“We don’t want politicians who’ve gotta be cajoled”: Keith Ellison unloads to Salon

[DonViejo]

Liberal congressman Keith Ellison tells us about Obama's legacy, saving Detroit and how he feels about Warren '16

DAVID DAYEN

A self-described activist, Keith Ellison, co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, feels at home among like-minded organizers, and says that Congress is “just a job I’m doing now.” But he’s doing it well; despite being outnumbered, the Progressive Caucus has managed to affect policy this year on a number of fronts, winning votes in Congress and executive orders at the White House.

Last weekend at Netroots Nation in Detroit, Ellison sat down with Salon to talk about partnerships with the progressive movement, the unaccompanied minors debate, corporate tax dodges and the importance of principles instead of political personalities.

So you’re actually from Detroit, right?

I was born and raised in Detroit.

So what are your thoughts on all this activism that’s going on around water shut-offs and foreclosures, and how does that play into what you guys are doing in Congress?

Well, you know, everything I know about activism I learned in Detroit, Michigan. I went to Minneapolis, another great activist town, with a foundation of activism here. Detroit is where the union movement was at its most vital, perhaps. And of course, before Martin Luther King ever gave the March on Washington he marched here, on Woodward Avenue in Detroit, marching arm in arm with Walter Reuther of the UAW and C.L. Franklin, who was a black minister at the time.

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http://www.salon.com/2014/07/23/we_don%E2%80%99t_want_politicians_who%E2%80%99ve_gotta_be_cajoled_keith_ellison_unloads_to_salon/

[whistler162]

1. Worked for Lincoln and Johnson

yup they never had to cajole a politician into a make a decision that benefited people!

Sorry Rep. Ellison but that is a failure in history knowledge.