Ellison, the best hope

BY PHIL WILLKIE

Minnesotans have the opportunity to send a real progressive visionary to Congress from the Fifth District. Keith Ellison, a two-term state
representative from North Minneapolis, would also be the first person of color to represent Minnesota in Congress.

The vacancy in the Fifth District was due to Martin Sabo’s sudden retirement this past March when peace activist Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer challenged him. While Sabo had voted against the war, he voted to continue funding the war. A 28-year House veteran, Sabo did not want to face a challenge for reelection.

At the DFL district convention, Nelson-Pallmeyer ran a strong third and eventually threw his support behind Ellison. If Ellison is not elected, there is a real possibility that Minneapolis and suburbs could end up with a congressperson to the right of Martin Sabo.

Ellison is being challenged in the Sept. 12 primary by former State Senator Ember Reichgott Junge, Minneapolis City Council Member Paul Ostrow and Sabo’s chief of staff, Mike Erlandson. Last week Reichgott Junge, in a letter to the Star Tribune, claimed that all the candidates were opposed to the war.

However, Ellison has consistently been against the war and for the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq. Ellison is the only candidate that has spoken at local peace rallies. Reichgott Junge supported hawkish Senator Joe Lieberman for President in 2004.

DFL activist Lauren Maker said, “Junge ran Lieberman’s campaign in Minnesota.” Junge has also attracted more Republican donations than has Alan Fine, who actually is the Republican nominee for Congress in the Fifth District. So Reichgott Junge, like Lieberman in Connecticut, appears to be the Republican’s favorite Democrat in this race.

Mike Erlandson, like his boss Congressman Sabo, has collected contributions from military contractors. Ellison has vowed he will never accept contributions from military contractors.

During the recent crisis between Israel and Lebanon, only Ellison recognized the rights and aspirations of an independent state for the Palestinians.

The latest crisis began when Israeli forces abducted two civilians, a doctor and his brother, from Gaza. The following day the Palestinians captured an Israeli soldier—and proposed a negotiated exchange.

We do not need a congressperson that will only take orders from the Israeli lobby. Only Ellison will be independent enough to find real solutions for Middle East peace.

Ellison is the only candidate in this race advocating single payer health care. Reichgott Junge has accepted contributions from people associated with the insurance lobby. Only by eliminating the private insurers and the HMOs can we rein in the soaring cost of health care in this country. Only a single payer system, which was advocated by the late Senator Paul Wellstone will provide health care for all Americans.

Ellison is the only candidate that sees the big picture. The only one that understands that we are all in this struggle together. He’s a champion for renewable energy and the environment. He is a fighter for people’s rights and understands how the Patriot Act undermines those rights. He has a vision for fighting poverty in America.

Minnesota has a history of sending progressive leaders to Congress. The Democratic Party is at a divide. The party leadership has too often supported this President on the Iraq War and the Patriot Act. With Ned Lamont’s victory over Joe Lieberman in the Connecticut Democratic primary, there’s a new wind blowing. All the Democratic leaders campaigned for Lieberman; now those same leaders have embraced Lamont as the Democratic nominee and his anti-war campaign.
The Fifth District primary will be a referendum on the war, single payer health care and whether the whitest large city in America, Minneapolis, can elect a Black Muslim to Congress.

Five of the eight DFL-endorsed candidates for Congress support immediate withdrawal from Iraq. DFL-endorsed Senate candidate Amy Klobuchar has resisted setting an exit strategy for Iraq. An Ellison victory will empower the anti-war movement and the push for single payer health care.

Ellison is a great speaker but also a great listener. He answers questions directly and with depth.

He will be embraced by the Congressional Black Caucus—the most progressive group in Congress. We will be sending a star to Congress who can work with the other stars like Jesse Jackson Jr., Dennis Kucinich, John Conyers, and others. (mention the Kucinich visit?)

All progressives, whether or not they see themselves as DFLers, should cast a vote for Ellison on Sept. 12. The DFL nominee (like Sabo) could be our congressman for a generation. ||

Dennis Kucinich is appearing on Thursday (Aug. 31) at a fundraiser for Keith Ellison at the Cedar Cultural Center.

For more election contribution info, see www.fecinfo.com.