Keith Ellison: Trump has already done things that rise to the level of impeachment

During last night's CNN Democratic National Committee Chair debate Keith Ellison made a provocative comment in which he stated hat he believed Trump had already committed impeachable offenses. Listen to that comment below:

Keith Ellison: Why I want to be DNC Chair

Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison, a nominee for DNC Chair sent out an email explaining why he wants to be DNC Chair. Read that email below.

People have asked me why I want to be DNC Chair and spend my days warring with the Trump administration.

The answer is simple. I want to do it for every mom out there who can’t get paid time off to take care of a sick child.

For every dad looking at his bills, worried that if the ACA is repealed, his family won’t be able to pay for health insurance.

For every high school kid who dreams of going to college, and his parents who stay up nights trying to figure out how to pay for it.

For every worker with two or three minimum wage jobs who still can’t make ends meet.

For every immigrant worried about being torn from their family and forced back to a country where they are oppressed and in danger.

For every American who makes something, teaches something, takes care of someone else, works full-time and still lives paycheck-to-paycheck.

These are the people the Trump administration ignores. These are the people that the Democratic Party stands for. And these are the people that I want to fight for every single day as Chair of the Democratic National Committee.

The election is happening one week from this Saturday, and as we roll down the home stretch we want to make a statement about our grassroots support.

I want to unite the Democratic Party, set forth a platform that proves to hard-working Americans of all backgrounds that we have their back, and stop the Trump administration from destroying the America we love.

I need you with me.

Thank you.

Keith

Authorized and Paid for by Ellison for Congress

Ellison for Congress
P.O. Box 6072
Minneapolis, MN 55406 

Nation of Islam not happy with Keith Ellison

In a move they may actually help Keith Ellison in his bid to become DNC chair, the Nation of Islam has written an editorial that condemns Ellison for what the organization claims is his smearing of Minister Louis Farrakhan. Read that editorial below.

Minnesota congressman Keith Ellison is seeking to lead the Democratic National Committee as the party seeks someone to bring Democrats into the political Promised Land. There is nothing wrong with Rep. Ellison’s desire to move his party forward or his desire to help make America progress.

But he must be condemned and lambasted for trying to make his political bones by smearing the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. The Minnesota congressman has been attacked for a connection with the Nation of Islam years ago, while in college and for support of the Million Man March.

The Anti-Defamation League and others have branded Rep. Ellison as unfit for office, saying he is tainted by the anti-Semitism of Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam. Given that neither the Minister nor the Nation are anti-Semitic, a man with principles and courage would have stood up on the truth, the track record and the history of the Minister and his followers. Over the past 40 years, the Nation and the Minister have not harmed nor prohibited any Jewish person from exercising their rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It was not Muslims who chanted in the 1980s, “Who do you want? Farrakhan! How do you want him? Dead!” as the Jewish Defense Organization did. It was not the Nation of Islam nor the Minister who were involved in a 1990s alleged death plot featuring Jewish federal stooge Michael Fitzpatrick. Mr. Fitzpatrick seized on the pain and vulnerability of Quibilah Shabazz, a daughter of Malcolm X, and federal authorities charged her with planning the murder of the Minister. It was the Minister whose blast of truth shook the feds as he declared the FBI has never been his friend. The Minister declared he wanted nothing to happen to Malcolm X widow Dr. Betty Shabazz, or her daughters and pulled the covers off of an old enemy, while seeking reconciliation. His stand was so incredible the feds essentially dropped the charges against Qubilah Shabazz and a rapprochement between the Nation and Dr. Shabazz started. She was featured as one of the speakers of the 1995 Million Man March. The prosecutors in this fiasco, by the way, were located in Rep. Ellison’s home state of Minnesota.

Mr. Ellison, who was captured in at least one photo distributing The Final Call while in college, condemned the Minister as he sought his new place. But his cowardly and baseless repudiation is nothing new. While running for Congress a decade ago, his “I’m not with Farrakhan and he’s a hater” narrative started.

But let’s go back and examine words published in the Nov. 6, 1995 edition of Insight News, a Black weekly in Minneapolis: “Third, Minister Farrakhan is a role model for Black youth; however he is not an anti-Semite. He is a sincere, tireless and uncompromising advocate of the Black community and other oppressed peoples in America and around the world. Despite some of the most relentless negative propaganda anyone has ever faced, most Black people regard him as a role model for youth and increasingly, a central voice for our collective aspirations.

“I am sensitive to members of the Jewish community who have been lead to believe that Minister Farrakhan is anti-Jewish. I believe they should do two things: engage in a dialogue with Black people who support Minister Farrakhan (which includes Cornel West, Jesse Jackson, Ben Chavis, Dorothy Height and many others) and urge their leadership to engage in the dialogue proposed at the Million Man March.

“The White community, however, must come to the realization that there are too many Black people who have been cleaned-up, taught and uplifted by Minister Farrakhan for us to let anyone gratuitously insult him anymore.”

That’s pretty powerful language and a powerful argument penned by one Keith X Ellison. Yes. That’s the same Rep. Keith Ellison who represents the Fifth Congressional District in Minnesota and seeks to chair the Democratic National Committee. He was also once known as Keith Ellison-Muhammad.

If Mr. Ellison once believed those things about the Minister and changed his mind, that’s his business. We will leave Allah (God) to judge and handle the hypocrites. But what cannot be tolerated are the lies, the slander and false narrative against Min. Farrakhan. These lies cannot be proven, nor can these false charges be sustained. The Minister has been a strong voice for Black self-determination, a warrior against Jewish paternalism and control of Black people and a sledge hammer against the wall of White supremacy and neo-colonialism. None of that work would make him the favorite of a system or wicked people whose demonic rule he is working to destroy.

