Keith Ellison would be a bold pick for DNC chair — and a controversial one

The Washington Post reports:

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) appears to be the early favorite to become the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He's already earned high-profile support from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), outgoing Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), incoming Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-Nev.) and liberals across the country.

And as we wrote last week, Ellison provides perhaps an unrivaled contrast to President-elect Donald Trump — particularly as a black Muslim from the Midwest, a region that lost the election for their party last week.

But Ellison hasn't been a stranger to controversy, either.

Earlier in his career, Ellison apologized for and/or backed off a number of controversial statements and politically dicey moves, from likening George W. Bush's consolidation of power post-9/11 to the rise of Adolf Hitler, to defending the leader of the National of Islam, to labeling his 2012 reelection opponent a “lowlife scumbag.” These comments have rarely been an issue for Ellison in his safe Minneapolis-based district, but now that he's competing to lead the Democratic Party, they've resurfaced.

The Democrat Party: appealing to white , Christian America one Keith Ellison at a time. Watch the CBS-NY report down below.