Democrat could be 1st Muslim in Congress

[CatWoman]

MINNEAPOLIS - A state lawmaker could become the first Muslim elected to Congress after edging out three rivals Tuesday for his district's Democratic nomination.

Keith Ellison, 43, prevailed after overcoming questions about parking tickets, overdue taxes and his ties to the Nation of Islam. Because the district has long been dominated by Democrats, he will be a heavy favorite to win the Minneapolis-area seat in November.

Ellison courted the liberal wing of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party by comparing himself to the late Sen. Paul Wellstone - and many voters responded. Others relished the chance to elect a minority to Congress from Minnesota for the first time; Ellison is black.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14814245/

[stepnw1f]

1. That's Good

Diversity in our party is a very strong thing to have. The Democrats are in a sense, uniting America, while the GOP isolates from diversity, therefore dividing America.

[OldSiouxWarrior]

2. Do regular Muslim accept Nation of Islam as true Muslim?

I am not sure, but I think that Muslims view Nation of Islam much like Christians view Jehovah's Witnesses.

[Hatalles]

12. He's a mainstream Muslim.

Ellison actually denounced Farakhan and the NOI in the past. He may have been attracted to them early on but he's walked a path similar to W.D. Mohammad and joined mainstream Islam.

[jhuth at work]

3. He will win. Historically there are few Republicans in my district.

The turnout had twice as many Democrats voting in comparison to the Republican votes.

Pardon my mess on the following cut/paste, but I'm at work.

Races in your precinct
You may vote in the primary races of only one party.

* denotes incumbent
U.S. Senate
Votes Percent of vote
DFL
4119 of 4121 precincts (99%)
Amy Klobuchar, D 293,501 92
Darryl Stanton, D 23,807 8
Independence
4119 of 4121 precincts (99%)
Robert Fitzgerald, I 5,536 51
Miles W. Collins, I 2,636 24
Stephen Williams, I 2,605 24
Republican
4119 of 4121 precincts (99%)
Mark Kennedy, R 146,232 90
John Uldrich, R 10,085 6
Harold Shudlick, R 5,956 4
Governor
Votes Percent of vote
DFL
4119 of 4121 precincts (99%)
Mike Hatch, D 230,921 73
Becky Lourey, D 77,243 24
Ole Savior, D 7,395 2
Independence
4119 of 4121 precincts (99%)
Peter Hutchinson, I 7,760 66
Pam Ellison, I 3,996 34
Republican
4119 of 4121 precincts (99%)
Tim Pawlenty, R* 146,784 89
Sue Jeffers, R 18,449 11
Attorney General
Votes Percent of vote
DFL
4119 of 4121 precincts (99%)
Lori Swanson, D 125,041 42
Steve Kelley, D 111,837 37
Bill Luther, D 62,563 21
Independence
4119 of 4121 precincts (99%)
John James, I 3,264 31
Richard (Dick) Bullock, I 2,959 28
Dale Nathan, I 2,716 26
Jual Carlos Carlson, I 1,710 16
Republican
4119 of 4121 precincts (99%)
Jeff Johnson, R 85,789 58
Sharon Anderson, R 62,120 42
Secretary of State
Votes Percent of vote
DFL
4119 of 4121 precincts (99%)
Mark Ritchie, D 188,623 71
Dick Franson, D 75,781 29
Independence
Uncontested
Joel Spoonheim, I
Republican
Uncontested
Mary Kiffmeyer, R*
Auditor
Votes Percent of vote
DFL
Uncontested
Rebecca Otto, D
Independence
Uncontested
Lucy Gerold, I
Republican
Uncontested
Patricia Anderson, R*
U.S. House
Votes Percent of vote
District 5
DFL
Incumbent Martin Olav Sabo, D, did not seek reelection. Republican Alan Fine and Tammy Lee of the Independence Party were unopposed in their parties' primaries. Jay Pond of the Green Party also will be in the November election.
223 of 223 precincts (100%)
Keith Ellison, D 29,003 41
Mike Erlandson, D 21,857 31
Ember Reichgott Junge, D 14,454 21
Paul Ostrow, D 3,795 5
Andrew Vincent Favorite, D 470 1
Gregg A. Iverson, D 448 1
Patrick J. Wiles, D 347 0
Independence
Uncontested
Tammy Lee, I
Republican
Uncontested
Alan Fine, R
All U.S House for Minnesota