But Mr. Ellison knows better. Years ago sitting in my Chicago office here at The Final Call, when I was managing editor, there was no question about Min. Farrakhan and who he was. There was no question when Mr. Ellison, aka Keith X Ellison, aka Keith Ellison-Muhammad, came to Chicago for an urban peace summit in October 1993 that featured Min. Farrakhan, or a vital summit in Kansas City that included Min. Farrakhan as the major speaker and one who helped legitimize the anti-violence movement in April 1993.

The problem comes from a simple place: “All of you that want national and state prominence: Sometimes I am the ‘litmus test’ to see if White folk can do anything good for you. And some of you are so weak and so cowardly, that your desires mean more than the integrity of your being. But every time I forgave my brothers, and kept moving forward,” observed Min. Farrakhan in a message delivered Oct. 30.

The Minister’s forgiveness and willingness to suffer insults apparently has led some to think that there is no end to his patience and smearing him is acceptable— just come back and apologize in the dark later. No. This man’s life’s work, his status as a vibrant elder and indispensable leader in our community cannot and must not allow that. Mr. Ellison and those who would misuse the Minister’s name for their personal advancement must be confronted and their hypocrisy and cowardice must be condemned. How can Rep. Ellison speak of justice for the poor, a just U.S. foreign policy, social change that improves the lives of people and respect for all and denigrate a man who has worked to achieve those goals for longer than the congressman has been alive?

Shame on you Mr. Ellison for your pandering and shame on us if we don’t call you out for it.

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Ellison leaves open possibility he'd leave Congress for DNC post

Rep. Keith Ellison left open the possibility Friday night that he will leave Congress, and his seat representing Minneapolis, to take the top job at the Democratic National Committee.

Speaking at a forum in Denver to state Democratic Party chairs from across the country, Ellison said the DNC job is more important than his congressional seat, though he continued to insist that he could do both jobs simultaneously.

“Though I love being in Congress because it allows me to serve my neighbors, I do think that it is more important to build, strengthen the DNC,” Ellison said. He added that he is continuing to have conversations with DNC voting members and will decide what to do soon.

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Rep. Keith Ellison On Why He Deserves To Be DNC Chairman

Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison, who is running for DNC chair went on NPR's Morning Edition to discuss why he should be the chair and what he hopes to do if elected chair. Ellison also addresses the issues with comments he made about the Nation of Islam and Louis Farrakhan. Check out his interview with Morning Edition host David Greene below.

Keith Ellison formally announces his bid for DNC Chair

Congressman Keith Ellison (Minn) has formally announced his bid to run for chair of the Democratic National Committee. He already has the endorsements of U.S Senators like Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Chuck Schumer, and other members of congress John Conyers, and Bonnie Watson Coleman. Read his statement below and learn more about Ellison's campaign for the DNC chair here: https://keithfordnc.org/:

Democrats win when we harness the power of everyday people and fight for the issues they care about. It is not enough for Democrats to ask for voter's support every two years. We must be with them through every lost paycheck, every tuition hike, and every time they are a victim of a hate crime. When voters know what Democrats stand for, we can improve the lives of all Americans, not matter what race, religion, or sexual orientation.

To do that, we must begin the rebuilding process now.

This election cycle, we did not motivate enough people to the ballot box. we must champion the challenges of working families and give voters a reason to show up at the polls in 2018 and beyond. We must build a bench not just for federal candidates, but for state and local candidates across the nation.

We also need a robust party organization in every state that prioritizes voter relationships over everything else. we must invest in and empower our state and local parties by creating effective field operations, an enhanced and advanced voter file, and a culture of collaboration between candidates at every level. Let's put voters first.

I am proud to announce my candidacy for Chair of the Democratic National Committee, and if given the opportunity to serve, I will work tirelessly to make the Democratic Party an organization that brings us together and advances an agenda that improves people's lives.

Congressman Keith Ellison Considering Running For DNC Chair

Well, the post-election intrigue has started in the Democratic Party after a devastating election day in which Republicans took the presidency and held on to both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. After the horrible handling of the debates and the email leaks under Debbie Wasserman Shultz and the sad revelations about Donna Brazile leaking debate questions to Hillary Clinton, several Democrats are discussing vying to become chairman of the Democratic National Committee. One of those people is Minnesota Congressman and hardcore progressive Keith Ellison.

Rep. Keith Ellison, a leading progressive voice in Congress and one of only two Muslim Americans in the House of Representatives, has his eyes on becoming the next chair of the Democratic National Committee.

The Minnesota Democrat has been planning a run for weeks, and has begun informally talking to other party lawmakers and insiders about his prospects for the post, several sources have told The Huffington Post.

His name was floated as a possible DNC chair by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Thursday morning, giving him the type of institutional progressive support that would make his candidacy formidable. MoveOn.org, a major progressive network, also said in a statement that Ellison would be “an excellent DNC chair.”

Ellison’s identity as a black man and the first Muslim member of Congress would serve as a symbolic rebuke to President-elect Donald Trump. And his ties to Sanders would give him credibility in the progressive community that feels the party has catered too much to elite interests. He is also regarded as a savvy television presence ― which seems likely to be a major requirement for the job in the age when Democrats are out of power in every branch of government.

Read more: Congressman Keith Ellison Wants To Run The DNC