Never mind that much of the essay published at Conservative HQ, the web site of veteran conservative movement leader Richard Viguerie, does not pass the laugh test regarding the record of Republicans generally and conservatives in particular in opposing racism in America.
It is nevertheless interesting that Viguerie is using the clear relationship between Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) and the David Duke wing the of the Republican Party against Speaker Boehner. Viguerie thinks Scalise should resign from the #3 post in the House and that conservatives should replace Speaker of the House John Boehner with Trey Gowdy (R-SC) He joined radio personalities Sean Hannity and Mark Levin in calling on House Republicans to make it so. If he is not elected Speaker, Gowdy will pick up where Rep. Darrell Issa left off when he was term limited off of the chairmanship of the House government oversight committee.
We are not inclined to engage in guilt by association, and this isn’t what we’re doing here – despite the objections of Scalise’s supporters, including Speaker of the House John Boehner and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, that criticism of him is unfair.
Our criticism of Scalise is that he is either too dumb to be the third ranking leader of the House Republican Conference, or he is just plain lying about his association with David Duke’s racist political organization in Louisiana – and we are leaning toward the latter as more and more information comes out about his relationship with Duke’s longtime political adviser, Kenny Knight, who was his next door neighbor and whom Duke himself says was “friendly” with Scalise.
But leave it to establishment Republicans like John Boehner and Kevin McCarthy to repudiate the wisdom of [William F.] Buckley and the other founders of modern conservatism and to defend an apparent Klan-lover like Steve Scalise and try to force their humiliated Republican colleagues to keep him in the third ranking leadership position in the House Republican Conference.