Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Our racist Republicans

Is Rep. Steve Scalise a racist? Let's rephrase that. Is there any evidence he is not a racist?

This is kind of a bigger deal than the soft racism of most rightwingers. As House majority whip, Scalise is a playah.

Evidence that he is a racist: In 2002 he spoke to EURO, the rebranded Klan in Louisiana. It is difficult to imagine any politically active person in Louisiana (Scalise was a member of the Legislature) being unaware of EURO, which was hardly a reticent group.

Even if he was "young and disorganized."

I have to say that Republicans pick funny ways to defend themselves from charges like this: Our dear leader was disorganized and didn't have a clue what was going on around him.

Maybe Republicans should read newspapers.

The Post story is a classic. Scalise didn't know about what was going on in his own backyard but the minor league baseball team the Iowa Cubs did? (To be fair, the Cubs are owned by a retired newspaper editor, and he reads the papers.)

Even better was the defense by Rep. Steve King (an Iowa Dub):

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), a leading conservative in the House, said in an interview Monday that he stood by Scalise and believed that many conservatives in the House’s hard-right bloc would do the same.
“Jesus dined with tax collectors and sinners,” King said.
So tax collectors are the moral equivalent of racist agitators? Got it.

Scalise's own defense was even lamer, hard as that is to believe:

In a statement, Scalise’s spokeswoman, Moira Bagley Smith, emphasized that the then-state lawmaker was unaware at the time of the group’s ideology and mission. “He has never been affiliated with the abhorrent group in question,” Smith said. “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.”

The idea that a Catholic would not be a racist is beyond funny, especially in Louisiana.

Also, if you are a guest speaker for a group, you are affiliated with it, even if you don't carry the card. Remember "fellow travelers," "pinkos" and guilt by association? I sure do, and it was rightwingers who used such tactics to ruin the lives of ordinary Americans by the thousands.

UPDATE Little Green Footballs rounds up much more about Scalise's longstanding racism and connections to David Duke. Keep scrolling.

 

11 comments:

  1. Is Rep. Steve Scalise a racist? Let's rephrase that. Is there any evidence he is not a racist?

    Obama was a congregant at the racist Rev Wright's church for 22 years. Obama has had racist hoaxer, serial race baiter and tax dodger Rev Sharpton to the White House at least 60 times.

    And you have the nerve to call Scalise a racist based upon one appearance?

    The hypocrisy is strong in you.


    Evidence that he is a racist: In 2002 he spoke to EURO, the rebranded Klan in Louisiana.

    What did he say?

    ReplyDelete
  2. That he shared David Duke's values, probably. That was a theme of his around that time.

    But why do you ask? For sure, he didn't say what he now says he thinks of people like that.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That he shared David Duke's values, probably. That was a theme of his around that time.

    Prove it.

    But why do you ask? For sure, he didn't say what he now says he thinks of people like that.

    Prove it.

    What doesn't need proving is that Obama spent decades listening to avowed racist Rev Wright.

    Which means that what else doesn't need proving is the pervading stench of hypocrisy here.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Read the damn posts. When I post links you deny they say what they do say. Why should I bother?

    ReplyDelete
  5. When I post links you deny they say what they do say.

    First, get your fact straight.

    You posted one links. Not two links, one links.

    In the one links you did post, there wasn't a single damn thing about what Scalise has ever said with regard to race.

    Not. One. Damn. Thing.

    I'm insisting your posts say exactly what they say: nothing.

    As evidenced by your continuing inability to provide anything remotely approximating substantiation.

    Just like Dok Zoom.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Actually, the Post link takes you to other stories and other links. Just keep clicking. Or read newspapers

    ReplyDelete
  7. Bollocks.

    I read the damn posts. Your link goes nowhere that provides even a shred of evidence about Scalise and race. Nada. Nil. Zilch. Squanto. Zippo.

    Which is why you, once again, prevaricate.

    I have to admit, though, it's a good mix with hypocrisy.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I owe you an apology. RtO displays links on my browse as a shade of gray not much less black than the surrounding text. So perhaps that accounts for me missing the LGF link. Or, perhaps the update in original post occurred after I read it the first time.

    In any event, I read the LGF link, and followed a link there to some definitive evidence of Scalise's virulent racism:

    "David Duke is an embarrassment to our district and his message of hate only serves to divide us," Scalise told the newspaper [in 2004].

    ReplyDelete