MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript
Interview
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REP. KEITH ELLISON (D), MINNESOTA: Absolutely, Ed. Good to see you.
SCHULTZ: You bet.
Was there any reservation on your part to do this less than a week after the tragic shooting in Arizona?
ELLISON: No. We felt it was very important to come out quickly, to let people know that their government is open for business, is responsive to their concerns, open and available to them so they can say what"s on their heart, what"s on their mind, what they care about, agree or disagree.
We thought it was very important to make a statement early about the accessibility of our Democratic institutions, and that"s why we"re here.
SCHULTZ: Congressman, do you have security tonight? Do you have any reservations whatsoever?
ELLISON: We have no reservations whatsoever. We want folks to come on out. We encourage them to come.
We do have our--Minneapolis" finest on hand. They"re around. So you should feel comfortable and safe. But the fact is, is that we"re open, and we"re very, very anxious to take people"s concerns.
We will have a beginning--in the beginning of our meeting an observance on behalf of the victims of the Tucson shooting. But then we"re going to go right into "Congress on Your Corner" and start talking to constituents about what"s on their mind--foreclosure, Social Security. Whatever it is, we want to talk about it.
SCHULTZ: Congressman, the timing of this, do you think it"s important for you to get out there this early? I kind of asked you that a moment ago, but is there a mindset amongst her colleagues that we"re not backing down, that we"re listening to the president, this is what we do?
How motivated are the Democrats in caucus to make sure that this is going to be business as usual?
ELLISON: Highly motivated. Let me tell you, earlier today, my good friend Tim Walz was down in Mankato, Minnesota, having "Congress on Your Corner" in honor of Gabby Giffords yet again, and here we are doing it here in the twin cities, in Minneapolis.
So we"re--we want to be very clear, look, we had a tragedy. It is very human to be a little shy about coming to the public square. So we want to go right back into the public square as soon as we can to let people know that, you know what? No one"s going to intimidate us, no one"s going to scare us, no one"s going to chase us out of the public square.
We"re going to be here doing democracy. And that"s why we"re here so quickly.
SCHULTZ: And your event starts in just a few moments. Do you think you"ll get a good turnout? What do you normally get and what do you think you"ll get tonight?
ELLISON: Well, you know what? The snow is coming down big time here in Minneapolis. So we know that some folks may be a little bit discouraged by the weather, but not by this government. We"re never going to be deterred by that.
I think we"re going to get a good crowd tonight. We"ve been getting a lot of calls. We"ve been getting a lot of interest. And so I"m looking forward to seeing folks in good numbers tonight.
SCHULTZ: Fantastic. Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota, good to have you with us tonight. Thanks so much. You are doing the right thing.
ELLISON: Thanks, Ed. Take care
SCHULTZ: You bet.
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