Keith Ellison on Syria: 'I'm Supporting President at This Point'

Written by Chris Steller.

On the day President Obama again took his plan to attack Syria to the American people, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), who represents St. Louis Park, talked about his backing of Obama on The Bill Press Show, a nationally syndiacated radio program: 


"Yes, I'm supporting the president at this point. ... I'm hopeful [about ] this Russian offer. But Russia's been jacking around for two and a half years ... At the end of the day, now that they got religion, fine. i don't care. I'm result-oriented. 

"I hate war. I hate military action. I think it's a necessary evil sometimes, and oftentimes it's not necessary. But in this situation ...  If we can do something about it we should. 

"A lot of my friends, they're surprised about my position on this. They really shouldn't be.  ... I've never said I was a pacifist. 

"It's not popular, I can tell you that. My district's not too happy about the president's proposal. ... But you know, every two years they get to decide whether they want me to come back or not."