CBS: Sharpton Rips Obama, Keeps Endorsement On Hold

[DeepModem Mom]

Mar 12, 2007
Sharpton Rips Obama, Keeps Endorsement On Hold
'I'm Not Going To Be Cajoled Or Intimidated By Any Candidate'
Marcia Kramer Reporting

(CBS) NEW YORK With the race for the Democratic presidential nomination already in high gear, the Reverend Al Sharpton jumped into the fray today with some tough criticism for Senator Barack Obama. The outspoken reverend offered the harsh comments to Obama just as he looked to build support for his candidacy in the black community.

"Why shouldn't the black community ask questions? Are we now being told, 'You all just shut up?'" Sharpton told CBS 2's Marcia Kramer Monday. "Senator Obama and I agree that the war is wrong, but then I want to know why he went to Connecticut and helped Lieberman, the biggest supporter of the war."

Sharpton also questioned why Obama supports "tort reform, which hurts police brutality victims."

What set Sharpton off was a published report that he is trying to hurt Obama's campaign because he's jealous. Sharpton says that claim is untrue, charging the story came from the Obama camp to pressure him into an early endorsement.

"I'm not going to be cajoled or intimidated by any candidate not for my support," Sharpton said....

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_071165711.html

[illinoisprogressive]

1. Sharpton is a long time clintonista and it's funny how these stories always

turn up in some NY rag. clintons favorite ploy to plant stories. Think about it. Seems so pat and planted.
And just as the black vote is slipping away from poor Hillary...

[JoFerret]

5. Blah! Blah!

Eat unripe grapes all round.(Sound nutritional advice for the disaffected)
Check: who has made a commitment to serving the interests of, and delivering for, the black community?
Over time?

[IndianaGreen]

2. How much money did Sharpton get from the Clinton campaign?

During the 2004 presidential debates, candidate Sharpton ripped into then front runner Howard Dean about the number of minorities working for his campaign, never mind the small number of African-Americans in Vermont. Sharpton never asked the same question from the Kerry or Edwards campaign.

Months after the November election, it was disclosed that Sharpton had received a substantial amount of money from the Kerry campaign. The money went into one of Sharpton's projects, rather than his campaign, which would have been illegal. I am sure there was a quid pro quo between the Kerry campaign and Sharpton regarding this money, and what Sharpton was expected to do to deserve it.

Considering Sharpton's track record, I now ask how much money did Sharpton get from the Clinton campaign for this gratuitous attack on Obama.

Someone should remind Sharpton that Big Dog also campaigned for Lieberman, but once Lieberman went independent, the only Democrat to support Lieberman was Harold Ford.

Remember Obama's "the elephant in the room" remark? It came at his sole campaign appearance with Lieberman.

[yava]

3. what they say to the media is not the same

in the committees behind closed doors, those same ladies and gents talk different

[goclark]

6. Love Al but he needs to stay cool this early in the game

He sounds like Clinton $$$$'s are paying his VISA bill.

[IndianaGreen]

11. Sharpton was paid to aid Kerry campaign (including $35,000 for consulting fees)

All of John Kerry’s one-time rivals in the Democratic presidential primary eventually lined up to support him as the nominee, but only one got paid for it, Al Sharpton. The Democratic National Committee paid Sharpton $86,715 in travel and consulting fees to compensate for his campaigning for Kerry and other Democratic candidates, according to reports to the Federal Election Commission.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Sharpton said he was paid for travel and he didn’t know how much he had been reimbursed. “They asked me to travel to 20 or 30 cities to campaign, and I did that,” Sharpton said. “What am I supposed to do, donate the cost of air fare?” But records show that while most of the money was to reimburse travel expenses, Sharpton was paid $35,000 as a “political consulting fee” 15 days after the election. The consulting fee was first reported in this week’s edition of the Village Voice.

