Keith Ellison Praises Fidel Castro's "Mixed" Legacy: "He Stood Up For Peace And Freedom In Africa"

[ericson00]

Source: Real Clear Politics

Candidate for chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Rep. Keith Ellison spoke with SiriusXMs Karen Hunter on Monday about the death of Fidel Castro and his priorities for the Democratic Party. He praised Castro's legacy in Cuba, saying that "he confronted people with a lot of power on behalf of people that didnt have any."

Read more: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/11/28/keith_ellison_praises_fidel_castros_mixed_legacy_he_confronted_people_with_a_lot_of_power.html

[ericson00]

1. Putting this guy as DNC chair is political suicide.

[harun]

6. Not as bad as nominating a Corporatist

Mods before you hide my post, I am not disparaging an elected Dem like the OP is. Think about that.

[BainsBane]

15. Please, tell me when we had someone who wasn't

a "corporatist" as head of the party or president. I can't wait to hear.

[emulatorloo]

35. ah bain, you're just a neon-liberal corporoappartus

Or whatever the latest meaningless buzz word is.

[BainsBane]

37. and they never answer that question

because they can't. The fact is it became a talking point against Clinton and Obama, despite the party's connection to moneyed interests from its inception. Yet only under a black man and a woman did "corporatism" and the "establishment" become a problem.

[emulatorloo]

38. Because Change! The Party needs to move left, purge Nancy Pelosi!

There is no logic to what some here are advocating.

[harun]

41. Franklin D. Roosevelt

[BainsBane]

45. Really?

Let's explore this. An exceedingly rich man who received 25% of his campaign funding from Wall Street, whose cabinet was staffed with the richest of the elite, and who presided over Jim Crow? Who ran a campaign far more conservative than what he ended up implementing. Who adopted New Deal programs only in response to widespread unrest and activism by farmers, veterans, the poor, and the Communist Party in the face of massive unemployment (25%) and starvation, and who cobbled together a safety net in order to save American capitalism? That's what you call non-corporatist?

What do you suppose FDR would have done if he'd faced 5% unemployment rather than 25%? If there had not been massive protests with the threat of social revolution? The Jim Crow would have stayed. The rest, not so much.

So it seems that Clinton's problem was not that she gave speeches for Wall Street banks but that she didn't come from the financial elite herself. If she had come from that level of extreme, inherited wealth, she might not be called a corporatist?

[yurbud]

66. Hillary (and Bill's) problem was their record of kowtowing to Wall Street

[BainsBane]

68. That doesn't address my question

about when this non-corporatist Democratic Party existed.

Are you happy with how Trump is draining the swamp? Five billionaires in a cabinet better than evil Hillary?

You continue to repeat propaganda generated and circulated to enable GOP victory. Even after Trump win's, you act like giving a few speeches to Wall Street is a serious problem unique to Hillary, even as Trump is prepare to sell off everything. I hope you're proud.
You played right into the hands of the GOP and Wall Street.

[yurbud]

70. it was never perfectly non-corporate, but for a while, a couple of decades

The wealthy saw our interests as aligned with theirs in some areas.

Now even those who support the Democratic Party seem to see a lot less in common with the rest of us.

If the leaders of the Democratic Party think this "shut up and let us handle it" approach to their base is going to work, they will continue to get their as handed to them.

If the corporate wing of the party doesn't give up control or at least loosen the reins, pretty soon they won't have anyone left to talk down to.

And I would rather see the Democratic Party get its shit together than see a new party to the left form because we don't have time.

[Trenzalore]

55. .

Did you write that as a joke.

[Nancyswidower]

53. You say that with a staight face...and a Che avitar...

Mods..before you hide my post....research the death Che sprinkled around him.."Think about that"

[Cha]

60. The OP isn't disparaging KE.. it's presenting a fact.

Just who are you trying to disparage with the insulting buzz word "corporatist"?

THINK ABOUT THAT.

[harun]

62. You need to read up on the definition of a fact

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fact

Because Progressives aren't afraid of the Fox News created myth's about Keith Ellison.

[Cha]

63. All you ever have are insults.. not worth my time.

[INdemo]

10. Probably just cost him the CHAIRMAN'S job

Republicans would have a field day with this one.
Maybe we should now focus on having Elizabeth Warren as DNC chair?

[LisaM]

13. I think it needs to be someone not currently holding office.

It's a full time job, or should be.

[BainsBane]

16. Tom Perez might be good

He has a very strong civil rights record.

[hollowdweller]

57. Perez would be outstanding.

[ericson00]

19. John Hickenlooper, or maybe Tim Ryan himself if he can't be speaker

because clearly, the "Emerging Democratic Majority" Judis-Texeira strategy has blown up in the Democratic Party's face pretty badly not just in 2016, but over the years in the House, Senate, and state legislatures. It only worked for Obama, in part because he attracted many voters who wouldn't stay engaged past his 2nd term.

