Rep. Keith Ellison, ultraliberal Democrat of Minnesota, appeared on C-SPAN's Washington Journal Thursday morning, and was asked about his Gopher State colleague Michele Bachmann. What unfolded was a classic elaboration of today's liberal creed -- which Ellison dressed up as "liberty and justice for all" -- and then insisted Bachmann was opposed to that concept down the line:
PETER SLEN, C-SPAN host: Your district borders Michele Bachmann’s.
ELLISON: Sure does. And you know, I get along fine with Michele, and she and I were state legislators together, and interpersonally, we’re fine. But of course our views couldn’t be any more different that they are. You know, we just see the world in a fundamentally different light.
That’s true. Bachmann is a Tea Party Christian conservative, and Ellison is a left-wing Muslim convert who co-chairs the House Progressive Caucus. But listen to how Ellison announces the liberal creed, and then assumed that Bachmann opposes every ideal he announces, including liberty and justice for all:
I believe that we need working-class prosperity, not rich prosperity – they’re already doing fine – but working-class prosperity. Economic policies, taxes, consumer protection, wages, labor laws, unions that’ll give people a chance.
I also really believe that the government should stay out of people’s private personal affairs, like whether they’re gonna have a family, who they’re gonna marry. The government should protect people’s rights.
I think on those things Michele and I don’t agree. Probably, down the line, she would probably say no to everything I just said. But I believe in liberty and justice for all, no exceptions, you know, everybody, all religions, all colors, all faiths.
According to the rulebook, Slen moved on calmly to asking whether progressives were happy with Obama. So to recap, Ellison thinks Bachmann doesn’t believe in liberty and justice for all. She doesn’t believe in inclusion. She doesn’t believe in working-class prosperity. She doesn’t believe in the government protecting people’s rights.