Democratic National Committee spokesman Jano Cabrera said the party paid Sharpton at the request of the Kerry campaign. “After meeting with Kerry’s staff, we did agree to pay for Reverend Sharpton’s travel and consulting expenses,” Cabrera said. “He traveled very extensively to help the nominee and Democrats across the board, encouraging them to get out and vote on November 2.” Sharpton frequently appeared at Kerry’s side in the final weeks before the election as Kerry was trying to connect with black voters. Sharpton was with Kerry in largely black churches and when he spoke to other black audiences.

Kerry’s eight other former rivals from the Democratic primary also worked to varying degrees to get Kerry elected. In particular, Wesley Clark, Bob Graham, Dick Gephardt and Dennis Kucinich often campaigned with Kerry, although the latter three mostly appeared in their home states. But none of the other eight Democrats who were once in the race were paid travel reimbursements or consulting fees, according to a search of federal records collected by tracking service PoliticalMoneyLine.

http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/2004/12/sharpton_was_paid_to_aid_kerry_campaign/

[Leilani]

12. Wow, this is some amazing info

I've always disliked Sharpton, but Kerry & the DNC paying him is disgusting. He got a lot of money from Roger Stone & Republicans, too.

[IndianaGreen]

13. Looks like Sharpton is playing the hired gun again

and we can guess who the buyer is.

[rocktivity]

37. Here's the scoop on Sharpton and the Repugs

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

And I still say it was probably a Repug who leaked the story!

:headbang:
rocknation

[paulk]

49. how much money did Sharpton get from the GOP?

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

Sleeping With the GOP
A Bush Covert Operative Takes Over Al Sharpton's Campaign
by Wayne Barrett with special reporting by Adam Hutton and Christine Lagorio
February 5th, 2004 8:20 AM

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.

Though Stone and Sharpton have tried to reduce their alliance to a curiosity, suggesting that all they do is talk occasionally, a Voice investigation has documented an extraordinary array of connections. Stone played a pivotal role in putting together Sharpton's pending application for federal matching funds, getting dollars in critical states from family members and political allies at odds with everything Sharpton represents. He's also helped stack the campaign with a half-dozen incongruous top aides who've worked for him in prior campaigns. He's even boasted about engineering six-figure loans to Sharpton's National Action Network (NAN) and allowing Sharpton to use his credit card to cover thousands in NAN costs—neither of which he could legally do for the campaign. In a wide-ranging Voice interview Sunday, Stone confirmed his matching-fund and staffing roles, but refused to comment on the NAN subsidies.

----------------

[IndianaGreen]

51. If this was Venezuela, Sharpton would be taking CIA money while accusing Chavez of tyranny

The financial dealings between Stone and Sharpton don't pass the smell test. I wonder if they can pass legal scrutiny.

[lyonn]

4. Tort reform is a corporate goodie, it damn sure is not for the people

[still_one]

7. Do me a favor Al, DON'T endorse Obama. You helped Ned Lamont so much

we don't need that kind of help

[psychopomp]

8. Good questions and bonus

points for best use of "cajoled" in a public speech in a good while. ;)

Though I have the highest hopes for Sen. Obama he does need to be called on the positions he has taken.

[never cry wolf]

9. And brother AL was in bed with RW operative Roger Stone in '04

I am tired, time for bed... Al Sharpton is insignificant and meaningless... his worst nightmare... His run in '04 was barely a blip as far as serious political consideration goes, he did provide some entertainment on the national stage as sambo.... (my apologies to my brothers and sisters who may have a darker complexion than moi.)

IMHO, the Reverend AL has reverted to a clown... I suppose he always was but he was quite entertaining in '04 in the debates...

I hate to denigrate anyone, especially someone who in '04 during the debates I shouted "damn straight!" after they spoke.

Al, there is a serious black candidate now. He is not a stereotype. He is an elite intellectual but he also "gets it." Your time is done, your act is old. Give it up and work for unity....

