OH NO!

Ladies and gentleman of the USA, this is what your Republican Majority Whip in the House of Representatives, Steve Scalise, was up to in 2002. Louisiana blogger Lamar White broke the story.

According to recently uncovered posts on Stormfront, the Internet’s oldest and most notorious white nationalist and neo-Nazi forum, the United States House Majority Whip, Steve Scalise (R- Louisiana), was allegedly an honored guest and speaker at an international conference of white supremacist leaders.

From the Washington Post:

In a statement, Scalise’s spokesperson Moira Bagley emphasized that the then-state lawmaker was unaware at the time of the group’s ideology and its association with racists and neo-Nazi activists.
....

She added, “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.”

I'd say giving a speech to a group is an association.  Also, I'm beyond weary of public figures hiding behind their devout religious practices when they are confronted with their own mistakes and misjudgments.

And it's not just Democrats who are questioning Scalise's story.  Here's Streiff at Red State:

Did he know who he was talking to? 

Louisiana isn’t a big state. State legislative districts aren’t particularly large. In Mr. Scalise’s case, when he spoke to this group he’d been serving in the Louisiana legislature since 1996. David Duke and his operation were not obscure. In 1991, Duke won the GOP gubernatorial nomination and faced known felon Edwin Edwards in the general election. This resulted in former governor Buddy Roemer who had campaigned, unsuccessfully, on the slogan “Anyone but Edwards” deciding that “Anyone” did not extend to a former KKK Grand Dragon.

For Mr. Scalise to creditably claim he was unaware of the nature of the group we all have to be idiots.

Exactly, it beggars belief that Scalise did not know he was speaking at an event sponsored by David Duke's organization.