March 28, 2016 04:44 PM UTC

Rep. Keith Ellison Calls Out Mike Coffman

• 2 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

An email pitch from Democratic CD-6 challenger Morgan Carroll’s campaign today comes from a well-known Democratic member of Congress.

And no, it’s not Nancy Pelosi:

Morgan stands up for all Coloradans.

Meanwhile, her Republican opponent spoke at a national conference for an anti-Muslim advocacy organization.

And if that wasn’t enough, Morgan’s opponent refuses to reject Trump’s dangerous proposal to ban all Muslims from entering the U.S.

As the first Muslim to be elected to the U.S. Congress, I am appalled that dangerous Islamophobic rhetoric would go unchallenged by elected officials.

Colorado’s Sixth Congressional District deserves someone who will stand up to hate speech and fight for all Americans — that leader is Morgan Carroll.

Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota has more than the usual degree of notoriety as the nation’s first elected Muslim in Congress, and that puts him in an unusually strong position to call out incumbent Rep. Mike Coffman in this diverse swing district race. Ellison is referring to Coffman’s appearance last fall at the national conference of ACT! For America, described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as “the largest grassroots anti-Muslim group in America.”

[Founder] Brigitte Gabriel claims ACT was launched as a response to the 9/11 attacks and “educates citizens and elected officials to impact policy involving national security and defeating terrorism.” Throughout its existence, ACT! has stayed true to its mission by working to advance anti-Muslim legislation at the local and federal level while flooding the American public with wild hate speech demonizing Muslims.

Before Rep. Mike Coffman’s congressional district was remapped in 2011 away from Tom Tancredo’s far-right exurban stomping ground to include Denver’s most culturally diverse suburb, speaking to a group like ACT! For America would not have been a big deal–certainly not for a man who called the DREAM Act a “nightmare” and claimed President Barack Obama “is not an American.”

Today, as one of the nation’s top Democratic targets, it’s a huge problem, and it’s remarkable that it continues. Coffman’s ongoing pandering to far-right hate activist groups, even as he affects moderation in campaign mailers and TV spots, is so ripe for devastating exposure that we’re amazed no reporter in all these years has made their career by writing the story. Think the Denver Post’s Michael Riley in 2008, and his series documenting the relationship between Bob Schaffer and lobbyist Jack Abramoff that destroyed Schaffer’s Senate bid.

If Rep. Ellison doesn’t cast this disconnect in sharp relief, we don’t know what will.