[BearSquirrel2]

10. If Al is holding out ...

If Al is holding out for a black candidate who believes everything he does AND can win, he had better invest in cryonics. Al honestly had no business in the last presidential election. Nor did Jesse Jackson have any business in the elections he was involved in. Though, Al didn't go completely torpedo Democrats like Jackson did.

All I see from this is an effort for individuals to try to annoint themselves as "leader of the African Americans". If they were serious about making a change, they would run for congress, or mayor or something that they had a shot at winning by virtue of some experience in elected political office and experience in the halls of power.

BTW, this is not a racist argument. I would say the same thing to Ralph Nader and Ross Perot (except the thing about leader of their respective peoples). President is NOT an entry level government job.

[rebel with a cause]

14. there is also the point that Sharpton is an ordained minister.

If some people are throwing fits because Barack mentions god and his religion, consider what would go down if a minister was the nominee for president. How could there be separation of religion and state in that instance? I mean there could be, but who would trust there would be?

[IndianaGreen]

15. You can order a divinity degree through the internet

and get yourself ordained, for a modest sum.

During the 2004 campaign, pictures of the homes of Democratic candidates were posted in DU. I wasn't surprised about Dennis Kucinich's very modest home, not unlike the ones around my neighborhood. I was surprised about Al Sharpton's home. It was a mansion that rivaled the homes of the wealthiest Democratic candidate. Sharpton does not know hunger, and religion has served him well!

[rebel with a cause]

17. Yes, I had a friend that got one of those degrees just for laughs.

I was not surprised that Sharpton was a wealthy man, I knew that he had made big bucks from his activism days. But I am going to just leave it at that and not throw stones at the man in the glass house. ;-)

[antiimperialist]

16. Wow! 14 posts and none analyzed the substance

Most of you rejected Sharpton's comments based on his character, without even commenting on what he said.
More has been said in this thread against Sharton than against his words.

You are using one of the most popular illogical arguments:

1) Person A makes claim X.
2) Person B makes an attack on person A.
3) Therefore A's claim is false.

You can do better than that partners.

[IndianaGreen]

18. Bill Clinton went to Connecticut and campaigned for Lieberman, and Hillary

had a private meeting with Ned Lamont, invited him for tea, but she never campaigned for him. Sharpton doesn't mention that. He suffers from selective memory, or perhaps his wallet is bulging with the consulting "fees" he got from someone else's campaign.

We covered the bullshit and hypocrisy of Sharpton's charges, and we also discussed his character, or lack thereof.

[jail_them]

24. Thank You

Al has valid points.

The only reason the media has blown Obama up is to kill Hillary. And, it's working - I'll vote for him ONLY to keep Hillary out.

[hedgehog]

25. I watched on line as Obama wowed a crowd of 20,000in Austin , Texas

a few weeks back. No notes, no podium, just Obama by himself with a microphone on a plain platform in the middle of that crowd. Isn't it possible that the press is doing a lot of reporting on Obama because there's really something happening?

[jail_them]

27. Being A Good Talker Means Nothing

He's Montel Williams to me. Oprah could impress an even bigger crowd with her oratory.


Hitler wowed an entire nation and got a couple of other nations to join it, too.


So, yeah, 'something IS happening' - a pretty, powerful speaker pushes your buttons - but, it's not substance, just stroking.

It's like church people thinking the tingling in their head is the holy spirit - when they've been singing at the top of their lungs for over an hour and the blood has rushed to their heads.

Effect over real substance. Obama has his own built-in special fx - but, he hasn't talked about anything real other than he'll bend over for AIPAC.

I like his wife better than I like his smarm.

[hedgehog]

28. It's not nothing

Agreed, there has to be some substance, but if FDR hadn't been a good talker, he wouldn't be so revered today. If Al Gore had been a better talker, no way could he have been robbed of the election.

[rinsd]

29. What substance? Its freaking same old same old blustering

Let;s see if we have all the classic elements of Sharpton

Claims of outside pressure but he assures us he still speaks truth to power....check

Positions oneself as THE voice of the black community...check

Deliberately misconstrues facts to make some over the top point...check

""Senator Obama and I agree that the war is wrong, but then I want to know why he went to Connecticut and helped Lieberman, the biggest supporter of the war."

