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AMERICAN JEWISH WORLD

SEPTEMBER 1, 2006

Editorial / Opinion

Choices in the DFL Fifth District primary

Some callers to the Jewish World
have suggested that we write about
the DFL candidates in the race for
the Fifth Congressional District seat.
Rep. Martin Olav Sabos sudden
announcement last March that he
would not seek another term, after
serving for 28 years, was one of the
states major political bombshells in
recent years. Of course, a dozen or
so DFL politicians announced their
interest in the U.S. House post.
The field has narrowed to four
prominent candidates. Rep. Keith
Ellison, who represents a north Minneapolis district in the Minnesota
House, won the DFL endorsement
in June. Vying with Ellison for the
congressional seat are former state
senator Ember Reichgott Junge,
former Sabo chief of staff and and
former state DFL chair Mike
Erlandson, and Minneapolis City
Council member Paul Ostrow.
A great many readers of this newspaper live and vote in the Fifth District, which includes Minneapolis,
St. Louis Park, Golden Valley, and
parts of Hopkins, Fridley and several other suburbs. The other element that should be noted in this
electoral race is that the district is
heavily Democratic a DFLer has
won the last 22 elections. So, its
reasonable to think that the winner
of the Sept. 12 DFL primary will
also be the victor in the general election. In other words, the upcoming
DFL primary is the Fifth District
election.
The larger picture around this race
is the possible realignment of political power in the United States after
the midterm elections. The Democratic Party is hopeful about its prospects to win a majority in one or both
congressional bodies. Public pessimism about the U.S.-led war in Iraq,
the tragically inadequate federal response to the victims of Hurricane
Katrina one year ago, rising gas
prices and a Republican culture of
political corruption exemplified by
the Abramoff lobbying scandal combine to buoy Democratic hopes in
2006.
Indeed, Republican candidates
have decided mainly to unhitch their
political wagons from President

Bush. For example, Rep. Mark

Kennedy, who has been joined at the
hip politically with the Bush administration over recent years, proclaims
his independence and that hes not
a party guy, in the TV commercials for his senatorial campaign.
So, its well within the realm of
possibility that the political successor to Sabo will find himself or herself as a member of the House majority next year. Such an eventuality
will be a mixed blessing for the
Democrats, who will have to deal
with a horrendous mess in Iraq and
the deleterious effects from six years
of benighted Bush administration
policies on the domestic front.
Regarding the Fifth District DFL
primary, there are three fairly conventional candidates who would
bring particular strengths to service
in the U.S. House and would likely
provide competent representation for
their constituents. However, voters
could make an emphatic statement
one that would gain national and
international attention by casting
their ballots for Keith Ellison. The
43-year-old state representative
would bring a singular passion and
intelligence to the job of representing citizens of Minnesotas Fifth
District; in many ways, Ellison represents the progressive populist vision that Minnesota lost with the
untimely passing of Paul Wellstone
in 2002. Voters in the Fifth District
have the historic opportunity to elect
the first Muslim to serve in the U.S.
House of Representatives, and to
send the first black Minnesotan to
Congress.
At this point, some Jewish World
readers may be re-reading the previous paragraph and exclaiming aloud
about this newspaper lauding a person who has a history of affiliation
with the Nation of Islam and Louis
Farrakhan, a notorious anti-Semite
and hatemonger.
It is true that about 10 years,
Ellison was a local organizer for the
Million Man March, an effort aimed
at social uplift for the black community in America. As a political activist on the North Side, Ellison felt that
he had to be involved in this effort to
redress the dire social and economic

status of the black community.

For his part, Ellison has admitted
that he failed to adequately scrutinize the positions and statements of
the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan
and Khalid Muhammed. In a May
28 letter to Stephen Silberfarb, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council, Ellison
wrote: I wrongly dismissed concerns that they were anti-Semitic.
They were and are anti-Semitic and
I should have come to that conclusion earlier than I did. I regret that I
didnt. But, at no time did I ever
share their hateful views or repeat or
approve of their hateful statements
directed at Jews, gays or any other
group.
We understand the trepidation that
some Jews may feel toward Ellison,
who has said and written a number of
regrettable things in the past. At the
same time, we are convinced that
Ellison has had a real change of heart
and mind. One of Ellisons colleagues
in the Minnesota House said this week
that he knew of Ellisons past comments and writings, but felt that the
person he knew now was not the
same person who held such unfortunate views a number of years ago.
In fact, Ellison acted as the lawyer
for the Minnesota House DFL caucus in an ethics proceeding against
former representative Arlon Lindner,
who contended that gays were not
victims of Nazi oppression during
the Holocaust. Ellison understands
the importance of guarding against
Holocaust denial and revisionism;

