Sharpton - The GOP's useful foil

[BlueManDude]

I see Rev Al somehow "forced" his way onto the FoxNews lineup today. I guess they just couldn't help themselves.

From the Village Voice 2/5/04:

"Roger Stone, the longtime Republican dirty-tricks operative who led the mob that shut down the Miami-Dade County recount and helped make George W. Bush president in 2000, is financing, staffing, and orchestrating the presidential campaign of Reverend Al Sharpton."

http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0405,barrett,50745,1.html

[MarinCoUSA]

1. So why don't any Dem candidates call him out in debates?

- this is in my top 10 media under reported issues. A guy who get his plane tickets and hotel paid by the GOP should not be invited to public Dem debate. It's rigging the system

\

[rhett o rick]

7. Duh, the dems are afraid of saying ANYTHING that might be construed as

fascist.

[nevergiveup]

2. Sharpton

is so full of himself. When he took the stage with Lamont I cringed. Rev. Jackson has his moments both good and bad (Terri Schiavo) but Sharpton is a buffoon all the time.....just my opinion.

[Laughing Mirror]

3. What exactly are the GOP talking points you have heard Sharpton repeating?

Have you ever heard of Republicans for John Kerry (they raised 11 million dollars for the Democratic candidate) or Republicans for Lieberman (don't know how much they raised, but it shouldn't be hard to find). How much money did Roger Stone's family contribute to Sharpton's campaign with the credit cards Stone gave them? Do you have any information on that?

[BlueManDude]

8. Sharpon doesn't have to spout RW talking points

his mere presence shifts the debate from legitimate instances of bigotry to his own shady past and his personal corruption.

He leads no one - blacks didn't even support him in 2004.

As for the money, yes there are "Democrats for xxx" and "Republicans for xxx" groups but Sharpton's operation was being run bu a well known GOP operative.

[Laughing Mirror]

16. What are those GOP talking points Sharpton keeps spouting?

Once again, answer my question.

[BlueManDude]

18. None. But his words are meaningless.

He is used by conservatives and bigots to delegitimize the very concerns he's supposed to be addressing.

His very appearance sets back the ideals he is allegedly trying to stand for.

[Laughing Mirror]

20. If his words are so meaningless to you why aren't you able to tell what they are?

For many of us who are poor, disenfranchised, gay, anti-war, his appearance and brilliant speech advances exactly in the direction we want society to go.

But you still have not answered my question. Why not? What has Sharpton said and done that has promoted the GOP?

[primative1]

21. His net effect is devisive ..

On many issues his take is similar to Dennis Kucinich.
Dennis who many would wonder? The press ignores him right?
So why, from time to time does the same press bring out Reverand Al? Do you believe the corporate contolled media is actualy concerned with airing a balanced viewpoint or perhaps there is some other quality the Reverend brings with him that is desired to round off the broadcast? Harvesting that quality serves the GOP.
Sorry to butt in but I couldnt resist comment ...

[BlueManDude]

22. I did answer your question.

I guess we'll agree to disagree on the impact of Mr. Sharpton on the issues you listed above.

[Laughing Mirror]

26. You certainly did not answer the question

You come on this board insulting and accusing the Democratic party's most brilliant voice of being a GOP foil, but you are unable to provide any substantive evidence to back up your claim.

[rhett o rick]

27. And how would you back up your statement that Al Sharpton is the democratic

party's most brilliant voice? The right wing is very effective at getting the left to turn on itself. When Al Sharpton demanded that Imus be fired and ignores the right wing racists like Beck, Savage, Coulter, Hannity, etc., he played into the hands of the right wing. Is Mr. Sharpton against all bigotry or just that against the black community?

[beaconess]

4. It's amazing, isn't it? The media invites Sharpton and Jackson to come on their shows 8 times a day

whenever a "black" issue arises, and then criticizes them for holding themselves up as the "self-appointed black leaders."

Of course, no one questioned by Imus went on Sharpton's radio program, rather than one of the scores of other radio shows hosted by black hosts, such as Tom Joyner or Joe Madison. Yet when, as a result of this appearance, Sharpton's profile is raised, they blame Sharpton!

The Imus issue was driven, not by Sharpton and Jackson, but by the Association of Black Journalists, black women's groups, the National Urban League, the NAACP, etc. Yet the media paid no attention to the issue until Sharpton and Jackson spoke up. And then they virtually ignored these other voices throughout the week while they interviewed Jackson and Sharpton several times a day and, when they weren't interviewing them, they ran looped video clips of the two of them over and over and over.

Yet it's Sharpton and Jackson who are hogging the spotlight?

Jeez!

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[beaconess]

24. Your post is extremely offensive

Especially since I'm sure you know what the "N" in "HNIC" stands for.

[beaconess]

5. This reminds me of something that happened at the Democratic Convention in 2004

The last night, after Kerry's speech when they had the balloon drop and all of the Democratic party folks onstage, when the camera caught Al Sharpton standing onstage waving with everyone else.Tom Brokaw said, in the snarkiest possible tone, "I see that the Rev. Sharpton has managed to find his way onto the podium."

