Keith Ellison will be an excellent leader of the Democratic Party. In an interview with Think Progress, Think Progress, he rejected the false choice between supporting the working class and supporting racial, religious, and ethnic minorities.
One problem with discussing this issue is that some folks think that if we focus on a strong, progressive economic message that favors working people it somehow means we will neglect equal rights for all. That we will neglect the struggles for racial equality, gender equality, GLBT equality, immigrants, religious non-discrimination, etc. On the other hand, some other folks think that focusing on equal rights means we will neglect the economic struggles of all working people.
Ellison has an answer — not one or the other, but both. In fact, he says that if we try to trade one for the other, we will lose both. Solidarity in the Age of Trump is the only way.
We have to boldly and unapologetically assert our solidarity, assert that all people truly are created equal. Trump is trying to return our country to a time in which people were not equal. I suppose in his opinion, that was when America was great.
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Well, the party needs to be very clear that we have to stand for a strong, populist economic message and we have to care for everybody’s rights and uphold everyone’s human dignity. If we try to trade one for the other, we’re going to lose both.
The way the working class is always controlled is that it’s divided. When you don’t stand together in solidarity, the other side starts picking off groups, and they end up hurting everybody.
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Right, and many people in the white working class voted for Obama twice, and then they voted for Trump. The way I see it, the alt-right movement is parasitic, trying to insert itself into the legitimate grievances of the American working class. If they are allowed to be successful, everyone’s situation is going to get worse. Once they turn us against each other, they get people competing against each other, our focus turns, and the economic situation gets worse.
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So we are all better off when we have solidarity. We need to unify because if we’re together, we can make a common demand for more fairness and more prosperity.
The entire interview is excellent. There’s a lot more in there. His discussion of voting rights is good. Hope you can read it all.
I don’t think Ellison thinks it is easy to bring us together, but he wants to try. I don’t know how we defeat Trump without a coalition. Keith Ellison can be a unifying leader of the Democratic Party who lays the foundation for future victories.