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Democrats Tag

Since he announced his intention to run for Chair of the Democratic National Committee, Keith Ellison has received support from top Democrats, like Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Nancy Pelosi, and the left-wing Bernie-base of the party. Yet from the start Ellison has been dogged with revelations about his past support for Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam, his claim that American Jews do Israel's bidding, and his association with fringe anti-Israel groups:

Tammy Bruce appeared on Tucker Carlson's show last night and offered a unique analysis of the current state of the Democratic Party. Their conversation began with a viral moment from a recent forum for potential new chairs for the DNC. One candidate, a white woman from Idaho suggested as chair it would be her job to shut down other white people. The Daily Caller reported:
Sally Boynton Brown, a white woman running for chair of the Democratic National Committee, said Monday that if she is chosen to lead the party her job will be to “shut other white people down.”

FBI Director James Comey just cannot win! Yesterday, Kemberlee blogged that the Department of Justice will review his investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server. Today, House Democrats are angry after a confidential briefing over allegations that Russia "hacked" the DNC and Hillary campaign chair John Podesta to sway the election towards President-elect Donald Trump. Those briefed believe Comey is "unfit to lead the agency."

Democrats are going after Trump's pick for Education Secretary Betsy DeVos because she made financial contributions to FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. FIRE is an outstanding non-partisan organization which defends free speech and due process, among other things, for college students and faculty. Democrats have picked the wrong target. In the words of Professor Jacobson, "That they would try to defame such a great organization to get at her is a sign of how pathetic and dangerous they are."

Professor Alan Dershowitz is prepared to turn in his Democratic Party membership card if Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison assumes the chairmanship of the DNC. In a recent appearance on the FOX Business Network, Dershowitz was addressing the recent anti-Israel controversy with Obama and John Kerry when he made the announcement. The Hill reported:
Dershowitz: I'll leave Democratic Party if Ellison becomes DNC chair Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz said Friday he'll leave the Democratic Party if Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) is appointed the next chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

Add CNBC's John Harwood to the long and growing list of liberal media types who still have no idea why Trump won and the Democrats lost. You may recall John Harwood as a member of the worst team of debate moderators ever. You may also know that Harwood was exposed by Wikileaks for sucking up the Democrats during the election. Now he's floating a new theory about why his party lost. Mediaite reports:
CNBC’s John Harwood: ‘White Fear’ Partly Responsible for Democratic Losses Under Obama CNBC host John Harwood argued on Twitter Tuesday that the Democratic Party suffered electoral losses under Barack Obama‘s leadership in part because of “white fear” in the age of the first black president.

Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison was fast out of the gate for Chair of the Democratic National Committee, amassing quick endorsements from Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and the AFL-CIO. But Ellison was barely at the first turn when he stumbled badly in what Ellison and his supporters called a "smear campaign" against him. Ellison’s past decade-long support for Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam, his suggestion of dual loyalty from American Jews when speaking at a fundraiser for Muslim leaders, and his cozy relationship with some of the worst pro-BDS, anti-Israel groups, has disrupted what seemed like a clear trajectory to DNC Chair. And then Obama-Biden sent signals they were encouraging Labor Secretary Tom Perez to seek the position. I suggested at the time that Keith Ellison DNC bid circling Farrakhan drain as Perez set to announce.

Keith Ellison's past decade-long support for Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam, his suggestion of dual loyalty from American Jews when speaking at a fundraiser for Muslim leaders, and his cozy relationship with some of the worst pro-BDS, anti-Israel groups, has disrupted what seemed like a clear trajectory to Chair of the Democratic Party. The Nation of Islam is calling BS on Ellison's claim he wasn't a big supporter of Farrakhan. The Chicago Tribune reports:
But Ellison's status as the front-runner last week came under threat after CNN revived articles Ellison wrote in praise of Farrakhan while Ellison was a grad student — 20 years ago — and found footage of him appearing to criticize Israel. That prompted Hillary Clinton's biggest donor, Haim Saban, to on Friday call Ellison an "anti-Semite."

Legal Insurrection readers have known for weeks about the controversial past of Keith Ellison, including support for Louis Farrakhan, being the go-to Congressman for anti-Israel groups, and statements suggesting it made no sense to base Mideast policy around Israel: So long as the controversy was talked about only among pro-Israel websites, Ellison and his supporters probably figured they could ride it out. But now it's gone deep into the mainstream media.

Margaret Thatcher once famously said that "the problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money." Is that what's happened to the Democratic party? Morning Joe devoted a navel-gazing segment today to the question of where Dems go from here given their loss of the presidency, their failure to take back either house of congress, and their hemorrhaging of governorships and hundreds of state-legislature seats. There was consensus that Nancy Pelosi and her septuagenarian cohort in the Dem leadership were past their sell-by dates. But the bigger problem that was posed was the lack of a Dem agenda, and the suggestion that the Dems need to come up with "new ideas." One Dem panelist claimed "we do have some of those" ideas, but neither he nor anyone else could describe them in any detail. And therein lies the looming disaster for the Dems.

Oh how the tables have turned! Only a few weeks ago we talked about vulnerable Republicans, but the election put the GOP in charge of Washington, D.C., leaving the Democrats scrambling for ways to remain relevant. According to The Hill, some of those Democrat politicians who face reelection in 2018 have expressed a willingness "to work with President-elect Donald Trump and Republican colleagues."

The Democratic Party is about to engage in a battle for its soul. Whoever wins will decide what direction the party takes over the next four to eight years. There are at least three factions fighting for control. The far left activist base which wants to become the party of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. The establishment, which backed Hillary and made sure she was the 2016 nominee. And finally, people like Tim Ryan who are rightly worried about becoming a small party made up of rich coastal elites and the poor.

Here's more proof that the Democrats learned absolutely nothing from the 2016 election. They've been relegated to America's liberal coastal communities and Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio is a lone man calling out in the wilderness for a change in direction. Some liberals are responding by doubling down on identity politics and charges of sexism. The New York Post reports:
Democratic minority challenger accused of sexism Rep. Tim Ryan’s challenge of the female Democratic minority leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, has ignited charges of sexism.

Del. Sam Rasoul, the only Muslim in Virginia's General Assembly, has lashed out at his party over its treatment of Republicans and the tone of fear during the presidential election:
“I feel as though the [leadership] right now is not committed to the radical changes we need to connect with the values of working class America,” said Rasoul, 35, the lone Muslim in the General Assembly. “We were sent a mandate on Election Day that we have to completely rethink the way we do business.” --- “Sure, we need to be super-strong in condemning acts of real hatred and bigotry and racism, but when people believe that all of Trump voters are racist, they really are not empathizing with the wants and needs of a lot of folks, and we are missing out,” he said.