CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript

Interview

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BLITZER: Now, let's talk about one of those so-called members of the Communist Party. Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota is joining us right now.

You're a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus as it's called. How many members, by the way, in that caucus are there?

REP. KEITH ELLISON, D-MINNESOTA: We have about 72 members and I'm the co-chair along with Raul Grijalva, and very proud to be that.

BLITZER: Well you know Allen West suggests that the members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus like you are really members of the Communist Party and I want to give you a chance to respond to Congressman West.

ELLISON: Well, this is a lie. It's not true and most importantly it's a massive distraction from the real issues and that's really why the gentleman from Florida makes these kinds of allegations because he doesn't want to talk about the fact that he stood against Medicare, Social Security, things the Progressive Caucus stands for. The Progressive Caucus -- when our budget that we just had pulled together, we brought (ph) in low jobs, which is what America really needs, where he just wants to cut taxes to cut the highest earning corporations and high income individuals, so we do have a very different way of looking at the world. But when we put money into jobs, education, dealing with foreclosure, he believes these thins are communistic, which is an absurdity because most Americans feel that this is exactly what we should be doing, protecting Social Security, getting jobs back going. These are things that he stands opposed to.

BLITZER: Now we checked with Congressman West to see if he was backing away, revising, altering in any way his comments that he said. He's not doing that. We invited him by the way to join us here in THE SITUATION ROOM. He declined our invitation. We'd welcome him if he wants to come in and join us next week, but he is doubling down on these comments and issuing a fund raising appeal based on them.

And I'll read you a line or two from what he's saying to his supporters. He's saying "The Progressive Caucus advocates for state control over industries, redistribution of wealth, reduced individual economic freedom and the destruction of free markets. Members of this Caucus lavished praise on Fidel Castro following a 2009 visit to Cuba. They have introduced a constitutional amendment to redistribute wealth." All right, you want to go through those points, those statements point by point. Congressman, you're smiling, but he's very serious about this.

ELLISON: Well he's very serious about trying to guilt people of their money based on lies. He might -- he's very serious about trying to take advantage of the naive, but the truth is the Progressive Caucus, like I said, what we stand for is posted in our budget, which is on my Web site, KeithEllison.org. You can go there and see it for yourself. We stand for (INAUDIBLE) jobs in the budget, spending money on education workforce development. We stand in favor of civil and human rights for all. Yes, we believe you ought to be serving in the military without regard to your sexual preference. That's our -- we believe that. We believe in civil rights for everybody. We believe in the American dream that all people ought to be able to work hard and do well in this country.

BLITZER: Well let go through these points --

ELLISON: We support small business.

BLITZER: Let me go through these points --

ELLISON: Yes.

BLITZER: You give me a yes or no quickly and tell me if you --

ELLISON: You got it.

BLITZER: Do you advocate state control over industries?

ELLISON: No.

BLITZER: Do you advocate redistribution of wealth?

ELLISON: Well, we advocate fair taxation.

BLITZER: So that would be a yes on that one. Do you advocate reduced individual economic freedom?

ELLISON: No.

BLITZER: Do you advocate the destruction of free markets?

ELLISON: Absolutely no.

BLITZER: And I sort of feel like the late Senator Joe McCarthy (ph) if I were to ask you paraphrase --

ELLISON: Are you now or have you ever been --

BLITZER: -- have you now or ever been a member of the Communist Party, Keith Ellison? ELLISON: Absolutely not.

BLITZER: You know of any member --

ELLISON: This is absurd, ridiculous --

BLITZER: Do you know of any member --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: -- of the Congressional Progressive Caucus that's been a member, a card carrying member of the Communist Party?

ELLISON: No, sir.

BLITZER: The only thing I saw in his statement that does have an element of fact and some of it does have an element of fact that some members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus did go to Cuba and did praise Fidel Castro. Were you on that delegation?

ELLISON: No, I wasn't and to tell you the truth, Wolf, I wasn't even aware of that, so it certainly wasn't a caucus event, but you know what? I mean -- I mean that's a big so what. I mean this is an issue that Americans are disputing and debating all over this country about what the proper role and relationship the United States should have with Cuba. You don't have to -- you shouldn't be subject to divisive name calling because you have an opinion on that, a difference from Allen West, but you know it wasn't a caucus effort and if some members went that's fine. I'm sure some members have gone to Cuba who are not members of the Progressive Caucus, some of whom might be Republicans. Is he calling them Cubans -- I mean call them Communists as well?

BLITZER: Yes -- no, and by the way, I should point out, when I was asking those questions, I was being a bit sarcastic.

ELLISON: Yes.

BLITZER: I don't believe you or any members are members of the Congressional Black Caucus --

ELLISON: I know.

BLITZER: -- are members of the Communist, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, I should say, are members of the Communist Party obviously.

ELLISON: Yes.

BLITZER: I don't know really know what Congressman West is up to. He does have a distinguished military career and he's got a lot going for him and you know even like Sarah Palin says he should be at the top of the list of Mitt Romney's potential vice presidential running mate. Nike Haley (ph), the governor of South Carolina, has suggested something similar, so he's not just someone way out there. He's -- well as you well know, he's very popular among --

ELLISON: He is way out there --

BLITZER: He's very popular among the Tea Party activists out there and personally that's why I was so surprised that he would say flatly that there are 78 to 81 members of the House of Representatives who are members of the Communist Party. That's the only point I was saying. He's got some other ideas that are acceptable, but certainly not this.

ELLISON: Well, Wolf, I would urge you to research deeper. I mean this gentleman is far outside the main stream of American political thought. I mean he has taken a number of extreme positions. He -- for example, he attacked Debbie Wassermann Schultz because she called on him to support Medicare and Medicaid and he said she was not a lady because of it. I mean he is outside the mainstream and I hope the people in his district are paying close attention. And the fact is the Progressive Caucus we're for the "Buffett Rule". We are for investing in America, infrastructure (INAUDIBLE), things that really will help this country and I hope people check out what he is saying because he will be revealed to be the one on the extreme end and we in the Progressive Caucus will be shown to be offering what the American people really want.

BLITZER: And as I say, we invited Congress West to join us here in THE SITUATION ROOM. He declined, but he has an invitation to join us whenever he wants. Congressman Keith Ellison thanks very much for coming in.

ELLISON: Thanks Wolf --

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