JEFF COHEN, jeff@rootsaction.org, @Roots_Action
Cohen is co-founder of RootsAction.org, one of 20 organizations that announced Friday they “will launch a nationwide grassroots campaign urging senators to vote against President Biden’s expected nomination of Rahm Emanuel to be the U.S. ambassador to Japan.” The announcement followed reports earlier this week that Biden has decided to nominate Emanuel, the former Chicago mayor who has been denounced by activists challenging police brutality.
“Emanuel’s abysmal record as mayor of Chicago disqualifies him to represent the United States in a foreign capital,” a joint statement said today. “Our organizations will make sure that every senator hears, loud and clear, from constituents who will insist that this unwise nomination be rejected.”
National organizations signing the statement include Demand Progress, Justice Democrats, People’s Action, and Progressive Democrats of America. Chicago-based groups that signed the statement include The People’s Lobby and American Friends Service Committee, Chicago Office.
“We are appalled at the reported plans to nominate Rahm Emanuel as ambassador to Japan,” the statement said. Noting that “back in March, we publicly warned against such a nomination of Emanuel,” the organizations said: “The deep concerns that we expressed at that time will now be greatly amplified. Top diplomatic posts should only go to individuals with ethics, integrity and diplomatic skills. Emanuel possesses none of those qualifications.”
The joint statement added: “As he faced a re-election campaign, for 13 months Emanuel’s administration suppressed a horrific dashcam video showing the death of Laquan McDonald, an African-American teenager who had been shot 16 times by a Chicago police officer as he walked away from the officer.”
Also see by Max Moran of the Revolving Door Project: “The Tattered Insider Histories Of Our Possible Future Ambassadors.”