As the former Deputy Chairman of the Republican Party of Minnesota, I am very aware of a narrative that haunts Republicans more than many would like to admit. Traveling across Minnesota, I heard numerous times how Republicans were viewed as the party for whites, with many expressing their opinion how the party had no broad appeal to minority groups.
It was a frustrating message to hear and while I knew the talking points to push back, I understood the racial composition of Republican activists in Minnesota. It was clear then that the party was struggling to win the support of minority groups, both locally and nationally.
For Republicans, outreach to minority groups is continually an uphill battle. Earlier this week it was reported Republicans were attempting another effort to build a bigger political tent that could have a long-term appeal to minorities. But a day later, the reason Republicans have a substantive image problem with minority groups became so clear.
Steve Scalise, the Majority Whip and the No. 3 Republican in the House of Representatives, admitted he addressed a gathering of white supremacists in 2002 when he was serving in the Louisiana Legislature.
Yesterday, Scalise said his appearance at the 2002 Louisiana convention of the European-American Unity and Rights Organization (called EURO) was "a mistake..." adding the he did not support "the divisive racial and religious views groups like these hold." EURO was founded by former Ku Klux Klan leader and Republican legislator David Duke.
Despite acknowledging he spoke at a meeting of white supremacists, Scalise has given no indication that he will step away from his prominent position with House Republicans. Scalise's decision to stay in his leadership role, with the backing of Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives John Boehner, is almost as foolish as Scalise trying to claim he did not know he was speaking to a white supremacist organization.
If the general manager of the Iowa Cubs, a AAA minor league baseball team, has the common sense to move his team from staying at the same hotel in Louisiana where EURO's convention was being held, we should expect the same good judgment from Scalise.
But unfortunately for Republicans, it appears the general manager of a minor league baseball team had a better understanding of race relations than a top Republican leader in Congress did. If Republicans continue to stand with Scalise, they should no longer be confused as to why the party is continually being rejected overwhelming by minority groups at the polls.