As if Sharpton just showed up at the Convention and forced his way, uninvted and unwanted onto the stage! I wanted to scream: "Hey, you IDIOT! He didn't "find" his way to the podium. He was a Democratic candidate, he spoke in primetime at the convention, and the only way someone can "find" their way onto the platform at the Democratic convention is if they are INVITED to be there, they are assigned an official Democratic convention "tracker" (a staff person who makes sure each podium guest gets to where they're supposed to be) they are given a credential, they are escorted through about 17 different checkpoints, and they are taken to the stage! He's there because he's SUPPOSED to be there!!!"

It was incredible. He didn't seem to think it strange that Howard Dean or Dennis Kucinich or anyone else was there. But for some reason, Sharpton's presence invoked this snide commentary.

Very similar to what we're seeing now. Sharpton is consistently called to offer his comments and invited to appear on these shows - unless, unbeknownst to me, Sharpton is just showing up on these sets and forcing them to interview him on the air - yet they behave as if it's HIS fault that he's getting all of this airtime.

[Honeycombe8]

15. Actually, I think Sharpton was not invited to the podium, as I recall.

That was a controversy at the time, if I recall it correctly. Or, at least, Sharpton made it a controversy.

The others were invited. Sharpton had been left out. But that didn't stop him.

[ohioan]

25. You obviously have no idea how the Democratic Convention works

NO one gets on the podium unless they're supposed to be there.

And Sharpton was supposed to be there. He was a former Democratic candidate who had strenuously endorsed the nominee, not to mention, he gave one of the best speeches (in primetime, mind you) of the convention.

There was absolutely no controversy about any of this. Sharpton was NOT left out and I defy you to offer any evidence that he was. Al Sharpton was on the podium, not because he had forced his way there, but because he was INVITED to be there. And he was escorted there by the tracker the Democratic convention assigned to him.

I know this because I was there and was directly involved in the tracking and podium security operation.

[zulchzulu]

6. I thought Al kicked Wallace's ass on Fox Noise Sundee

Perhaps you didn't watch the same show I did, but I thought he made some valid points and slapped back at Wallace pretty hard.

I'm not a huge fan of Sharpton, but I thought he did well. They were ready to try to pull the rug from under him and he hit back pretty hard.

[rhett o rick]

9. Sharpton's reaction was polarizing. He didn't show he was a bigger

person than Imus. Imus was wrong and should be held accountable for his actions. But for Sharpton to demand a pound of flesh when he doesn't do the same for all of the right wing fascist racists is questionable. Why Imus and not Glen Beck? Beck has a definite agenda and i don't think Imus does. But Imus was a critic of the corp fascism of the Bushco and Beck is a tool of those same fascists. Whose side is Sharpton?

I think Sharpton is interested more in his self promotion than building bridges.

[primative1]

10. Sharpton is a Tool

Why he was dragged out of his closet for this special appearance is of concern. Obviously we are watching the 2008 game plan unfold but I wonder what level of devisivness the powers that be have selected as appropriatly distracting.

[Honeycombe8]

14. Sharpton was "dragged out of his closet"? Surely you jest.

No one has ever had to drag Sharpton out of anywhere to get him on TV to be in the middle of a controversy involving race. That is Sharpton's specialty.

[primative1]

17. I meant in the sense of the network camera

Sharpton is always raving, but he only gets selective coverage when the time is suitable. We need to wonder, why now? Hmmm

[Honeycombe8]

13. And deflection of Sharpton's false accusations of the Duke college kids...

that was being announced this week. The Imus controversy was a convenient diversion from that news.

When will the Duke college kids be receiving their apology from Sharpton, for having called them rapists? I'm gonna guess....Sharpton will spin and will never, never admit he said anything wrong. Sharpton does not apologize. Period.

But he sure likes to kill others when they're down and apologizing and begging for mercy. Distasteful, to put it mildly. Imus should maybe have been fired. But not like it happened. Not in the hot torrent of an angry mob demanding blood. Dust should've settled. A little time gone by. The matter considered in calm light of day without anger.

[Honeycombe8]

11. The reason FAUX has Sharpton on, IMO....

is because he is the face of unreasonable liberal-ness and the face of everything abhorent to real conservatives. He is seen as a scary, fringe character...everything conservatives would not want their children to become.

So...instead of having more acceptable Democrats on, Faux chooses to have the more controversial ones on. The ones least likely to be persuasive in an argument with a conservative. O'Reilly uses this tactic a lot.

I'm not saying Sharpton IS these things. (Goodness knows no one wants to offend Sharpton right NOW! He/She might get shut up permanently!) But this is how Sharpton, Jackson, and some others are seen by the right. So it HELPS the Faux cause to have them on. And for Sharpton...well, IMO, he considers it a plus whenever he gets on TV. Any audience is better than no audience. One more chance to get his message across, whether it has impact or not. (I'm not saying that's an incorrect position to have. Most politicians have this position.)

[BlueManDude]

19. This is the same reason conservatives love to discuss the issue or reparations for slavery

Not because they are afraid it will actually happen (it's an absurd idea) but because they know how absurd it is and much it pushes the buttons of their audience.

The goal is to attach liberalism to "far out" ideas that no sane person would support.

[Honeycombe8]

Self-delete. duplidated inadvertently (twice!)...

[Honeycombe8]

12. Self-delete...duplicated inadvertently...