Muslim-bashers aren’t getting it done, in Minnesota politics – Part 2
(Part 1 here.)
As noted in Part 1, the haters failed to keep Keith Ellison out of the Minnesota Attorney General’s office, in 2018. Against Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), they tried a different approach, this time. There wasn’t the same kind of out-loud bigotry. Instead, they tried a “less divisive,” even supposedly “progressive,” campaign.
And I do acknowledge that many, probably the majority in fact, of those who voted for one of Rep. Omar’s opponents in the primary didn’t do so because of any problem with Muslims in political office. They did so because they’re corporate Dems, and/or they really think she’s “needlessly divisive,” and/or they just don’t like her style, and/or they think she’s sucking up all of the political oxygen in the metro and leaving none for themselves.
The thing is:
Other than promising to better represent the MN-05 constituency, not only does Melton-Meaux receive most of his funding from outside the district, funding records show that more than 20 percent of his funding, or around $530,000, has come via NORPAC and Pro-Israel America, two political action committees and staunch backers of Israel.
Melton-Meaux, like Ritchie Torres, the winner of the NY-15 district, has emerged as part of a new wave of “pro-Israeli progressive” candidates.
(Middle East Eye)
I’ve long suspected (and I’m far from alone) that AG Ellison’s long-term plan includes a run for Governor in 2026 (unless a U.S. Senate seat opens up before that). It will be interesting to see what the hater right tries at that time. Of course six years is a long time (except in hindsight), and if things go well by then the political right-wing will be about as relevant here, then, as it is in, say, California, now.
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