Judson Phillips, the founder of a controversial Tea Party faction, wrote this weekend that Rep. Keith Ellison should be ousted from Congress because he is Muslim.
Writing on his Tea Party Nation website, Phillips said that Ellison "is one of the most radical members in Congress."
He continued:
Phillips is a controversial figure in Tea Party circles, as the Nashville attorney has a shaky financial history including bankruptcy and tax liens. He put on a for-profit Tea Party rally this year at $549-a-head featuring Sarah Palin. Rep. Michele Bachmann was initially scheduled to speak but backed out at the last minute, as did Tea Party activists around the country.
Ellison's religion has often been under scrutiny by opponents, though few would go so far as to say that his religion alone was grounds for removal from Congress.
Ellison was the first Muslim member of Congress elected in 2006 — but not the only one, as Phillips incorrectly stated. Rep. Andre Carson of Indiana is also Muslim.
Philips concluded his note by backing Lynne Torgerson, who is running in the Fifth District as an independent.
Torgerson, who has raised $32,000 and given her campaign $19,000 of her own money, wrote in a September e-mail to supporters she was running against "Keith X. Hakim Ellison."
