V Voice: A Bush Covert Operative Takes Over Al Sharpton's Campaign

[BadGimp]

A Bush Covert Operative Takes Over Al Sharpton's Campaign

Sleeping With the GOP
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.

Sharpton denounced the Voice's inquiries as "phony liberal paternalism," insisting that he'd "talk to anyone I want" and likening his use of Stone to Bill Clinton's reliance on pollster Dick Morris, saying he was "sick of these racist double standards." He did not dispute that Stone had helped generate matching contributions and staff the campaign. Asked about the Stone loans, he conceded that he "asked him to help NAN," but attributed the financial aid to his and Stone's joint "fight against the Rockefeller drug laws," adding: "If he did let me use his credit card to cover NAN expenses, fine." The finances of NAN and the Sharpton campaign have so merged in recent months that they have shared everything from contractors to consultants to travel expenses, though Sharpton insists that these questionable maneuvers have been done in compliance with Federal Election Commission regulations.

http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0405/barrett.php
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Now why am I not surprised...

[Native]

1. Excellent interview with Wayne Barrett , investigative reporter

for the Village Voice, can be heard at http://democracynow.org

Great questions from Goodman about the piece referenced above. Greatly supplements the article.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

2. OMG! this is sickening news...and from a reliable source...the little

fucking weasel ...i have heard thing said about just this in the past and always blew it off as BS...but even the AA community in SC didn't vote for Sarpton in mass and now i know for sure why!

thank you for this link to the "v voice"

very disturbing!

[donsu]

3. I'm surprised and disappointed

nt

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

15. I am not suprised, but am disappointed.

Rev Al has been out for Rev Al for a very long time. I thought he had reformed.
Guess not.

[schultzee]

4. Don't you know the republicans buy the willing off all the time?

[calimary]

6. Is that the Coalition of the Willing?

I've seen this before. Still sucks. Rev. Al - HOW COULD YOU?!?!?! Sleeping with the enemy, are ye?

[lumpy]

5. Amazing!

and disappointing.

[grasswire]

7. posted twice yesterday on DU

One thread in GD was moved to GD2004, and another thread was started in GD2004.

(Which is why it can be bad to move so many articles off GD. Many people who would appreciate knowing about this RNC crap don't go to GD-2004.)

[Laughing Mirror]

9. Posted and resurrected here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=260137#267304

[rocktivity]

8. Welcome to the League of Dead Pundits Walking, Al

You've just shot your credibility in the head.

I've always thought the guy was a self-serving huckster, even before Tawana Brawley. And how predictable of him to defend himself by cry racism when cornered. I wonder what Stone promised him--that he'd follow Colin Powell as Secretary of State?


rocknation

[Kolesar]

10. I still hate Sharpton for torpedoing Dean at the Black & Brown Debate

He put Dean on the spot, saying that Howard Dean had no blacks in his top positions in his Vermont government.

[alittlelark]

11. I feel sick to my stomach

I donated $ to him (as I did to most candidates) I'd like my $ back. :mad: :puke:

[justjones]

12. Sharpton pissed me off with that too.

I'm glad Mosely-Braun endorsed Dean, which flew in the face of Sharpton's criticism of him. Yeah, Sharpton can talk a big game, but when it comes down to it, IMHO, he's a fraud.

[Voltaire99]

13. Sharpton taking a page from John Kerry?

So Sharpton has taken money from the right? He's still saying the correct things about America and the direction of the party, and that's what really matters.

Anyone working themselves up into a lather about this should take a glimpse at Kerry's campaign coffers: those big corporate donors aren't exactly liberals or moderates, you know.

[SemperEadem]

14. No kidding! He's gonna be handling the "call in one"'s for a long time

once he's in office.. he's not going to have time for the people who voted for him.

[peacetalksforall]

16. It's obvious the pukes want Sharpton to run as an Independent?

They assume he will siphon votes?

Interesting that the same claim Sharpton made about Dean and few blacks on his staff is the same as we're hearing on Fox.