to Reverse-Benghazi the HELL out of them!

MSNBC, be relentless! (And boost your ratings in the process!)

[Sunlei]

4. I think we should offer a few bucks for the VCR tapes from all those speeches at hate groups.

plenty of recordings from those big 2 day meetings of nazis, kkk. probably lots of dusty boxes full of VCR tapes in peoples attics.

with todays face recognition software we'd OUT a lot of todays familiar faces.

[marble falls]

8. Not a bad idea. Using their technology on them.

[Scuba]

6. It'll be a badge of honor among party loyalists.

[marble falls]

9. But anathma to the rest of us.

[bearssoapbox]

10. “He has my full confidence as our whip, and he will continue to do great and important work for all

Americans."

Especially the white, rich Americans.

[blkmusclmachine]

11. Revise history /\ yrotsih esiveR