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Until president-elect Donald Trump named Reince Priebus, the Republican National Committee chairman, as his chief of staff, there was concern that the job might go to Stephen Bannon, chief executive of the Trump campaign. Instead Bannon got another plum job as chief strategist and senior counsel.

The double appointment evoked mixed feelings. Priebus telegraphs knowledge, prudence and competency. Bannon not so much. His Breitbart web site devoted itself very aggressively to securing a Trump victory and smeared anyone perceived as an obstacle, while providing a podium for nativist, sexist and anti-Muslim views that would not have been granted legitimacy in any respectable publication. This is pretty scuffed-up baggage to lug into the White House.

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In 1990, Ellison helped sponsor a talk at his law school on the topic: “Zionism: Imperialism, White Supremacy or Both?”

There’s another appointment under consideration that I find even more concerning. On Friday, support started coalescing to install Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison as head of the Democratic National Committee. If Bannon’s baggage is scuffed up, Ellison’s is so battered it’s held together with duct tape, but with dirty laundry still spilling out the sides.