Rep. Ellison sees Christmas as political opp for ‘crisis’ on tax deal
Saturday, December 11, 2010 at 2:44PM Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) sees Christmas as more than a core tradition in America. Ellison views one of the holiest Christian holidays as a political opportunity in the tax deal crisis.
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) on left with Pres. Barack Obama. Screen snip of video with audio interview of Ellison commenting on using Christmas as a political opportunity.Ellison told Minnesota Public Radio he was “loath to do” tax cuts at the “price they’re [Republicans] asking for.”
And he had an idea on political maneuvering ahead of the historic holiday. In essence, Ellison sees a hostage crisis opportunity.
In a video with audio featured at Breitbart TV, Ellison said, “I think we need to create a real crisis here, so Republicans will have to answer for denying Americans unemployment benefits on the eve of the Christmas holiday.”
Ellison made the controversial comments during a discussion about tax negotiations between Republicans and progressive Democrats.
When Ellison won office in 2006 MSNBC described him: “Voters elected a black Democrat as the first Muslim in Congress on Tuesday after a race in which he advocated quick U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and made little mention of his faith.”
One can imagine the furor if comments similar to Ellison’s were made by a Christian or Jewish congressman on the eve of Ramadan. It's likely the incident would've required a human rights investigation.
Ellison had harsh comments for journalist Juan Williams in October after Williams commented about Americans sometimes having anxiety when boarding a plane with Muslims in traditional garb. Ellison called Williams “un-American” and agreed with National Public Radio’s kneejerk decision to fire Williams.
Democrats delayed acting on tax increases while they held absolute majorities in the US House and Senate as well as the executive branch. There is a perception among many conservatives that Republicans yielded far more concessions than they gained in recent negotiations on tax issues with President Barack Obama.
(Commentary by Kay B. Day/Dec. 11, 2010)