Candidate Says She Is Running Against Rep. Ellison Because He Is A ‘Radical Islamist’

Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison (MN) became the first Muslim to serve in Congress. Ergo, he has become a lightning rod for anti-Muslim bigotry. Last Thursday, right-wing independent Lynne Torgerson announced on Tea Party Nation that she will — once again — run against Ellison. The impetus for her public service? Ellison is a “radical Islamist”:

“I, Lynne Torgerson, am running for Congress in Minnesota, against radical Islamist Keith Ellison.Keith Ellison fails to oppose banning Islamic Sharia law in the United States,” she wrote on the Tea Party Nation website (registration required). “He accuses people of trying to ban it as ‘conspiratorilists.’ Keith Ellison also fails to support that the United States Constitution should be supreme over Islamic Sharia law.”

Considering herself a “stateswoman” rather than a “politician,” Torgerson’s platform has chiefly been comprised of her suspicion of Islam. As the Minnesota Independent reports, her campaign website last year pointed to 9/11 as proof that “Islam [is] conducting an act of war against my country.” She also declared that Islam is a religion that is neither “recognizable” nor or “fully protectable” under the First Amendment. Moreover, she called for a ban on the non-threat of Sharia law, having stated, “I don’t want other cultures coming into the United States and chilling our freedoms.”

As for Ellison, Torgerson has insisted that her perpetual anti-Muslim candidacy holds no “personal animosity” toward Ellison. Speaking of his election, she lauded America for promoting “people of color, African Americans, women, minorities, etc.” to public office. But, insisting that he is “cozying up” with “terrorists” like Muslim advocacy group CAIR, Torgerson alleges that America “simply went too far with Keith Ellison.”

Still, Torgerson insists that she is “very tolerant,” blaming Muslims for failing “to become tolerant of us.” Yet, when the Independent Party explained to her “that a winning campaign would need to incorporate a platform of equality and inclusion,” she reportedly replied, to the effect, “Well I don’t support those ideas.” This is Torgerson’s third run against Ellison. Last year, she won “3 percent of the vote versus Ellison’s 69 percent. During that bid she secured the backing of the Tea Party Nation.” (HT: Minnesota Independent)