Ellison: GOP Has Values Problem, Not 'Who Knows Who Tupac Shakur Is' Problem

This Week Interview

U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) scoffed Sunday at a changing tone in the Republican Party meant to attract future voters. Ellison said on ABC-TV's This Week:

“I think all of this stuff is just surface stuff. It’s like lipstick on a pig. ... I mean, the bottom line is, the Republicans have a core values problem, not a ‘who knows who Tupac Shakur is’ problem.”

Ellison was responding to another guest on the program, Republican strategist Nicole Wallace, who said of U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL): "He's modern. He knows who Tupac is. He is on social media."

See the video above for the entire This Week panel segment. Click on the YouTube thumbnail for Ellison's statements on the show about the pending federal budget sequester.

Support for Local 26

On Saturday, more than 500 Twin Cities-area union janitors and security officers voted to give their bargaining committees strike authorization in slow-moving labor negotiations. Ellison took to Twitter to express his support for Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 26, the workers’ union.

So proud to to stand with brothers and sisters of local 26 as they take a strike authorization vote.

Saturday’s vote means that the bargaining committees, representing more than 6,000 janitors throughout Minneapolis, St. Paul and the suburbs, could call for a strike at any time.

Ellison commended Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson for her leadership. On Twitter, Ellison said that Knutson beings a "strong message of solidarity to SEIU Local 26 janitors and security officers."