Come for the Democratic schadenfreude, stick around for … more Democratic schadenfreude. Liberal firebrand Alan Dershowitz demanded the firing of Rep. Keith Ellison as deputy chair of the DNC after lying about his contacts with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, on whom new scrutiny has been applied to his long history of anti-Semitic declarations. “He ought to be treated the way we treat David Duke,” Dershowitz demanded, adding, “If any Republican dared to meet with David Duke, that would be the end of their career. … We don’t have affirmative action when it comes to bigotry.”
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Don’t hold your breath, Dersh:
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Ellison has repeatedly stated that he cut off all contact with Farrakhan prior to 2006, when he began his career in electoral politics. His colleague, Rep. Andre Carson, contradicted those claims earlier this week. Peter Hasson reported for the Daily Caller that Carson said he continues to meet with Farrakhan, and so did Ellison as recently as 2015:
Democratic Indiana Rep. Andre Carson has confirmed that he took part in a private 2015 meeting with Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan and Democratic Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison.
Ellison, deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), claimed repeatedly that his relationship with Farrakhan ended well before he first ran for Congress in 2006. New reporting has shown that Ellison repeatedly attended meetings with Farrakhan while in Congress, including privately visiting Farrakhan in his Washington, D.C., hotel room in 2015.
Last Friday, Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler gave Ellison four Pinocchios for his claims of severing the Farrakhan relationship:
Ellison repeatedly has danced around the question of his association with Farrakhan, including whether they have crossed paths since he publicly cut ties with the Nation of Islam in 2006. But he needs to provide a better explanation for what he was doing in Farrakhan’s hotel suite in 2016 and what they discussed. He cannot claim to have “disavowed” Farrakhan more than a decade ago while moving in the same circles and apparently having a friendly chat behind closed doors.
Carson at least acknowledged he met with Farrakhan to discuss issues related to community concerns. Ellison is trying to have it both ways, publicly distancing himself while privately doing something else. He earns Four Pinocchios for suggesting his interactions with Farrakhan ended in 2006.
Desrhowitz is correct that not only is Farrakhan the same kind of bigot as Duke, he’s actually worse — in large part because of the Democratic Party. Republicans have disowned Duke repeatedly and Duke has no influence within it; as Dershowitz says, he’s “a joke.” Not so with Farrakhan, who continues to be engaged and sought after by Democratic officeholders like Carson and Ellison.
But it has been ever thus, and probably will be too. The national media doesn’t seem terribly interested in holding Democrats accountable for their own bigots, with notable exceptions like Jake Tapper and Kessler few and far between. Not even a bald-faced lie seems to interest the media when it comes from a high-ranking Democratic Party official and member of Congress. Besides, Democrats should fire Ellison and his boss Tom Perez for their disastrous leadership of the DNC, which has barely been able to keep pace with its debt since they took the helm, while the RNC far outstrips them in fundraising and infrastructure development. If Ellison ever gets canned, that’ll be the reason.
Stick around to the end for Dershowitz’ thoughts on Hillary Clinton’s latest excuse for losing in 2016, but don’t expect too much there, either. Rather than criticize Hillary, Dershowitz talks about trying to learn the proper lessons, and Pete Hegseth nearly jumps out of his chair to get a more direct reaction. Does Pete succeed? Alas, you’ll have to look for the rest of the segment on Fox News for that answer.
TAGS:ALAN DERSHOWITZANDRE CARSONANTI-SEMITISMGLENN KESSLERKEITH ELLISONLOUIS FARRAKHAN