What a shame it is about Steve Scalise

Imagine if he hadn't had quite so many friends in the white supremacy business and you might could see how he'd have a shot at becoming Speaker of the House.

On the other hand, without those friends, it's hard to imagine his career happening at all. Funny how that works.  Or not funny, really.  One point we (meaning I, Lamar, and others) tried to make when this story first broke was that it's remarkable how far the local political and media power structure  will allow a person with ties to hate groups to rise until the pressure from outside finally spurs them to become more critical.

And pressure from outside doesn't necessarily have to stem from the purest of motives.  Scalise was golden right up until the point where he became a possible rival to Republican party leadership. Then, suddenly, this stuff mattered.