Republican decries GOP double standard

Former Mississippi Senate candidate Chris McDaniel (R) on Tuesday accused Republican leaders of enforcing a double standard in their response to the revelation that House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) spoke to a white supremacist group in 2002.

{mosads}McDaniel nearly took out Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) in the this year’s GOP Senate primary. He was the target of attacks from the National Republican Senatorial Committee and some in the state GOP who said he should withdraw from the race because he had booked a speaking engagement at a conservative rally alongside a white nationalist. McDaniel ultimately withdrew from the rally.

On Tuesday, McDaniel told CNN that Republicans are backing Scalise because he’s in a position of power and that the party tried to dump him for a lesser sin because he posed a threat to the establishment.

“Of course there is a double standard for the GOP establishment,” he said.

McDaniel accused former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) of having “a long history of despicable comments, some of them overtly racist,” but said Barbour “receives a free pass from establishment politicians because of his perceived influence.”

“And yet, all the while, others are forever tarnished for less serious deeds,” McDaniel said.

“The establishment wings of both parties are more hypocritical than fair, seeking to crush anyone, friend and foe alike, who would threaten their hold on power,” he added.

Scalise on Tuesday said he regrets addressing the white supremacist group as a state legislator in 2002. He said he “wholeheartedly” condemns what the group stands for and that he didn’t realize its affiliation at the time.

The Louisiana Republican is now fighting to keep his job as the third-ranking Republican in the House. He’s received statements of support from Republicans from Louisiana to Washington.

“Like many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I know Steve to be a man of high integrity and good character,” Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said in a statement Tuesday.

“He has my full confidence as our Whip, and he will continue to do great and important work for all Americans.”

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) also supported Scalise in a statement, as have Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) and the state’s GOP.