Sharpton May Find Local Role Tarnished by Primary Showing

[kskiska]

COLUMBIA, S.C., Feb 4 - The Rev. Al Sharpton flew out of South Carolina on Wednesday with his campaign for the presidency deeply in debt, his credibility damaged by a poor showing at the polls and, perhaps more troubling, a sense back home in New York that he has lost the aura of influence that once gave him a strong hand in local politics.

Mr. Sharpton was stunned by his dismal showing in South Carolina, where despite a third-place finish, he did not get even 10 percent of the vote, received only about 1 in 5 black votes, and failed to win any delegates.

For many years, Mr. Sharpton has managed, by force of his personality, to defy expectations. He thought he could do it again.

But he did not. Instead, without the authority that comes with a surprise victory, the weak spots in his campaign came into focus. He was not disciplined about building a campaign structure or raising money. His decision to work closely with the Republican political operative Roger Stone has some of his supporters worried about his long-term prospects. And his apparent refusal to take any of the blame for his weak showing in South Carolina has people close to the campaign exasperated and angry.

more…
http://nytimes.com/2004/02/05/politics/campaign/05sharpton.html?pagewanted=print&position=

[mrdmk]

1. Sharpton may have little more explaining to do

http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0405/barrett.php

To be fair to Sharpton he did bring up some issues about the Iraq war, the right to vote, health care and stuck by his issues.

On the other hand, who was he playing up to with a RNC fundrasing machine behind his campain. We will see how this plays out in the near future concidering it is getting mainstream press.

edit: spelling

[DuctapeFatwa]

2. Dean also hired Republican fundraisers. But that is very very different

Republicans are good at fund-raising, and it is understandable that Dean would want the best talent he could get for this important campaign function.

For Al Sharpton to hire a Republican is not the same at all, and people who say it is are playing that same old moral equivalence card that they use to criticize important US/Israeli military operations of which it is possible that some non-targeted individuals may have regrettably died as a result.

[mrdmk]

4. To be fair to Mr. DuctapeFatwa

I did a Google Search for Republican fundraisers for the Dean campaign.

He is what I have found

Log Cabin Republicans
http://www.lcrca.com/comments.htm

Is this the group of Republicans you were referring to, if so I cannot blame them for giving to Howard Dean. He is on record for his pro Gay and Lesbian stance. Their right as human beings in the last three years are in jeopardy at this point of time.

If you care to mention names of anybody else, please do.

[DuctapeFatwa]

5. Ron Book

There was a piece about it in the Sun-Sentinel link below, but it will tell you not found, that the article has been archived, and to get the full text you have to pay. I did not pay the Sun Sentinel because I don't have any Republican fund-raisers working for me :)

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/columnists/sfl-cpol06dec06,0,4315209.column?coll=sfla-news-col

[mrdmk]

6. Nor do I have any Republican or Democrat fund-raiser

It would seem to me that this Ron Book guy gets around a lot. He seems to be in several fields at once. At on time working for Senator Bob Graham now working as a lobbyist in central and south Florida.

<snip>
"I see all the makings of a guy out there rebuilding his strength," said lobbyist Ron Book, a former Graham aide who raised money for the presidential campaign. "If you didn't know better, you'd think he was in the midst of a reelection campaign."
<snip>
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/politics/7545726.htm


This next article is insightful as to the changing politics in Florida.

<snip>
No major state has changed the politics so fast and so abruptly. With this has come a dramatic change of the ‘in-group’ all the way down to traditionally Democratic counties like Broward," said Richard Scher, a University of Florida political science professor and expert on Florida politics.

The routes to power are usually via community work, votes or money.

Book stays on top by utilizing the latter. During his interview with the Sun-Sentinel, he took a cell phone call to tell a Republican he would be bringing $50,000 in checks to a fund-raiser for Gov. Jeb Bush that night.

Al Schreiber, the county’s public defender and a staunch Democrat, continues as a powerbroker through votes.
<snip>

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-brokersmainarticle630,0,5088169.story


I did not see anywhere as to Ron Book a hands on guy setting strategy for the Dean campaign. He may be fund rising but goes back and forth between parties depending as to what he is doing.

[DuctapeFatwa]

7. Stone seems to get around a lot too. As for applying a double standard to

Sharpton, as I said in another thread, that could be bad, or it could be good.

My initial impression is that Sharpton would not be the best choice for that, as he is not a reticent man, and does not shy away from questions of discrimination.

On the other hand, if the goal is to appeal more to more conservative white voters, it could be a shrewd move.

[mrdmk]

9. Agree on both points

Sharpton does articulate his points very well and does not shy away from is opinions.

As far as Sharpton's political aspirations appear to be out for himself and nobody else using the financial route he used. Sharpton did get the national spotlight, granted, it just seems very shaky as to who was running his campaign. Also as to what information their were giving to the public as to why Sharpton was the better candidate.

[DuctapeFatwa]

10. Most people are out for themselves, politicians included

If anything, Sharpton has failed to hire enough professional campaign strategists, including fund-raisers. and media consultants, being content with a lick, a promise, a haircut and a lawyer suit.

It is traditional for supporters of candidate A to allege that candidate B is only out for himself, and vice versa.

In reality, there may have been people who sought public office out of pure altruism and calling to public service, but I can't think of any. Politics is a business like any other business, and polticians are less likely to affect actual public policy than corporate lobbyists.

Sharpton, like Kucinich, is considered "unelectable" first and foremost because their proposals deviate farther than is permitted from the status quo.

Look past the euphemism about the art of compromise and you will find a contest to see who can raise the most money by rephrasing the status quo in the most attractive way.

Disclaimer: I do not support any of the candidates :)

[mrdmk]

12. Most polticians are out for power

The question is what are they willing to do to attain this power. I think Sharpton has step over that line. He is being distructive to himself and the people who follow him.

[DuctapeFatwa]

13. Well we are back to the earlier argument of applying a double standard

to Sharpton, and as I said, whether doing that is a shrewd move for Democrats or not depends, like so many other things, on the goal :)

[stromboli]

3. sharpton

I have to wonder if Sharpton was really planning on following through with the campaign or if his presence in the early debates was meant to shed light on specific issues, like battling Dean over minority cabinet members. Sharpton didn't follow through with the process necessary to get on the Louisiana ballot, which is a much later state. Now he wants on the ballot, but why didn't he go through the steps earlier in the campaign?

[central scrutinizer]

8. another Sharpton tidbit

In the newest Atlantic Monthly, not available online yet, is a breakdown on the per night hotel charges by the candidates in Iowa. Sharpton was far and away the highest - well over $3000 per night for the Four Seasons. Dean came in lowest at $170 per night.

[rocktivity]

11. Tarnished? He's political box office poison

Through the media and financial resources of Roger Stone, Sharpton became a Republican wet dream: repelling whites as the boisterous but buffoonish official voice of Black America; attacking Dean in order to make the more-attackable Kerry the frontrunner; and insinuating that blacks who won't vote Republican shouldn't vote at all.

But now that he's hit that trifecta, Sharpton has outlived his usefulness. I have no doubt that Stone himself played a role in the leaking of this story--and that he's delighting in the fact that Sharpton unwittingly annihilated his own credibility and integrity. There's no way he can justify taking money from Republicans, and from a Republican with Stone's reputation in particular.

So welcome to The League Of Dead Pundits Walking, Al--you are now Dan Quayle with a slightly better haircut.


rocknation