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Politics : Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SiouxPal who wrote (39047)	7/30/2004 3:11:56 PM
From: SiouxPal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

Al Sharpton -- the man who, in his life, has been called liar, charlatan, racist and divider, yet during a presidential run earned the labels of thoughtful, focused and smart -- might have saved the Democratic National Convention. He did what the party wanted, but was afraid to do. He became a highlight in a parade of speakers who, after months of espousing hatred of President George W. Bush's policies, nearly ignored Bush, compromising their passion and talking of hope. Everyone kept it mostly positive except -- who else? -- Sharpton. Viewers got a look at a rejuvenated Sen. John Kerry, in glory, surrounded by supporters, before the final campaign push. And they got to see Patti LaBelle. But the man who refused to lay down the party mantle was the longtime activist, the bug in the president's soup, America's bookend to Michael Moore, an unabashed and unapologetic critic of the president. Sharpton would not be silenced. And the Democrats wouldn't have it any other way. Not in the script Sharpton's off-the-script remarks were not a part of the official transcript on the Democratic National Convention Web site, but they should be. In a searing short sermon on loyalty, he answered the pertinent questions Bush raised in remarks to the National Urban League in Detroit a week ago. The president was excellent. He was humble and presidential and wasn't afraid to make a courageous bid for votes from an unfriendly crowd. He asked why most African Americans remain loyal to the Democratic Party and whether one party should represent all black folks. Sharpton, a week later, told him why: "Mr. President . . . you said the Republican Party was the party of Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. It is true that Mr. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, after which there was a commitment to give 40 acres and a mule. That's where the argument, to this day, of reparations starts. We never got the 40 acres. . . . We went all the way to Herbert Hoover, and we never got the 40 acres. "We didn't get the mule. So we decided we'd ride this donkey as far as it would take us." Sharpton's words drew cheers, some of the loudest of the night in a week that belonged to Kerry and Barack Obama, the eloquent soon-to-be Illinois senator who spoke the night before. "Mr. President," Sharpton continued, "you said we would have more leverage if both parties got our votes, but we didn't come this far playing political games. It was those that earned our vote that got our vote. We got the Civil Rights Act under a Democrat. We got the Voting Rights Act under a Democrat. We got the right to organize under Democrats. . . . "This vote can't be bargained away. This vote can't be given away. Mr. President, in all due respect, Mr. President, read my lips: Our vote is not for sale." If viewers liked it, the Dems could claim Sharpton. If they bristled, the way Pavlov's national media dogs did, the Dems could say: "Oh, that's just Sharpton on the party fringe." But here's the thing: Sharpton was on point. He did what DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe should have. And that history he gave is all that many non-committed voters will have, besides their popcorn, when the Republican National Convention competes for their attention next month. That, and the hope that Patti LaBelle is nonpartisan and may perform in both places. I got that from the net Sioux