Because Lieberman is his colleague and has co-sponsored legislation with him.

Here's the help he gave

http://www.talkleft.com/story/2006/04/02/164/90446

Wow what an earth shaking endorsement

Here's Obama PROMOTING Lamont

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/26/AR2006102601187.html

Fuck you Sharpton. Go rub shoulders with your scumbag buddy Roger Stone.

[TomClash]

19. If Sharpton is ripping Obama

that's good for Obama.

[bklyncowgirl]

20. Al will go with the highest bidder.

He's played that game in New York for many years. He's a fun guy and all but I'll always remember that he took Republican money from Roger Stone to do a job on Dean.

If Hillary offers him enough he'll start singing her praises. If Obama gives him what he wants he'll jump on board. It's all the same to him.

[Kahuna]

21. Does Sharpton realize that he's actually HELPING Obama by

not supporting him? :shrug:

[BlueManDude]

22. Bingo!!!

[Bake]

23. No response to the "attack the messenger" charge?

chirp, chirp (sound of crickets).

All that has been done on this thread is attack Al Sharpton. Whether you love him or hate him, how about some response from the Obamaites to the SUBSTANCE of Al's comments?

If Obama is pro-tort reform, how do you defend that? There's a thread in GD where someone posted B.O.'s remarks in support of the Class Action Fairness Act. As far as I am concerned (and I formerly practiced law in the area of class actions), CAFA is an abomination - pro-business, anti-consumer - and in its own way is as bad as the bankruptcy "reform."

What say the Obama supporters?

Bake

[rinsd]

30. Fuck that Roger Stone associating scumbag

[Bake]

31. That's what I call a "substantive response"

:sarcasm:

What about the facts? Did Obama support the tort-reform Class Action Fairness Act or not? (Hint: He did.) If so, how do you defend that? Maybe you can't.

You can tell Al to go f*** himself all you want, but sooner or later Obama has to come up with some substance. I think you're just pissed that Al told an inconventient truth (to borrow a popular phrase) about your candidate.

Bake

[rinsd]

38. Explain how the Class Action Fairness Act affects police brutality victims?

Or how Obama was such a big help to Lieberman (hint: he said nice things about Lieberman in the primary but supported Lamont in the general)

Hey maybe you like Sharpton POS gotcha style like when he accused Dean of being a racist 3 years ago.

So yeah. Go fuck yourself Al as long as you carry water for the GOP.

And that is the real incovenient truth, that the self styled civil rights actvist colludes with the very worst of racists.

[Bake]

42. I'm not particularly a fan of Sharpton.

Although on a good day he's got more spine than most of Congress put together. Having said that, I suggest you do your own homework on CAFA. I did not practice in the area of civil rights class actions, so my analysis in that arena might not be the best. I can tell you that CAFA is purely intended to stack the deck in favor of business and against the consumer. Read up on it for yourself.

The point is, you're still attacking the messenger. I'm telling you that CAFA is pro-business, anti-consumer tort reform. You have YET to respond to the fact that Obama spoke out in favor of CAFA. Either (a) prove me wrong about CAFA, or (b) explain why Obama would be in favor of screwing the little guy. So far, you have done neither.

Bake

[rinsd]

44. Sharpton claimed the tort reform advocated by Obama hurt victims of police brutality

You wanted substance I gave it to you.

I also took care of his BS Lieberman point.

But yeah I'm attacking the messenger. He got the message wrong most likely deliberately on his part and he has a very public history of doing just that.

Am I happy that Obama spoke out in favor of CAFA? not exactly but its not this sin of all sins to me.


"So far, you have done neither."

You asked for substance on Shaprton, I delivered. I asked how CAFA has anything to do with police brutality, you could not answer. And if you think Obama is against the little guy but Shaprton is for the little guy, well I just can't help you.

