In the upcoming edition of The Limbaugh Letter, I endorse Reverend Al Sharpton for the Democratic presidential nomination. I give my reasons, too – starting with a recap of Sharpton’s slicing and dicing Paul “The Forehead” Begala on the January 21st edition of Crossfire. Begala tried to slam and smear Sharpton – just as they do any person of color who dares to think independently of Democratic Party bigs.
I’ve said that this guy has the most personality of anybody in the race, and that Democrats would have to find a way to take him out. The Democrats have to be careful about telling a popular black presidential candidate, “You can’t run.” They promised blacks the mountaintop if they just stick with the Democrats and vote 99% for them every election. But here comes a very popular black candidate, and they’re doing all they can to slaughter him by rolling a boulder down on him as he climbs to the summit!
Congressman Barney Frank – who doesn’t mention Dick Gephardt failing to pay taxes on his North Carolina estate – talks up Sharpton’s ancient tax problems. Who has the cache in the Democratic Party to take out Al Sharpton and not pay a price for it? If it’s not some individual (as in why they told Carol Mosley-Braun that she couldn’t run for Senate, but had to run for president to blunt Al) then maybe the press can do it.
The February 26th Washington Post says blacks “deserve more attractive and able representatives.” Leon Panetta, Clinton’s chief of staff, said, “[I]t’s important for a Democrat candidate to bring people together, not divide.” Oh, you mean like Clinton did? Panetta called Sharpton “extreme,” a pejorative usually aimed at conservatives alone. Peter Beinart writing in the New Republic and Wall Street Journal called Sharpton “a charlatan.”
Mona Charen cited his “despicable history as a racist.” Senator John McCain (R-Media), who assailed Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson for intolerance during the 2000 presidential campaign, says that Democrats should do the same to Sharpton. I predicted we’d see a series of hit pieces designed to take Al Sharpton out – and that’s what we have now. They all mention Al’s history in a way, as he himself says, they never once have about Ted Kennedy at Chappaquiddick or Robert Byrd in the KKK. So I’ve endorsed him, and hope this will even the field as the DNC tries to keep Sharpton down.