Minnesota Senate
Votes Percent of vote
District 58
DFL
Uncontested
Linda Higgins, D*
Republican
Uncontested
Jim Lilly, R
All Minnesota Senate races

Minnesota House
Votes Percent of vote
District 58A
DFL
Uncontested
Joe Mullery, D*
Republican
Uncontested
Nicole Kuehn, R

[maxsolomon]

4. who will be the first atheist? agnostic?

the last frontier.

[Hissyspit]

21. "In a recent Newsweek Poll... only 37 percent said they'd be willing to...

vote for an atheist for president. (That's down from 49 percent in a 1999 Gallup poll - which also found that more Americans would vote for a homosexual than an atheist.)"

"Americans said they believed in God by a margin of 92 to 6."

-- Newsweek, Sept. 11, 2006 issue.

[maxsolomon]

23. i don't buy that 92 to 6, never have

believe in WHICH concept of god?

americans say shit because they don't want anyone to think they're strange.

[Hissyspit]

26. As with any poll, the wording you use can get wildly different results,

and I agree with you that those figures are overgeneralizing, but their clearly is disturbing ignorance and prejudice against people who identify themselves as atheist, especially in the Bible belt (I say this out of personal experience.)

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[SteppingRazor]

7. Um ... huh? n/t

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[SteppingRazor]

9. So you're suggesting that only atheists should hold higher office? n/t

[Sam Odom]

10. Why not ? Atheists & Agnostics would be a good start

and a breath of fresh air.

[Tom Joad]

11. Stalin was a breath of fresh air?

[Sam Odom]

14. LOL

Hitler was christian

My point: These modern day self proclaiming religionists, Bush, Blair & (add your fav Islamist) are blowing the peoples of the world up.

Non believers of fairy tales could hardly do worst.

[Name removed]

15. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[goodhue]

16. FYI, Keith Ellison is not a self proclaiming "religionist"

In fact, he rarely brings religion up at his own initiative, and is pretty weary of the press asking about it all the time, as if it somehow had any bearing on his representation of CD5.

[geardaddy]

25. Yep, and so was Mao

;)

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[goodhue]

13. Keith is a great candidate!

The fact that he happens to be Muslim is really the least of it. He ran explicitly as a Peace candidate a la Kucinich. He was in the streets protesting the war before it started. He has consistently called for bringing the troops home now. He supports single-payer health care.

Many folks here in Minneapolis have known him and worked with him as a community organizer for years, and had no idea he happened to be Muslim until this campaign. It's great that he will be forging new ground but his candidacy is about way more than the religion he happens to practice. It would be nice if the national media would actually report on the issues his candidacy advances. But I'm not holding my breath.

For some more interesting narratives, check out these links:

John Nichols correctly frames the campaign as antiwar is this piece . . .
http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20060913/cm_thenation/1120919

Doug Grow has upbeat take on Monday's activity . . .
http://www.startribune.com/465/story/673052.html

Strib tries to dissect here . . .
http://www.startribune.com/587/story/670234.html

Keith explained the value system behind his candidacy a couple months ago . . .
http://www.keithellison.org/inthenews/Strib-Keithvalues.htm

[goodhue]

27. .

[goodhue]

17. Vote your hopes, not your fears

[goodhue]

18. Vote for peace, human rights and economic justice.

[dpbrown]

19. Keith will be a great Congressman

He gets things done.

[katinmn]

20. That's our Keith. He won the primary and will win in this heavily DFL

district in November.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=160&topic_id=20894&mesg_id=20894

[goodhue]

22. Ellison didn't talk about his faith except when questioned . . .

http://www.startribune.com/587/story/675767.html

Ellison, who converted to Islam while a college student, didn't talk about his faith during the campaign except when questioned about it. On Wednesday, Ellison, who has represented north Minneapolis in the Legislature for four years, said: "I do hope people begin to see Muslims as people who want to see America get better and stronger. The main thing is the people of the Fifth District."

[Vidar]

24. All the best to him.