[Bake]

46. My point is not whether Sharpton is right about CAFA

My point is that Obama supported CAFA, which is about the equivalent of Biden supporting bankruptcy "reform." You haven't responded to that. And I wouldn't have known that Obama supported CAFA were it not for Sharpton, and that's what really has you pissed off.

MY candidate in this race isn't running (yet!). So if I have to choose between the ones we've got so far, I'm undecided but I'm not thrilled by what I'm learning about Obama.

Bake

[rinsd]

48. Huh?

"And I wouldn't have known that Obama supported CAFA were it not for Sharpton, and that's what really has you pissed off."

Sharpton misreprsetning a Democrat and floating fake ass news as a means to get his name in the paper pisses me off. Its the conflating of victims of police brautality, certainly a hot button issue in the African American community, with tort reform which really has little to do with it. What do you think the intended audience heard? That Obama is against victims of police brutality. That pisses me off.

He said nothing about CAFA. You found that on your own. And I imagine being a DUer you would have found that at some point anyway ;-)

[Bake]

47. Here's most of what you need to know about CAFA

Critics charged that the legislation would deprive Americans of legal recourse when they were wronged by powerful corporations. Congressman Ed Markey (D-Mass.) called the bill "the final payback to the tobacco industry, to the asbestos industry, to the oil industry, to the chemical industry at the expense of ordinary families who need to be able go to court to protect their loved ones when their health has been compromised."<2>

Critics charge that this bill will make it far more difficult to bring class action suits, and may prolong such litigation, clogging the federal courts' dockets. The act also gives the Federal government the ability to somewhat control, through judicial appointments, outcomes that were previously under state control. No Republican legislators voted against the bill. Critics argue that the expansion of federal jurisdiction comes at the expense of state's rights and federalism, something Republicans have historically protested; however, proponents respond that the bill is consistent with the Framers' original intent for the role of federal courts and diversity jurisdiction expressed by Alexander Hamilton in Federalist No. 80.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_Action_Fairness_Act_of_2005

NO REPUBLICAN VOTED AGAINST THE ACT. WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?????

Bake

[rinsd]

52. Thanks for the info (nt)

[aein]

39. whether you're pro-plaintiff or defendant, tort reform is a necessary, in one form or another

what's there to debate?

It's really hard to gauge whether someone has a good position or not on tort reform if they "pro-reform" or "anti-reform." You could make a pretty good argument that current class action practice reward early settlements and screw the class-members. If you want to strengthen plaintiff rights and give plaintiff's attorneys more responsible to the client, then you're "pro-reform."

[Bake]

43. "Tort reform" almost ALWAYS means screwing the plaintiff

By making it more difficult to bring an action or to win. The means to establish fairness have always been in place: the rules of civil procedure (particularly Rule 11) and proper enforcement of those rules by judges.

So you don't like plaintiffs' lawyers fees in class actions? Are you aware that the P's lawyer's fees in such cases must be approved by the court, and RARELY exceeds 20 percent? Think a 1/3 contingency fee is too much? Nobody bitches about how much the defense lawyer is getting paid (at several hundred bucks an hour). And the contingency fee is what makes it possible for the average individual to get past the courthouse door, since the individual rarely has the financial means to bring a lawsuit.

Class actions often DO provide an incentive for corporate defendants to settle. Once a class is certified (particularly if the class could include hundreds of thousands of persons, not unusual in securities cases or in other cases involving nationwide marketing of products), the possibility of a huge verdict is something most companies will not risk. The real battle is at the class certification stage.

Have there been abuses on the part of plaintiffs' class action lawyers? Coupon deals, collusive settlements, etc. Certainly. But the reaction of legislators has been to throw out the baby with the bath water. Show me ONE -- JUST ONE -- instance of "tort reform" as it is currently understood, that actually helped anyone other than the defendant. The pendulum has swung too far in this "reform."

