For all the “hope” and “change” he promised, Obama has remained a staunch moderate through and through. Which is why when it comes to replacing his good buddy Debbie Wasserman Schultz as DNC chair, Obama seems not too keen to select Minnesota congressman, progressive, and black Muslim Keith Ellison.
During the last press conference of the year, President Obama touched on the DNC race, heaping praise on Ellison’s opponent Tom Perez.
“Tom Perez has been, I believe, one of the best secretaries of labor in our history.”
Perez, too, is considered to be a progressive – though to a lesser degree than Ellison.
“If you look at his body of work on behalf of working people, what he’s pushed for in terms of making sure that workers get a fair deal, decent wages, better benefits, that their safety is protected on the job, he has been extraordinary.”
Ellison has clashed with Obama many times during his tenure, opposing the president’s trade deal, the TPP, as well as pushing for the president to curb the rapid deportation of undocumented immigrants.
For Democrats and progressives who feel Obama has fallen far short of their ideals, this split from Ellison is yet another sign that he would make the ideal DNC chair.