and links the lessons of the Shoah to

more recent cases of genocide in
Rwanda and Darfur. Further, he supports the State of Israel and the continuation of U.S. aid to Israel. He
holds to the mainstream position of a
negotiated two-state solution regarding the long-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
It should be pointed out that
Ellisons position on Israel is not
universally appreciated by the far
left faction in the DFL Party or by
local Muslims. Nevertheless, he
holds to his position of support for
the Jewish state in the face of such
criticism.
Human beings are complex, we
evolve, Ellison recently told Minnesota Public Radio. We ought to
let each other evolve. We ought to let
each other be better than they were
today. If someone is the same as they
were 16 years ago, that would be the
very definition of stuck in a rut,
wouldnt it?
In commending Keith Ellison to
DFL voters in the Fifth District primary, we dont want to neglect consideration of the other controversies
dogging the candidate. The local
mainstream press has reported on
Ellisons many unpaid parking and
traffic tickets, which resulted in his
drivers license being suspended.
Ellison also has been fined for late
filing of campaign finance reports.
We expect a lawmaker to obey
campaign laws and traffic laws, so
these personal and administrative
failings are troubling. In the balance,

however, we think that Ellisons

abilities as a legislator and his positions on environmental, civil rights
and foreign policy issues outweigh
concerns about his laxity in paying
tickets and filing paperwork.
We all know that nobody is perfect and that no political candidate is
without shortcomings. We are now
in Elul, the last month of the Hebrew
year and the month preceding Rosh
Hashana and Yom Kippur. We blow
the shofar each day in Elul to wake
ourselves, and others, from somnolence, as we engage in introspection,
reconciliation and teshuva (turning
onto the right path).
During this period of heightened
spirituality, we also find ourselves
considering the choices before us as
citizens of a free nation. We cannot
take our civil liberties for granted,
especially in the face of well-reported
government actions to curb our constitutional rights and consolidate political power. In the trying times ahead,
we will need courageous political
leadership and we must hold our
elected representatives accountable.
We think that Keith Ellison has
the attributes to be a dynamic and
effective representative in Congress.
In Ellison, we have a moderate Muslim who extends his hand in friendship to the Jewish community and
supports the security of the State of
Israel. He is a person with a vision of
a more humane and equitable society and he is the candidate we favor
in the Fifth District DFL primary
election.

This Labor Day, contemplate welfare

reform, Hurricane Katrinas victims
By SIMON GREER
NEW YORK (JTA) Jews understand the power of anniversaries: Many of our traditions most
important holy days mark a triumph or tragedy. These events,
though often removed from our
lives by millennia, offer an opportunity in the retelling to remember
the history that shaped our lives.
This year, as we mark Labor Day,
we should contemplate two recent
anniversaries. Aug. 22 marked 10
years since welfare reform, which
ended the federal governments
guarantee of cash support to the
poor. Aug. 29 marked one year
since Hurricane Katrina, which
destroyed a chunk of the Gulf Coast
and, in the process, exposed the
regions destitution.
Both events represent important
dates in our nations struggle to
confront domestic poverty.

Labor Day Thought

In 1996, a Republican Congress
passed President Clintons signed
welfare reform. This bill replaced
guaranteed cash assistance with
block grants, time limits and work
requirements. The goal was to
move millions of welfare recipients into jobs and end a cycle of
poverty allegedly created by welfare dependency.
I remember driving through rural areas of Laurens County, S.C.,
that year, delivering meals to the
poor. During those visits I saw the
truth about welfare mothers: They
were not living like queens, contrary to the stereotype advanced by
many pundits.
What a disappointment to listen
to Michael Leavitt, the secretary

of Health and Human Services,

use this recent anniversary to proclaim welfare reform an unqualified success.
While he noted that some
former welfare recipients have
seen their quality of life improve,
he ignored the many flaws of welfare reform. Most former welfare
recipients have not, in fact, moved
into the working class.
At the height of the economic
boom of the late 1990s, the Preamble Center for Public Policy
estimated the odds at 97-to-1 that
someone coming off welfare
would find a living-wage job.
When the five-year time limit hit
in the early 2000s, the number of
Americans in poverty was on the
rise; it has increased in recent

years by 6 million.
The education and childcare necessary for a successful transition
to the work force often are unavailable. People who left welfare for
work too often remain mired in
poverty. Yet we could still ignore
them until Katrina hit.
Hurricane Katrina displayed the
poverty that welfare reform missed.
One year after the storm, dead bodies are still being recovered and
sections of New Orleans resemble
a ghost town, with hundreds of
thousands of locals living elsewhere.
Crime has returned, and many
streets are not safe. Too many
people have returned not to rebuilt

REFORM / see page 5

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