Cheap shot: Steve Scalise

#SteveScaliseExcuses What? I thought they said White Suprematist. I kept asking everybody, "But where's the gallery?" pic.twitter.com/KrtOTf3MBB
— YULEstreblyansky (@Yastreblyansky) December 30, 2014

Image: Suprematist Non-Objective Poetry FS1987CT03, Cecil Touchon, 12x9 inches, collage on paper (1987).

From the Washington Post:

Later in the interview, Scalise blamed his staff for booking him to speak and engaging with Duke’s organization.  “I didn't have a scheduler back then. I was without the advantages of a tool like Google. It's nice to have those,” he said. “Those tools weren't available back then."

Sadly, no. By 2002, when Scalise (then a member of the Louisiana State House of Representatives) gave his talk to the Euro-American Unity and Rights Organization without noticing that there was anything peculiar about their name or their leader, David Duke, former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and a figure pretty well known in Lousiana politics at the time, Google had been the most prominent of the major Internet search engines for a couple of years already.

Oh, and turns out (via Roll Call via TPM) Scalise knew all about Duke, and had a higher opinion of him than Diaper Dave did. As in, "I'm the electable David Duke." From a 1999 interview:

“I honestly think his 15 minutes of fame have come and gone,” said state Rep. David Vitter (R), a wealthy Metairie attorney who holds Duke’s old seat in the state House and is “seriously considering” a Congressional bid. “When he’s competed in a field with real conservatives, real Republicans, Duke has not done well at all.”

Another potential candidate, state Rep. Steve Scalise (R), said he embraces many of the same “conservative” views as Duke, but is far more viable.

“The novelty of David Duke has worn off,” said Scalise. “The voters in this district are smart enough to realize that they need to get behind someone who not only believes in the issues they care about, but also can get elected. Duke has proven that he can’t get elected, and that’s the first and most important thing.”

Cross-posted at The Rectification of Names.