Rep. Ellison on Apr. 27 before his arrest for civil disobedience (SaveDarfur.org)

Getting arrested for civil disobedience is “unbecoming” the office of U.S. Representative, said outgoing Minnesota GOP chair Ron Carey of Rep. Keith Ellison, who along with four other House Democrats was hauled off during a protest at the Sudanese embassy in Washington, D.C., on Monday. But is it?

Ellison and seven others were arrested for crossing a police line Monday in protest of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir’s decision to expel 16 international aid agencies from the country. In Sudan’s Darfur region, some 450,000 people have been killed since civil war began there six years ago. Ellison was arrested along with civil rights activist Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and Reps. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.); Donna Edwards (D-Md.); and Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), as well as local activists.

“While we respect his advocacy for the cause of stopping genocide, members of Congress are offered no shortage of platforms to advocate for their passions that don’t involve crossing police lines and getting arrested,” said Carey in a statement. “This is a publicity stunt that is unbecoming of the office he holds and the responsibility he bears as a representative of Minnesota.”

But Jack Nelson Pallmeyer, an assistant professor of justice and peace studies at the University of St. Thomas, disagrees: he thinks it’s well within Ellison’s role as legislator and that it fits the wishes of many in Ellison’s 5th Congressional District. Further, he thinks Ellison’s a patriot.

“That the Republican party would challenge one’s patriotism based on a creative act of civil disobedience shows a great ignorance of history,” he said. “The history of civil disobedience goes back to before the founding of the country. That’s what the Boston Tea Party was.”

“For me this is an extension of why we elected him,” he added. “I’m thrilled he would represent us in that way,”

Plus, many others have taken the same route — some at the same location, for the same cause. On Apr. 28, 2006, five Democratic legislators were arrested in front of the Sudan embassy in Washington, the same one where Ellison was arrested. The late Rep. Tom Lantos of California, the first Holocaust survivor to serve in Congress, was arrested along with Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.), Jim Moran (D-Virg.), John Olver (D-Mass.), and Jim McGovern, who was arrested in Monday’s protest with Ellison.

“We have been calling on the civilized world to stand up and to say, ‘Enough,’ ” Lantos said at the time. “The slaughter of the people of Darfur must end.”

That was three years ago today — and five months before Kofi Annan, then Secretary General of the United Nations excoriated world leaders for “shameful passivity” on Darfur.

The GOP’s Carey says the likes of Ellison have myriad “platforms to advocate for their passion.” Five years ago this summer, members of Ellison’s body had full access to one of them. In a “never again” moment, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution calling the killing in Darfur “by its rightful name: ‘genocide.’”

Given this history, it’s no surprise Ellison and his fellow congressional protesters are tired of waiting for more “becoming” ways of bringing relief to Darfur.

UPDATE: Ellison released a statement about the protest. Here’s part of it: “We encourage Khartoum to deliver on its promises to implement policy actions to end the deteriorating humanitarian crisis. We implore all countries to demand that the Government of Sudan respect and protect human rights and put an end to the acts of atrocities and crimes against humanity in Darfur.”

The Responsible Plan, touted as a progressive Contract with America, was unveiled this week at the Take Back America conference in Washington, D.C. The plan includes several components focused on ending U.S. military action in Iraq and refocusing America’s military and energy policy.

The original sponsors include Netroots favorite Darcy Burner, who lost a close race in Washington’s 8th district in 2006 and is back for a second run against incumbent Dave Reichert this year, and Donna Edwards, who recently defeated Blue Dog Democrat Al Wynn in Maryland’s solid-blue 4th district’s primary.

Now the rush appears to be on, with more Democratic candidates signing up.

Continued: Click “Read more” Joining as signatories are Democrats from Larry Grant in Idaho to Dennis Shulman and Tom Wyka in New Jersey. Jeff Merkley and Steve Novick, who are squaring off for the Democratic nomination in the Oregon Senate race, both endorsed the plan within 24 hours of its release.

Traditionally, congressional candidates do not engage in detailed policy pushes like this one, but the Responsible Plan is being touted as a win-win for Democratic candidates and the progressive movement as a whole: end the war responsibly, elect Democrats in a policy-platform wave as the Republican Contract with America did in 1994, and move the proverbial ball down the field on important legislation already before Congress. The plan (pdf) highlights several bills, along with their current cosponsors, that would serve as components of a successful execution of the plan. Notable among them is H.R. 4102, the Stop Outsourcing Security Act, sponsored by Rep. Janice Schakowski (D-IL) and 24 cosponsors, which would end the use of private military contractors like Blackwater in conflict zones such as Iraq.