Politics

Scalise Gets Backing of GOP in Supremacist Flap

Published

11 years ago

January 5, 2015

FILE - In this Nov. 18, 2014 file photo, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of La., right, with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif., left, and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, following a House GOP caucus meeting. Scalise acknowledged that he once addressed a gathering of white supremacists. Scalise served in the Louisiana Legislature when he appeared at a 2002 convention of the European-American Unity and Rights Organization. Now he is the third-highest ranked House Republican in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

In this Nov. 18, 2014 file photo, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of La., right, with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif., left, and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, following a House GOP caucus meeting. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Erica Werner, ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican lawmakers are closing ranks behind the No. 3 House GOP leader, Steve Scalise, as the party aims to move past the controversy over his speech 12 years ago to a white supremacist group.

Scalise has said the speech was a mistake he now regrets, and party leaders, including House Speaker John Boehner, have backed him.

Several incoming rank-and-file lawmakers added their support Sunday, including Utah’s Mia Love, the first black female Republican elected to the House.

Love told ABC’s “This Week” that Scalise has the support of his colleagues.

“I believe he should remain in leadership,” Love said. “There’s one quality that he has that I think is very important in leadership, and that’s humility. And he’s actually shown that in this case. And he’s apologized, and I think that we need to move on and get the work of the American people done.”

The issue arose last week when a liberal Louisiana blogger uncovered Scalise’s speech to a 2002 Louisiana convention of the European-American Unity and Rights Organization, which called itself EURO. Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke founded the group, which the Southern Poverty Law Center has classified as a hate group.

Scalise moved quickly to distance himself from the group, saying he opposes its views and that as a state legislator at the time, he didn’t have much staffing and didn’t always know details of the groups he was invited to address. Party leaders backed him, and he picked up key support from Rep. Cedric Richmond, a black Louisiana Democrat.

Scalise’s position in leadership now appears secure, and party leaders don’t anticipate the issue becoming a major distraction as they convene the new fully Republican-controlled Congress on Tuesday.

Along with Love, incoming GOP freshmen Martha McSally of Arizona, Lee Zeldin of New York and Barbara Comstock of Virginia all indicated their support Sunday for Scalise, as did Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo.

Comstock said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that colleagues view Scalise as “a man of good heart and good character.”

Barrasso said that speaking to the group was a “grave mistake,” but he cited Richmond’s backing for Scalise and said the matter was not an issue for his constituents.

“This has not come up as a discussion point in Wyoming,” Barrasso said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Oakland Post: Week of January 21 – 27, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of January 21 – 27, 2026

Published

3 days ago

January 27, 2026

Oakland Post

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OP-ED: AB 1349 Puts Corporate Power Over Community

Since Ticketmaster and Live Nation merged in 2010, ticket prices have jumped more than 150 percent. Activities that once fit a family’s budget now take significant disposable income that most working families simply don’t have. The problem is compounded by a system that has tilted access toward the wealthy and white-collar workers. If you have a fancy credit card, you get “presale access,” and if you work in an office instead of a warehouse, you might be able to wait in an online queue to buy a ticket. Access now means privilege.

Published

3 weeks ago

January 9, 2026

Oakland Post

Bishop Joseph Simmons, Senior Pastor, Greater St. Paul Baptist Church, Oakland

By Bishop Joseph Simmons, Senior Pastor, Greater St. Paul Baptist Church, Oakland

As a pastor, I believe in the power that a sense of community can have on improving people’s lives. Live events are one of the few places where people from different backgrounds and ages can share the same space and experience – where construction workers sit next to lawyers at a concert, and teenagers enjoy a basketball game with their grandparents. Yet, over the past decade, I’ve witnessed these experiences – the concerts, games, and cultural events where we gather – become increasingly unaffordable, and it is a shame.

These moments of connection matter as they form part of the fabric that holds communities together. But that fabric is fraying because of Ticketmaster/Live Nation’s unchecked control over access to live events. Unfortunately, AB 1349 would only further entrench their corporate power over our spaces.

Power over live events is concentrated in a single corporate entity, and this regime operates without transparency or accountability – much like a dictator. Ticketmaster controls 80 percent of first-sale tickets and nearly a third of resale tickets, but they still want more. More power, more control for Ticketmaster means higher prices and less access for consumers. It’s the agenda they are pushing nationally, with the help of former Trump political operatives, who are quietly trying to undo the antitrust lawsuit launched against Ticketmaster/Live Nation under President Biden’s DOJ.

That’s why I’m deeply concerned about AB 1349 in its current form. Rather than reining in Ticketmaster’s power, the bill risks strengthening it, aligning with Trump. AB 1349 gives Ticketmaster the ability to control a consumer’s ticket forever by granting Ticketmaster’s regime new powers in state law to prevent consumers from reselling or giving away their tickets. It also creates new pathways for Ticketmaster to discriminate and retaliate against consumers who choose to shop around for the best service and fees on resale platforms that aren’t yet controlled by Ticketmaster. These provisions are anti-consumer and anti-democratic.

California has an opportunity to stand with consumers, to demand transparency, and to restore genuine competition in this industry. But that requires legislation developed with input from the community and faith leaders, not proposals backed by the very company causing the harm.

Will our laws reflect fairness, inclusion, and accountability? Or will we let corporate interests tighten their grip on spaces that should belong to everyone? I, for one, support the former and encourage the California Legislature to reject AB 1349 outright or amend it to remove any provisions that expand Ticketmaster’s control. I also urge community members to contact their representatives and advocate for accessible, inclusive live events for all Californians. Let’s work together to ensure these gathering spaces remain open and welcoming to everyone, regardless of income or background.