[leftynyc]

18. Agree

They also wont see a dime from me. I want Howard Dean.

[ericson00]

21. I feel like what Ellison and maybe Bernie himself are really trying to accomplish

is a mass exodus of progressives into another party. They'll come up with some BS reason Ellison didn't get it, Sanders (still not a Democrat) will claim he was slighted, and he'll go. I'd rather this not happen, but sadly, that's the only thing I can gleam from a Castro-lover and Israel-hater like Ellison.

[INdemo]

27. The DNC needs to return to Progressive roots?

think it isn't popular? Just how popular was Bernie Sanders Progressive movement?
The DNC as well as many Democrats in Congress are owned by Corporate interests and DWS* was the Republican lite that welcomed their contributions.


*DNC drops ban on lobbyist, PAC money

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/02/12/dnc-drops-ban-lobbyists-pac-money/80291908/

[leftynyc]

32. I can't believe Bernie would

do something so self destructive as to destroy a party that allowed him to run for the nomination under its banner. I have no clue what ellison is about other than he didn't denounce screwy Louis Farrakhan until he absolutely had to. I don't need another reason to think he's an asshole.

[emulatorloo]

33. I disagree, but I believe some DU'ers want to purge the party of Liberal who aren't "pure" enough

IMHO Ellison is not that way, he's a good guy. That being said, chairs a full time job and you can't make gaffes like this.

[octoberlib]

34. I do too. He has a track record of getting Democrats elected.

Haven't seen anyone proposed yet who can match that record.

[leftynyc]

36. The 50 state strategy

was all Dean. I have also never seen anyone take on the morons on TV better than Howard. He never loses his cool and is too smart to get walked into a corner. He's who we need.

[Dopers_Greed]

24. And putting DWS as DNC chair...

...wasn't "political suicide"?

[Archae]

2. Thank you, Keith Ellison for making a total ass of yourself.

Castro was good buddies with many of the worst of the worst in Africa, including Idi Amin and Mugabe.

[ericson00]

20. 1000

!!!!

[pbmus]

58. Not to mention, he murdered over 5000 people

[harun]

69. Total Lie

Revolucion en los estados unidos!

[pbmus]

71. Ok, the number is actually closer to 6,000

People murdered by his political machine...and if you deny that he had political prisoners then you must be one of the jailers....

[Me.]

3. So Long DNC Chair

[DFW]

25. Agreed. That was, or should be, a one way ticket out of the running for the post

I don't care HOW right Ellison might have been. A statement like that is red meat to grind for half the voters in this country, and was about as politically astute as Gerald Ford saying "There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe" in the debate with Jimmy Carter, which probably cost Ford the 1976 election.

[INdemo]

28. His statement was certainly a gift to the Republicans for 2018

Fact is he ins't old enough to remember Castro's ties to Nazi's and the evil leaders of the World.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/cuba/9609851/Fidel-Castro-recruited-Nazi-SS-members-to-train-troops-during-Cuban-missile-crisis.html

[DFW]

29. It doesn't have to be

It will only be ammunition for the Republicans nationally if he gets a national position of prominence. If someone else becomes DNC Chair, his statement's usefulness to the Republicans vanishes in a puff of smoke.

[INdemo]

30. Well of course but it will hurt him in his run for re-election to the House in 2018

[frazzled]

4. To be fair, you left out the next line

"He also did jail people who were political critics of his, he also did not allow… free speech…It’s a mixed bag."

He could have mentioned that he also persecuted homosexuals and others. But whatever. The "mixed bag" assessment is pretty much universal right now.

[DFW]

26. No one will remember that part

The media will only quote the first line ad nauseam. Ellison should have thought before he spoke. He just put a big target on his back with a sign saying, "Republicans shoot HERE!"

[melman]

31. This mixed bag thing drives me crazy

When someone "did jail people who were political critics of his, he also did not allow… free speech"..that's their bag. I don't need to know anything else about that bag.

[harun]

5. This is why I donate to Keith Ellison, a real Progressive with spine!

[hollowdweller]

7. Whoever is DNC chair

We need to make sure they don't have too many things that the GOP can use to destroy them.

[Gothmog]

8. While I have met and like Keith Ellison, I do not want him to be DNC chair

If nothing else, I strongly believe that the DNC chair should be a full time job. In addition, Ellison is too tied to Sanders and that is a big negative

[oberliner]

9. Who do you want for chair?

Do you have a preferred candidate?

[demosincebirth]

11. "He Stood Up For Peace And Freedom In Africa." That's a crock of Shit.

[ericson00]

12. exactly. Mugabe, Amin, and MPLA were pretty warlike and brutal

in case people forgot.

[Devil Child]

23. Indeed

I haven't forgotten the brutality of Joans Savimbi, UNITA, and Rhodesia. No government had clean hands when meddling in African politics.

