Scalise insulted by accusations

Majority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) said Monday he finds the insinuation that he agrees with the tenets of a white supremacist group he spoke in front of in 2002 to be “insulting and ludicrous” in an interview with The Times-Picayune on Monday.

“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,” he said.

{mosads}He did not deny that he spoke to the white nationalist group, and said he had made many speeches during that time period to promote his opposition to a tax plan as a state representative.

“I was opposed to a lot of spending at the state level,” he said. “When people asked my to go speak, I went and spoke to any group that called.”

Scalise allegedly spoke before a group created by former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. Some lawmakers — including one Democrat — have defended Scalise’s character in response to the news, but its still an unwelcome story for Republicans who are preparing to advance their legislative agenda using their majorities in both houses.