WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PARTY OF NATIONAL DEFENSE? – AT 11:28 P.M. ET:   There was a time when the Democratic Party was strong on national defense.  John F. Kennedy's inaugural address was symbolic of his party in that era.

But what's happened since?  Well, George McGovern, Jimmy Carter, Field Marshal of the United States and the Rest of the Universe Barack Obama, and General of the Armies Nancy Pelosi. 

Now we come to Keith Ellison, deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee, who uses Memorial Day to post another patriotic gesture.  From The Hill: 

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) said that he will boycott NFL games this upcoming season over the league's new policy requiring players to stand during the national anthem.

“Friends who know me, know that I love football. But I won’t be watching this NFL season because of the unfair cowardly and idiotic kneeling ban,” the progressive lawmaker tweeted on Sunday, adding the hashtag “Boycott NFL.”

The NFL last week approved a new policy requiring that players on the field stand during the anthem. Players will also be allowed to stay in their locker rooms during the anthem, but any players who protest during the “Star Spangled Banner” will face a penalty.

COMMENT:  The new league policy is fine, and doesn't interfere with anyone's "rights."  There is no Constitutional right to stage a political demonstration on someone else's time, on someone else's field, in someone else's uniform and on someone else's team.

The NFL is a private organization.  No one is forced to join it.  Like any other private organization, or company, employers have a right to impose reasonable standards of behavior.  If the players wish to engage in politics, or make political speeches, they have a perfect right to do so on their own time and in another space.

It would have been far more useful if Ellison had come up with some creative suggestions for players to help their communities, but that's not the way of the modern "progressive."

May 28,  2018