General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Keith Ellison: [View all]BainsBane
(53,035 posts)But not by Perez supporters. He was treated badly by those who used him to advance a craven power play that had nothing to do with Ellison. Keith tried to stop some of that stuff, but they wouldn't listen because it was never about him. Of course you justify it. You didn't even know Ellison's name and were running around this site accusing Perez of being just Like DWS because he dared to run against Bernie's guy, that is when you weren't insisting anyone who didn't back him was an Islamophobe. Your take your lead from the top in smearing the character of a man who spent his life fighting for workers rights and voters rights. Anyone can do a search of your dozens of threads on the subject to see what you have called him and how little you bothered to learn about Ellison. Ellison ran on uniting the party, not just progressives. Only posts like yours as well as statements and actions by Sanders undercut that message repeatedly.
The difference between Ellison and Perez is not ideological. There is nothing antiprogressive about Perez. The key difference is that Ellison supported Bernie in the primary. Bernie wouldn't have endorsed him otherwise. There was no principled progressive stand in that contest. The one candidate who ran on getting rid of corporate money was Jehmu Green, but Bernie nor any of his supporters backed her. Bernie clearly had other interests at play.
The irony of your insisting Perez's candidacy should have been just about him while Ellison was cravenly used in a power play is the same double standard that we have seen for two years now. When people start playing the kind of craven power politics that article describes, they need to accept the consequences. The fact is they failed, despite Ellison's many strengths, because the campaign surrounding him used threats and intimidation that turned off DNC voters, just as similar tactics turned off voters last year. Now we see why Bernie has never built coalitions.
You have no moral high ground here. You defend the worst of the worst through appeals to entitlement. The behavior described in that article is unprincipled and incompetent, and the result is a well-justified loss. Keith Ellison deserved better.
The masks are falling, and we are seeing people and political forces for what they have always been. I look forward to the financial disclosures that are due in June so that more of the picture is filled in.
The other thing that article showed is where Bernie's priorities lie and for what purposes he is willing to mobilize his supporters.