My Point of View, By Ebenezer Howe III

Alden resident Ebenezer Howe III is chairman of the Freeborn County Republican Party. His views do not necessarily reflect the views of the local party members.

Can Keith Ellison rise to the top lawyer for Minnesota?

First, let’s look at some of the words from the home page of his website for attorney general.

“Keith is running to be the people’s lawyer to hold those in power accountable and protect and defend all Minnesotans. You deserve an attorney general who will never stop fighting for you and your family. Keith is that leader and this is your movement. Join our campaign today to help us elect a proven champion for liberty and justice for all as your next attorney general.” What does this mean? It means exactly what you want it to mean. This is common in political introductions, like saying, the candidate has Minnesota values — again defined by what you personally think.

Google the duty of attorney general of Minnesota: “The attorney general is the state’s chief legal officer and is an executive position elected by the voters for a four-year term. The office of the Minnesota attorney general represents and provides legal advice to over 100 agencies, boards and commissions of the government of Minnesota.” The person elected controls the interpretation of the duty.

So we really need to look at a candidate’s past history. Keith was raised Catholic and converted to Islam at age 19 while attending Wayne State University in Detroit. This is a big issue for me. In my opinion, followers of Islam cannot seem to renounce Sharia, and Sharia is not compatible with the Constitution. The 14th Amendment states in part: “… No state shall … deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws …” It’s my understanding, Sharia, however, does not offer equal protection to all citizens. For example, this would make a non-Muslim’s testimony worth less than a Muslim’s, and a woman’s is worth less than a man’s. Clearly unconstitutional. Could it be that Keith is ignorant of the Constitution, or ignorant of Sharia or just pandering for the Islamic vote and contributions? None of those possibilities are very comforting.

Another thing that makes Ellison a poor fit for attorney general is his support for cop killers. During his time in private practice in 1992, Keith helped organize a demonstration against Minneapolis police that included United for Peace. United for Peace was the front for the Vice Lords gang, four of whom murdered, execution-style, police officer Jerry Haaf. Keith was also a supporter of Sara Jane Olson, who was a member of the Symbionese Liberation Army in the 1970s, in hiding from 1976 to 1999 and sent to prison in 2001. Scott W. Johnson, a Minneapolis attorney, summed up comments by Keith: “To say the least, it reveals Ellison to be hostile to impartial enforcement of the law and indifferent to the lives of police officers.”

Ellison wrote for the Minnesota Daily under the pen name “Keith E. Hakim” during the time he was studying at the University of Minnesota Law School. In a piece titled, “Affirmative action does not make up for past injustice,” Ellison pushes for reparations for slavery and giving black Americans the option of a separate black homeland.

I went through the issues section of Ellison’s website, and by my count, with my personal bias applied, he has 20 issues. Of that 20, 18 are political only, nine are federal only and six could be both federal and state, three are state only, three are against Donald Trump’s agenda and only two of them do I think have valid merit as I interpreted the duty of the attorney general. There were two more that would have merit if the issue actually existed as presented, and the difference here is most likely the result of our conflicting cause and affect reasoning.

So of the 20 issues, only four seem to have a state of Minnesota component. That is 20 percent. Eighty percent of the time he would be chasing issues not listed in the duties of the state attorney general.

Keith Ellison, I believe, has so much bias that he would be a horrible fit for Minnesota state attorney general.

Since we last talked, the fair is over, and next year we will be back under the Grandstand were we belong. The primary election was completed with all the GOP-endorsed candidates winning. We held our Trump-Reagan picnic with 94 in attendance and served 80 meals. The candidates and campaign worker bees work the crowd —  they don’t eat till later. Five of the eight candidates were able to attend and speak. Two candidates sent surrogates to speak for them. Fifteen-year-old Albert Lea High School sophomore Aaron Farris spoke for Doug Wardlow. ALHS speech coaches, reach out to Aaron; you may have a champ on your hands. I suggest the serious interpretation category, if you still have that — maybe not, I graduated in 1961.