Steve Scalise falls prey to the scandal politics he once practiced

Long before he admitted on Monday to accidentally speaking before a 2002 conference organized by white supremacists, the Louisiana Congressman was playing offense and winning. His target was Van Jones, a former Obama Administration official who had worked on clean energy initiatives. “The last green jobs czar we had left in disgrace because he expressed comments embracing communism and actually tried to blame the government, the American government, for September 11th attacks,” Scalise said in 2011.

The facts surrounding Jones’ views on the Sept. 11 attacks were far less cut and dry. Jones’ name had been added to a 2004 online petition that suggested President George W. Bush “may indeed have deliberately allowed 9/11 to happen, perhaps as a pretext for war.” When the petition surfaced, Jones said the document “does not reflect my views now or ever.” He said his name had been added by mistake, and he had never read the document. But as the game is played, Jones lost the round. He was tagged as the Obama Administration official who had signed a truther petition, and resigned his job.