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Democrats are taking a strikingly cautious approach to the controversy surrounding House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) and his speech to a white supremacist group in 2002.

The vast majority ofDemocrats are not calling for Scalise to resign, or for leadership to drop him. But they are tying Scalise to other Republicans and arguing the issue is emblematic of a party Democrats argue is at odds with minority groups on a range of policies.

Democrats dont want to get too far in front of the story, particularly since it is unclear whether Scalises 2002 address to the European-American Unity and Rights Organization is an isolated incident.

Its also possible that Democrats are quite happy to see Scalise continue to be a part of the GOP leadership, since it will allow them to return to the story about his address to a group founded by David Duke repeatedly between now and Election Day 2016, when Democrats hope a broader electorate will help them win the White House and take back House and Senate seats.Only Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (N.Y.) has called for his resignation as majority whip.

They probably believe that hes more useful to them if he remains a leader in the Republican Party, said Bob Mann, a professor at Louisiana State University and a former Democratic aide.

If he resigns, problem solved, the Republicans have banished this embarrassing person from their midst, and the Democrats cant use him as a symbol for intolerance.

The statement from Pelosis office framed Scalises address as symptomatic of a larger GOP problem.

Actions speak louder than whatever Steve Scalise said to that group in 2002, Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said.

Just this year, House Republicans have refused to restore the Voting Rights Act or pass comprehensive immigration reform, and leading Republican members are now actively supporting in the federal courts efforts by another known extremist group, the American Center for Law and Justice, which is seeking to overturn the presidents immigration executive actions.

Peter Fenn, a Democratic strategist and contributor at The Hill, said that it would be pretty Machiavellian for Democrats to want to keep Scalise in leadership for personal gain. He believes that Pelosi and other Democrats are holding back in fear of jumping the gun before all the facts come out.

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Democrats take cautious approach with GOP, Scalise