Keith Ellison on the Gaza War
glennloury.substack.com
Keith Ellison on the Gaza War
with John McWhorter and Keith Ellison
President Biden’s material and political support for Israel in the Gaza War has become a fault line among progressives. Some are threatening to stay home in November if he continues to supply weapons and money. In this clip, I ask Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison—who, in 2006, became the first Muslim elected to Congress—how he squares his evident sympathy for the innocent victims in Gaza with his unwavering support for Biden.
This is a clip from the episode that went out to paying subscribers on Monday. To get access to the full episode, as well as an ad-free podcast feed, Q&As, and other exclusive content and benefits, click below.
I have followed Glenn and John's exploration of the George Floyd murder with great interest, as I live in Minnesota. Ellison took a highly predictable position by defending the Chauvin trial, but Ellison was blatantly incorrect in claiming the defense could call any expert they wanted ( not true), and that they had a fair and impartial jury. In fact, the jury was never sequestered, they were forced to walk past crowds which included prominent blacks like Maxine Watters, chanting "convict, convict", and so the jury was clearly intimidated. It took them no time at all to decide to convict.
As for "defund the police", the Minneapolis City Council is radically progressive and they DID push to defund. Fortunately cooler heads prevailed, but the Mpls cops are still under severe scrutiny and their morale is lower than a crippled cricket.
The best way to understand what really happened to George Floyd is to watch all four of the cops' body camera footage. Chauvin may well be guilty of some version of manslaughter, but not murder. The long period that Floyd was on the ground with three cops restraining him was entirely due to the fact that an ambulance was on its way and was expected literally any second, but it got lost and went to the wrong place. Chauvin had experience with that restraint and had never had an adverse event using it before. He is not a murderer. Ellison never misses a chance to insert himself into a gaggle of reporters with cameras.
Ellison's opinions were entirely predictable, and his rudeness in talking over Glenn and John was distracting and unprofessional. Continually bringing up the history of slavery and lynching and segregation resolves exactly nothing regarding crime in Minneapolis. Ellison's stint as AG for Minneapolis will not be a game-changer.
I'm not usually a commenter, but amongst the criticism you're getting for having folks like Ellison on I want to raise my hand and say thanks.
One reason I subscribe and have listened for so long is that I know coming here I'll hear substantive conversations from a wide range of perspectives. I also know that though I may disagree with some of the opinions on offer at the end of the day, they are coming from a sincere and earnest place. That's invaluable.
Honest, good-faith, open-minded conversation on controversial topics is in short supply these days. Thank you!