There certainly were advances in tort law in the 20th century that did, in fact, reform the law -- things like eliminating contributory negligence as an absolute bar to recovery, in favor of comparative fault; elimination of assumption of the risk as an absolute defense; adoption of strict liability in many cases. But that's not what passes for "tort reform" these days.

Oh -- and for the record, I'm a tort defense lawyer. I have in the past been a plaintiff's lawyer.

Bake

[hedgehog]

26. Sharpton accused Obama of floating the first story?

What, it didn't get enough attention so it had to be goosed to get the national press interested?

Now we're discussing a story about the first story without knowing who started the first story.

Reality check: based on past observations; where do you think both stories started?

[rec_report]

32. Sharpton was (is?) on Roger Stone's (anti-FL recount maggot) payroll

http://www.blackcommentator.com/76/76_cover_sharpton.html

February 5, 2004
The Problem With Al Sharpton
The Black Commentator


Roger Stone, a millionaire political consultant who began his career as a 19-year-old Watergate dirty trickster, virtually took over the Sharpton campaign in the last quarter of 2003, according to reports in the New York Times (January 25), Salon.com ("A GOP Trickster Rents Sharpton," February 3) and New York’s Village Voice ("Sleeping with the GOP," February 3). Stone and Sharpton were introduced two years ago by Donald Trump, the celebrity millionaire, said the Times. Stone brought in Charles Halloran to replace Sharpton campaign manager Frank Watkins, a longtime advisor to the Jesse Jacksons, Junior and Senior, who resigned in late September. (In the Village Voice article, Sharpton says Watkins was fired.) Halloran previously managed the New York gubernatorial campaign of far-right billionaire Tom Golisano, on the Independence Party line. He also managed a mostly white, conservative party’s attempt to unseat the first Black-led government of Bermuda.

Stone provides "ideas and direction, while Mr. Halloran…does the front-line work," said the Times. "In the attacks on Dr. Dean, Mr. Stone helped set the tone and direction while Mr. Halloran did the research. Mr. Halloran came up with Dr. Dean's hiring record as governor, for example, aides to Mr. Sharpton said."

<snip>

Joe Conason, of Salon.com, contends that Sharpton is a menace to the Democratic Party. "Stone certainly serves the Republican party by sustaining and promoting Sharpton," wrote Conason. "The Democratic Party, whose institutions and candidates has consistently undermined for many years, is merely a convenient vehicle for his advancement."

<snip>

[Odin2005]

33. Sharpton is an increasingly irrelavent relic of past crusades.

[Sherman A1]

35. Agreed

But Al is usually rather entertaining.

[Hunky Dunky]

34. I still like Sharpton

Although I question his judgement in making these remarks at this point in time. If he is a true Democrat, he must realize that Obama can offer a legitimate candidacy, i.e., he has a chance of winning. Sharpton can't. So, his comments are ill-timed at best.

[Bake]

36. STILL no response to the substance ...

And that speaks VOLUMES. VOLUMES, I say.

Joe Biden is almost universally loathed here because of his support of the bankrupcty "reform" act. Yet Obama gets a pass while supporting "tort reform," which is merely another name for "let's screw the little guy."

I'm still waiting.

Bake

[rinsd]

40. Uhh check out post #29 and also my other response to you.

Sharpton is deliberately mischaracterizing Obama positions just like his man Roger Stone taught him.

[aein]

41. see response #39. most people are not informed enough to speak on the merits of tort reform

I'm a second year student at a leading law school, whose taken a class on class actions, and a basic torts class. If you want to go at it, lets.

[Bake]

45. So you've taken torts.

I've been practicing law for 13 years. Seriously, there is a whole world beyond first-year law school. I don't care where you go to school, they don't teach you what it's like in the real world. Tort "reform" legislation is generally written by corporate interests, oftentimes insurers. Who do you think they're trying to benefit?

Do your homework. If you think all you need to know about tort "reform" is the McDonald's hot coffee case, think again.

Bake

[olddad56]

50. so, is everyone finding their fault with the messenger, or the message?