anybody else about ready to demand...

[incontrovertible]

a speaking slot for Sharpton at Boston '04?

Look, don't get me wrong, I know he's a polarizing figure, and I'm not voting for him in the primaries, but you've gotta admit, he rules the mic. Give him a non-keynote on opening night and watch him whip the throng into a frenzy that'll last all week.

[toddzilla]

1. amen

he's friggin hilarious, while always hitting home with his comments. The crazy thing is, i agree with most of what i've heard from him.

[incontrovertible]

3. if there's no contest in the Texas primary

by the time it rolls around, I think I'll vote Sharpton. In fact, once the contest is essentially over, and no other candidate can get close to the frontrunner's delegate count, I'd encourage anyone to vote Sharpton, just to get him that speech.

Sharpton should be to Democrat as Alan Keyes is to Republican. Totally unfeasible as a national figure, yet articulates virtually all of the core principles around which the base rallies, and does so better than anyone else.

[uptohere]

7. hes good for keeping the pols honest

and my what a trick that is !

[uptohere]

2. I agree but its too dangerous

unless you know that you have installed planks covering all his concerns then he goes up and uses that finely honed oratory to make you change your platform. Possibly against what you want.

He's good alright... too good. You better have lots of dialog and agreement before that happens.

Lets face it, his entire point in running was to create exactly this scenario. He's too visible to ignore now (unlike Jesse Jackson) and he will be able to get some portion of what he wants for his constituancy into the platform. Were he not to have run, probably not.

[incontrovertible]

4. Agreed

I don't know who's playing the role of power-broker at '04. Probably Billary / McAullife, along with the nominee at that point. I would presume they would vet whatever speech he intends to give, and whether he deviates from it would owe primarily to the future role he wishes to play within the Democratic establishment.

Say, did Alan Keyes get a slot at '00? I would think he would have to have. If so, I missed it. Unfortunate - I enjoy hearing him talk; he makes the rest of their field look like intellectual jokes.

[ewagner]

5. Good point

which raises another interesting question.

Will Sharpton be "accomodated" in the platform?

Will the platform cause a big fight within the party?

[uptohere]

6. I don't think he can fail to be given an ear

and yes there will be issues within the party leadership. There should not be, of course, but it will be played as overcomplicating the message. I don't think it will be allowed to be visible as a big fight. Al is visible but only so visible.

So far he has used this forum he's created to good effect, I think he'll continue that way.

[leesa]

8. I'm sorry but Sharpton is too good to include???

Yes, he is a smart man and he has not trashed his opponents like the others have worked against each other. So far this board wants him excluded because he's too good??? Does this make any sense? What is the motivation for these comments?

[incontrovertible]

9. not me!

HELL no! I want Sharpton to speak at the convention. I'd like him to have a keynote, personally, but wouldn't hold my breath that it'll happen. But who knows? If Dean sweeps the field, the DLC is dead until '08 at the earliest. Oh, they'll be around, and we'll all sing about unity and so forth, but it'll be a vicious repudiation by the base.

I think the trepidation previously expressed revolved around the idea that Sharpton would do what the Clintonistas feared Brown was going to do in '92: Dress the party down wholesale for its deep and abiding campaign-contribution-whoredom. Which is pretty much exactly what Brown did; they just scheduled it when few people would watch, and once he was finished, pretended he hadn't even shown up.

The nominee, and the power brokers du jour, like to have complete control over the convention. When you have an unrepentent outsider, like Brown, or Sharpton, come into the hall with delegates who'll go to the wall with them, that complicates matters, both internally and to the public view.

It might be preferable that a nominee emerges relatively quickly in the primaries, but since it's ABB in '04 anyway, I would personally be fascinated to see maybe four candidates get to the floor, nobody with more than a plurality, and then let's ROCK.