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Scalise's vote against MLK Day gains new relevance
The totality of an official's record always matters. This week, for example, it would be easier for House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) to overcome the controversy surrounding his appearance at a white-supremacist event in 2002 if he had an otherwise sterling record on issues related to civil rights.
That's not quite the case. Andrew Prokop noted last night:
...Scalise does not have a record of friendliness to African-American causes. When the Louisiana House voted on making Martin Luther King Day a holiday in 2004, 90 members were in favor and Scalise was one of the six against.
Note, as a Republican state lawmaker, Scalise clearly knew the King holiday was going to be approved, but he made a point of voting against it anyway.
To be sure, there are other notable Republicans who rose to national prominence after voting against a day honoring MLK. Former Vice President Dick Cheney (R), for example, voted against the King holiday as a member of Congress in 1978. Five years later, Cheney changed his mind.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) also voted against it in 1983, though in 1999, he said on "Meet the Press," "We all learn, OK? We all learn. I will admit to learning, and I hope that the people that I represent appreciate that, too. I voted in 1983 against the recognition of Martin Luther King.... I regret that vote."
Scalise, however, voted against the holiday in 2004.
Does this add an unfortunate wrinkle to the Louisiana Republican's defense? It's not unreasonable to think it does.
The need for clarity in a Speaker's standards
It's not at all common for members of Congress to resign before the end of their term, but it does happen. Sometimes a lawmaker is forced to step down for health reasons; occasionally a member will quit to take a new job elsewhere; and then there are those members who resign due to a scandal.
And to his credit, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has been pretty tough on members caught up in sordid controversies. What's needed, however, is some clarity in the Speaker's standards.
In May 2010, Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.) confessed to an affair with a staffer. Boehner said he had to go, and almost immediately, the conservative congressman was gone.
In February 2011, Rep. Chris Lee (R-N.Y.) was caught trying to meet women through the personals section of Craigslist. Boehner showed Lee the door, and about a day later, he resigned.
In April 2014, Rep. Vance McAllister (R-La.) was filmed kissing a staffer who was not his wife. Boehner didn't get involved too directly, but he was on board when then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) called for McAllister's resignation.
In December 2014, Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) pleaded guilty to a felony tax evasion, but he insisted he would remain in office. A week later, Grimm met with Boehner, and within a few hours, the New York Republican announced he would step down.
All of which brings us to House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.).
Scalise scrambles following revelations on racist event
At this point, there's no real doubt that House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), the #3 Republican leader in the U.S. House, spoke to a white supremacist group in 2002, during his tenure in the state legislature. Scalise has said he has no records from that period, and there doesn't appear to be any recording of the gathering, but the GOP lawmaker and his staff have acknowledged the appearance.
The discussion therefore shifts to related questions: What was Scalise thinking? What will this do to his career? Will the far-right Louisianan retain his leadership post?
The Republican congressman spoke to the Times-Picayune, his hometown paper, late yesterday, apparently hoping to address the burgeoning controversy before it spins out of control. Scalise told the New Orleans newspaper:
"I didn't know who all of these groups were and I detest any kind of hate group. For anyone to suggest that I was involved with a group like that is insulting and ludicrous."
According to the congressman's explanation, the racist group extended an invitation to Scalise at the time and he accepted, not because he liked white nationalists, but because "when people called and asked me to speak to groups, I went and spoke to groups."
Scalise has not apologized for speaking to the racist organization, though he did tell the Times-Picayune, "If I knew today what they were about, I wouldn't go."
And why didn't he "know what they were about"? Scalise added, "I was without the advantages of a tool like Google."
For the record, Google was founded in 1998 and widely used by millions of people in 2002. The Louisiana Republican could have searched for "European-American Unity and Rights Organization," but for whatever reason, he chose not to at the time. Scalise also could have gone directly to the group's website in 2002 -- it was listed at WhiteCivilRights.com.
It's also unclear exactly how his appearance unfolded. It's not as if Scalise showed up, noticed he was surrounded by white supremacists, realized he'd accepted an invitation from a group led by a neo-Nazi, and then promptly walked out.
Erick Erickson, a prominent figure in Republican media, put it this way: "How do you show up at a David Duke event and not know what it is?"
Michael Grimm reverses course, will resign from Congress
Rep. Michael Grimm's (R-N.Y.) first major reversal came last week. After months in which the Republican congressman vowed to fight his 20-count criminal indictment, insisting throughout that he was the victim of a "political witch hunt," Grimm changed his posture a week ago, pleading guilty to one felony count of tax fraud.
Asked whether he would resign, the New York lawmaker said last week, "Absolutely not." Grimm argued that since his crime "happened before" he was elected to Congress, he didn't see the need to step down.
Embattled New York Rep. Michael Grimm will resign his seat in Congress following his guilty plea for felony tax evasion, a House leadership aide confirmed to NBC News on Monday. [...]In a statement late Monday night, Grimm said, "The events which led to this day did not break my spirit, nor the will of the voters. However, I do not believe that I can continue to be 100 percent effective in the next Congress."
The details of the upcoming process have not yet been announced, but there will have to be a special election in Grimm's competitive New York district. Look for both parties to take the race seriously.
The lawmaker's shift came on the heels of Grimm's speaking with House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) yesterday. We don't know exactly what was said, but it seems safe to assume the GOP leader told the New Yorker he would have no party support if he remained in Congress as a convicted felon.
As for Grimm himself, the Republican congressman departs Capitol Hill after just four years on the job, but there's no denying just how eventful his brief tenure has been. Let's take a brief stroll down memory lane.
Debris found in search for missing plane, and other headlines
AirAsia search: Bodies, debris recovered, "95 percent sure" from the missing plane. (NBC News)
Rep. Scalise answers questions back home about 2002 speech at racists' event (New Orleans Times‐Picayune)
New documents shed light on why FBI probe of former Nevada Sen. John Ensign (New York Times)
Autopsy report in Ezell Ford case prompts new protests of policing in Los Angeles (Los Angeles Times)
And let that be a lesson to you: Buzzed birds slur their songs (Los Angeles Times)
Crazy headline: 'Delaware-size gas plume over West illustrates the cost of leaking methane' (Washington Post) read more
Citations for the December 29, 2014 TRMS
Monday night's guests:
- Sri Jegarajah, CNBC Asia correspondent
- Greg Feith, former senior air safety investigator with the NTSB
- Frank Thorp, NBC News Capitol Hill Producer
- Eric Adams, former NYPD captain, Brooklyn Borough President
Links to tonight's citations after the jump:








