Scalise shouldn’t be GOP leader
Now, I know this man. I work with him. I know what’s in his heart. He’s a decent honest person who made a mistake. We’ve all made mistakes.
Speaker of the House John Boehner, speaking about Majority Whip Steve Scalise
Steve Scalise may have made a mistake 12 years ago, but Republicans are making a bigger one in 2015.
When Scalise appeared at an event that was tied to noted white supremacist, and former KKK leader, David Duke, he was merely pandering for votes.
Any discussion that questions whether Scalise is a racist, simply because he courts racist votes, isn’t really relevant.
Although back in 2004, two years after he spoke at David Duke’s event, while 90 members of the Louisiana legislature voted in favor of making Martin Luther King Day a state holiday, Scalise was one of only six members to vote against it.
And you may as well take, at face value, his explanation that he didn’t know that a convention put on by people calling themselves the European-American Unity and Rights Organization, harbored a racist philosophy.
As the third highest ranking Republican in the U.S. House, Scalise is helping to put his party’s dreams of “minority outreach,” back on the shelf.
What’s ironic, and a bit humorous, is the fact that Scalise wouldn’t have risen in the ranks, if it hadn’t been for the demise of the only Jewish Republican in Congress, Eric Cantor, who surprisingly lost his bid for re-election last year.
Scalise’ rise to a leadership role, with his highly publicized flirtation with a group that had no real love for Jewish Americans, makes you wonder if Republicans are in need of a pledge for “Jewish outreach.”
But first things first.
The Republicans fully understand that they have a black-vote deficit. They released a 97-page “Growth and Opportunity Project” report after the 2012 presidential election.
“The nation’s demographic changes add to the urgency of recognizing how precarious our position has become. America is changing demographically, and unless Republicans are able to grow our appeal the way GOP governors have done, the changes tilt the playing field even more in the Democratic direction,” was one of the key findings in that report.
The widespread support of Scalise is yet another example of how Republicans continue to “tilt the playing field even more in the Democratic direction.”
Oh, if Scalise was only a rank-and-file Republican in Congress, the report of him speaking to that group more than a decade ago, wouldn’t be newsworthy.
As the Majority Whip, he’s the third most powerful Republican in the U.S. House.
His fellow Louisiana House member, who happens to be black, and a Democrat, Rep. Cedric Richmond, has come out in support of Scalise. “I don’t think Steve Scalise has a racist bone in his body,” Richmond says. But, once again, it doesn’t really matter if Scalise is racist. He just liked to get the votes of racists.
There are other prominent Republicans, Erick Erickson, Mark Levin and Sarah Palin, who’d prefer that he be stripped of his leadership status.
But those three aren’t members of Congress, and so far, Scalise’ congressional Republicans have thrown their support behind him.
Yet, there are reports that Scalise might not be welcomed when trying to court Republican donors in the future. Having them contribute money at the request of the “guy who spoke to racists” makes him a tough sell, especially in the north.
In the meantime, Republicans are having to climb a steeper hill when trying to shake off the perception that they are more likely to appeal to bigots, than they are to black voters.
That’s how the “mistakes” of the past, aren’t as important as the “mistakes” of the present.
John Boehner’s steadfast support of Steve Scalise is laudable, until you consider the lasting effect that support might have.
For any political party to recognize its shortcomings, and to loudly proclaim it’s diligently working to overcome them, Steve Scalise doesn’t help matters much.
But that’s the chance Republicans are taking.
If it backfires, they’ll probably blame Democrats.
Edward A. Owens is a three- time Emmy Award winner and 20 year veteran of television news. E-mail him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net