Steve Scalise is the new House Majority Whip, making him the third most powerful man in the House.  He’s from Louisiana and he’s a doozy.

Twelve years before he was elected by his colleagues as House Majority Whip, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) spoke at a conference hosted by white supremacist group European-American Unity and Rights Organization.

It was a group founded by David Duke and Duke spoke at the conference, too.

Scalise now says that he would speak to “any group” back then to gain support for this elimination of a “slush fund.”   The slush fund he was so upset about was HUD funds, which he called, “an apparent give-away to a selective group based on race.”

Yeah.  Housing and Urban Development funds.

Scalise’s office issued a statement —

“He has never been affiliated with the abhorrent group in question. 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.”

However, he did not leave the conference after hearing other racist speakers nor did the materials shown offend him back then.

And then there’s this little thingy.

Two years after speaking at the conference, Scalise was one of just six state representatives who voted to oppose making Martin Luther King Day a state holiday.

I dunno, but if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck …

Thanks to everybody for the heads up.