[ericson00]

42. America never got in bed with Rhodesia.

additionally, UNITA > FLNA, given the Cold War and the horrible record of communist regimes, which lingered far longer than non-communist ones.

[Devil Child]

46. The US most certainly did

Unenforced sanctions, allowing large numbers of US mercenaries to participate in the war, allowing financial support from citizens and corporations. This all amounts to support for the Rhodesian state. This shouldn't be shocking or hard to believe considering support provided to South Africa during this time as well.

If you prefer right-wing UNITA that's your call I guess. They were also the preferred combatant of the Ford/Reagan/Bush I administrations, Kissinger, CIA, and Heritage Foundation.

[milestogo]

22. No, its not.

There are 54 countries in Africa.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/11/28/fidel-castro-african-hero/

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38130554

http://afkinsider.com/135619/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-fidel-castro-relationship-with-africa/

[demosincebirth]

39. He still was a brutal dictator modeled after the USSR and their KGB.

[BainsBane]

14. Not a smart move while running for DNC chair.

That he doesn't know that is concerning. That's the kind of thing you can get away with when you represent Minneapolis in congress, but not when you're supposed to be heading a nation-wide party.

[milestogo]

17. This is true.

[ramapo]

40. Guess he didn't want the job

What a politically moronic thing to say

[ericson00]

43. Trump and Ellison are both good at putting their own feet in the mouth

we really shouldn't have any such people as President, let alone a chair of a major political party

[JonLP24]

44. We can't tell the truth anymore?

Even CBS's sendoff said pretty much the same thing.

[ericson00]

47. he was anti-American; you don't have to be a conservative to be a patriot, and not all patriots are

conservative. One can be a progressive, a center-left moderate (like I am) and be a patriot too. Thus, fuck Castro.

[JonLP24]

48. Some people had very good reasons to be "anti American"

If I'm not a patriot for recognizing that so be it.

[ericson00]

49. lets see; America, or USSR/Russia, China, Germany, Colonialists UK/France for World Superpower?

I think the moral and best choice is obvious. Castro shoulda thought about that.

[JonLP24]

50. And let Bautista and the mafia back in?

[ericson00]

52. Some choices suck. But thats life; it usually IS about

The least bad choice, lesser of two evils. This applies to politics as well. Life and politics are not "Imagine" and "smile on your brother."

[Uponthegears]

51. THREE CHEERS FOR KEITH

I had no idea you supported him so strongly

[gordianot]

54. I am generally in favor of Ellison however that characterization of Castro was a needless error.

It plays into the hands of GOP types who are willing to praise a former KGB officer who in turn praises the mentally ill autocrat recently elected. One megalomaniac does not cancel out another.

[Trenzalore]

56. Reasons you can't be Chairman of the party for 1000 Alex.

[killbotfactory]

59. So most of the posters in this thread wish he had just retweeted Trump. got it. nt

[LittleBlue]

61. Praising Castro is the fastest path to blowing Florida

Seriously stop

[jman0war]

64. Sensationalized rubbish.

This article is high on hyperbole, low on substance.

The 'praise' he gave Castro was : "He praised Castro's legacy in Cuba, saying that "he confronted people with a lot of power on behalf of people that didn’t have any."

But this is not very controversial.
Castro led a revolution comprised of penniless, rag-tag guerillas with little weaponry against a brutal and totalitarian US backed dictator.

[Scruffy1]

65. Keep bashing the left of the Democratic Party

Do this and you will lose. I know Keith Personally and his views are very nuanced, not sound bight crap. His Congressional District has many Palestinian refugees who have become my friends and neighbors. Although you might not agree with Keith and there Progressive Caucus 100% the Party really needs them. These are the people who are activist and do a lot more than write a letter. They are the ones that get the young voters out.They are the ones who will knock on doors and make phone calls. I get the feeling some Democrats like losing. I never have liked it.

[yurbud]

67. what if Democrats tried NOT throwing someone under the bus the first time the GOP has a hissy fit?

When the Democratic Party cuts someone loose because the GOP merely accuses them of something, it makes the accusation look true and the Democrats look weak and foolish.

A pretty simple defense would be, "What was Cuba like BEFORE the revolution? Did Castro overthrow a democracy where everyone prospered? Or a dictator running a sweatshop, casinos, and whorehouses?"

[Judi Lynn]

72. "Real Clear Politics" is your Late Breaking NEWS source? Really? My God. Why not Breitbart, NewsMax,

World Net Daily?

Someone should have mentioned to you DU requests you use mainstream sources.

That probably would not include right-wing political versions of the news.

[Ken Burch]

73. Is there a requirement that Fidel MUST be described by all as an unambiguous monster?

Why is it inadmissable to say "he was a mixed bag-repression and gains for the people at the same time"?

Why does it have to be unqualified denunciation or nothing?

[Vinca]

74. All I know is that for many, many years the Cuban people could get health care when I couldn't.

Fidel was a very bad man with a few good ideas. The person who most reminds me of him today is Trump.