The Louisiana lawmaker has been under fire after it came out that he had spoken in 2002 to a gathering of the European-American Unity and Rights Organization (EURO), a white supremacist group affiliated with Duke.
Scalise, who was a state representative at the time, said he talked to the group about “civil rights activism” but did not know of the group’s roots. His office said he has spoken to “hundreds of different groups with a broad range of viewpoints.” Scalise himself said, “I didn't know who all of these groups were, and I detest any kind of hate group…I’ve never been affiliated with the abhorrent group in question.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center categorizes EURO as “a hate group” and calls Scalise’s denials “almost impossible to believe,” adding, “He was a state representative and an aspiring national politician at the time, and EURO already was well known as a hate group led by America’s most famous white supremacist.”
Coincidentally, Scalise is among just a handful of legislators who voted against making Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a state holiday in Louisiana, giving it the thumbs down twice. In 1994 he was one of only three “no” votes, and in 2004 one of only six.
Duke said he has friends on both sides of the political aisle and he’s ready to name names if the criticism of Scalise doesn’t stop.
“Why is Scalise being singled out? I don’t know,” Duke said. “He was just going there, obviously, to tell voters about some of his initiatives on some tax matters. That’s what it’s all about. And I think it’s insane, this whole process (of criticizing him)."
"If Scalise is going to be crucified — if Republicans want to throw Steve Scalise to the woods, then a lot of them better be looking over their shoulders,” Duke said in an interview with the news website Fusion.
Duke said he met with Scalise several times over the years, calling him “a decent guy.”
