Hrere's a bit more about this upstanding young fellow: from Wikepedia:
Farrakhan and Nation of Islam ties
Questions about Ellison's involvement with the Nation of Islam arose during his 2006 campaign. After winning the Democratic party nomination in May, he wrote a letter to the local Jewish Community Relations Council where he reportedly "asserted that his involvement with the Nation of Islam had been limited to an 18-month period around the time of the Million Man March in 1995, that he had been unfamiliar with the Nation of Islam's anti-Semitic views during his involvement with the group, and that he himself had never expressed such views."[12] In this letter, Ellison denounced the Nation of Islam and Farrakhan, writing "I wrongly dismissed concerns that they [Farrakhan remarks] were anti-Semitic. They were and are anti-Semitic and I should have come to that conclusion earlier than I did."[6] He explained his previous views, saying that he, "did not adequately scrutinize the positions and statements of the Nation of Islam, Lous Farrakhan, and Khalid Muhammed"[13]. He also stated that "any kind of discrimination and hate are wrong. This has always been my position"
The Pioneer Press, however, stated that, "the assertion of an 18-month affiliation does not entirely sum up his relationship with the organization."[14]
While a law student in 1989 and 1990, Ellison wrote several columns as Keith E. Hakim in the student newspaper, the Minnesota Daily. "The first article defended Louis Farrakhan against accusations of antisemitism,"[15] and "defends Nation of Islam spokesman Khalid Abdul Muhammad, and speaks in the voice of a Nation of Islam advocate."[12]. The second column "called affirmative action a 'sneaky' form of compensation for slavery, suggesting instead that white Americans pay reparations to blacks,"[15] and the third suggested the creation of a separate state for black residents[16][17].
In 1995, Ellison, writing an editorial as Keith X. Ellison, stated that Farrakhan is not an anti-Semite[18][19].
In 1995 Ellison was identified as a member of the Nation of Islam in the Star Tribune.[20].
In 1997, when Joanne Jackson, executive director of the Minneapolis Initiative Against Racism (MIAR), allegedly said that, "Jews are among the most racist white people", Ellison, using his religious name Mohammed, read a statement supporting her on behalf of the The Minneapolis-St. Paul Study Group of the Nations of Islam: "[We] stand by Ms. Jackson. We stand by the truth contained in the remarks attributed to her, and by her right to express her view without sanction. Here is why we support Ms. Jackson: She is correct about Minister Farrakhan. He is not a racist. He is also not an anti-Semite. This widespread and unfair practice of whites sanctioning Blacks for not denouncing Minister Farrakhan represents a racist double standard, and is an impediment to any honest dialogue about race. If Black people are to ever possess a collective sense of self-respect and self-determination, they must not genuflect whenever powerful whites make the unreasonable demand to denounce Minister Farrakhan. Minister Farrakhan said he did not like the tension between the Black and Jewish communities, and that he was open to dialoge with any groups as long as they did not set any conditions."[21][22][12] Ellison later claimed "While some at that meeting justified her comments, I spoke out in favor of increased dialogue between the Jewish and African-American communities."[13][23]
In 1998, during his Minnesota State Legislature House campaign, as Keith Ellison-Muhammad he said he had an affiliation with the Nation of Islam, but "rejected anti-Jewish attitudes".[24][25].
In 2006, he stated that his association with the Nation of Islam was limited to 18 months in the mid-1990s.[26] He also also stated that he was never a member of the Nation of Islam, but only worked with it to organize the Minnesota contingent to the Million Man March.[15][12]
Despite his work with the Nation of Islam, Ellison has been backed by the publisher of The American Jewish World, a local Twin Cites newspaper.[2][27]
CAIR support
Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), flew to Minneapolis for an Aug. 25 fundraiser for Ellison.[15] Republican opponent Alan Fine criticized Ellison for accepting campaign contributions from CAIR leaders. Ellison accepted thousands of dollars from Nihad Awad and other leaders of CAIR, which Fine calls "a group that Democrats say has deep ties to terrorism". The Fine campaign quotes Sens. Charles Schumer, D-NY, and Dick Durbin, D-Ill. alleging CAIR's "ties to terrorism" and "its association with groups that are suspect.". Many conservatives and Jewish groups say CAIR is rooted in the Hamas movement and that its leaders also secretly support Hezbollah in Lebanon. Ellison in the past has called Awad an acquaintance. Republicans began this line of attack shortly after the primary.[28]
CAIR leaders Parvez Ahmed and Nihad Awad wrote "We are proud of our personal donations to Ellison's campaign" and derided any 'guilt by association' arguments.[29] For the first time as a paid advertisement, CAIR began showing their "Not in the Name of Islam" video in Minnesota. Communications Director of CAIR-Florida Ahmed Bedier is coordinating the ad campaign. Independence Party candidate Tammy Lee has also accused CAIR of having secret ties to Hamas.[30]
Ellison traveled to Florida in October 2006 on a fundraising tour that "included a party hosted by Altaf Ali, CAIR's state director there".[30][14] The party had a suggested donation of $100.[31]
Two days after the election, CAIR announced Ellison as a keynote speaker at CAIR's annual banquet in Virginia less than two weeks later.[32] According to a CAIR press release, this would be Ellison's first major post-election address.
According to a Nov. 13, 2006 story by the Star Tribune, Ellison said he “would not be the keynote speaker at the annual banquet for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)â€. Acknowledging that “His appearance had already been announced by CAIR…Ellison said it [the apparently mistaken announcement] was the result of a ‘natural, normal miscommunication.’â€[33] Though Ellison was not able to attend the event in person he sent a videotaped message[34], which can be viewed at this link Keith Ellison's address.
Nonpayment of fines and taxes
Early in Ellison's campaign, his driver's license was suspended for failure to pay multiple tickets and fines. When asked how many times his license has been suspended, he said, "I don't know how many prior suspensions I've had; I don't keep count."[26]
Ellison also failed to pay all or part of his income taxes five separate years between 1992 and 2000, forcing the state and Internal Revenue Service to put liens on his home. He later paid in excess of $18,000.[35][2]
Campaign finance violations
Campaign finance has also been an issue for Ellison. In early 2006, the Minnesota State Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board reprimanded Ellison for unreported contributions, discrepancies in cash balances, and misclassified disbursements. These transgressions occurred in the years 2002-2004. In 2005 when the board tried to get more information about the problems in Ellison's reports, they got no response from Ellison or his treasurer (his wife Kim). When the board heard nothing, they opened the investigation. Ellison was subpoenaed and fined. [36] [37] The board has also fined Ellison numerous times for late filings. [38] According to Katherine Kersten writing in the Star Tribune, he has been sued twice by the attorney general and has been warned numerous times for absent or incomplete disclosure. [26][15][39][40]
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