Any old blue just won\u2019t do for Rep. Keith Ellison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ellison, who is the co-chair of the Democratic National Committee and who represents Minnesota\u2019s 5th Congressional District, said his party is reaching out to once forgotten voters and welcoming in a new breed of Democrat. He said the old way of doing things has proven not to work and now Democrats are taking their message to the streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor the past 10 to 12 years our party has been focused on presidential races. Since 2008 Democrats have lost hundreds of elected state seats. There are only seven Democratic secretaries of state,\u201d said Ellison, during a May 1 interview with Al McFarlane on \u201cConversations with Al McFarlane, which aired on 90.3 FM KFAI. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to work up and down the ballot. Since 2016 we\u2019ve flipped 40 state seats and we\u2019ve got more to come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ellison said the DNC approach had become too impersonal and many were left out of the calculation altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe as a nation had been suffering from low voter turnout and the previous thought (at the DNC) was to focus on areas with high voter turnout and get them to vote for our candidate. (Now) we\u2019re knocking on doors and rebuilding relationships,\u201d said Ellison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of the relationships Ellison said the DNC is rebuilding is with ethnic media. He said such relationships are key in reaching untapped voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen people talk about fake news they don\u2019t say that about Insight News<\/em> and other ethnic press because these outlets were built on a promise of trust,\u201d said Ellison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The former chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Ellison said the DNC hears the call being shouted by many in the party \u2013 \u201cAny old blue just won\u2019t do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI absolutely agree; any blue won\u2019t do,\u201d said Ellison in an interview following his radio segment. \u201cWe need people who will stand for true Democratic values and stand for all Americans. We need people who will come in and fight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the fights Ellison is waging is working to extend protections for Liberians living in the U.S. In March President Donald Trump ordered an end to special legal status to thousands of Liberians \u2013 many of whom reside in Minnesota, which is home to the largest Liberian population in the U.S. Ellison co-sponsored legislation to extend protections to Liberians, as well as those from Sierra Leone and Guinea, but he said with Republicans in charge he is not hopeful the bill will get much traction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe need to elect new people (in the House). Republicans are not moving on anything dealing with immigration,\u201d said Ellison. \u201cWe need new people in office.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ellison said the president\u2019s stance \u2013 and much of the Republican Party stance \u2013 on immigration is backwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe idea of kicking out DACA youth; it makes no sense. So, these are kids who trained and educated in our schools with our (tax) dollars, and then we say, \u2018get out\u2019 \u2026 that\u2019s flawed thinking,\u201d said Ellison. \u201cAnd the people who come here are coming for a better life \u2026 they\u2019re coming to contribute; they\u2019re coming to work. The idea that immigration is a bad thing is ludicrous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n