http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1291147.html

Atheists applaud Ellison's views on Cheney, Libby, 9/11

Photo by Chuck Kennedy, Mct - Mct

Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn.

"You'll always find this Muslim standing up for your right to be
atheists," he told the group.

Freshman Congressman Keith Ellison was among friends Sunday -- in this
case, a gathering of atheists -- so his support for a fistful of hot-
button opinions, including the impeachment of Vice President Dick
Cheney, brought enthusiastic nods of approval and standing ovations.

As he was introduced to the eclectic gathering, which included one man
wearing a black T-shirt that read "Investigate 9/11," Ellison was told
that after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Muslims had joined atheists
at the bottom of popular opinion polls.

"You'll always find this Muslim standing up for your right to be
atheists all you want," Ellison, the first Muslim to serve in
Congress, said in a speech to more than 100 atheists at the Southdale
Library in Edina. As Minnesota's first black member of the U.S. House
ends his first six months in office, Ellison did not disappoint a
crowd that seemed energized the more pointed he made his opinions.

On impeaching Cheney, which the Minneapolis DFLer supports: "[It is]
beneath his dignity in order for him to answer any questions from the
citizens of the United States. That is the very definition of
totalitarianism, authoritarianism and dictatorship."

On calling the war in Iraq an "occupation": "It's not controversial to
call it an occupation -- it is an occupation."

On commuting the prison sentence of Cheney aide Lewis Libby: "If Libby
gets pardoned, then he should not have the cover of the Fifth
Amendment. He's going to have to come clean and tell the truth. Now,
he could get Gonzales-itis [referring to U.S. Attorney General Alberto
Gonzales], you know, with 71 lapses of memory within a two-hour
period."

On comparing Sept. 11 to the burning of the Reichstag building in Nazi
Germany: "It's almost like the Reichstag fire, kind of reminds me of
that. After the Reichstag was burned, they blamed the Communists for
it and it put the leader of that country [Hitler] in a position where
he could basically have authority to do whatever he wanted. The fact
is that I'm not saying [Sept. 11] was a [U.S.] plan, or anything like
that because, you know, that's how they put you in the nut-ball box --
dismiss you."

On President Bush's "faith-based" initiative: "This is basically the
Department of Religious Outreach ... it's essentially a public-
relations outreach arm for the Bush administration to reach out to the
far right of the evangelical Christian movement. That's really all it
is."

Ellison's noontime speech before Atheists for Human Rights, a
Minneapolis-based group, drew the largest gathering in recent memory
for the organization, said Marie Castle, the group's spokeswoman.
"We're trying to upgrade the image of atheists," Castle said of the
350-member group. "They don't think we have a moral compass."