As usual, Al Sharpton has an answer. How is it possible, I ask him, that he carries so much tainted baggage from the past, yet still enjoys enormous pull with the political class?
“It’s because I have access to some of the voters they’re trying to reach,” he tells me matter-of-factly. “Union leaders, faith leaders, civil-rights leaders — that’s who they’re trying to reach through me.”
Nobody’s ever called politics a moral business, but a respect for appearances is generally required. That’s why pols run from controversial people and return contributions the minute a donor gets in a jam. They fear guilt by association.
Yet few, if any, shun Sharpton, whose notoriety hasn’t kept him from the power trough. Presidents, senators, governors, mayors — they all come to kiss the ring. So I press him on the baggage: The disgraceful Tawana Brawley episode, that stint as an FBI informer now being so colorfully examined — why isn’t he politically toxic?
Look, he says, “a poll showed that one out of four blacks say I speak for them. I know that doesn’t fit the myth in the New York tabloids, but the media are deluding themselves.”
Sharpton is a human Rorschach test — we all see something different. But he’s right about the pols. They seek his stamp of approval because they can count.
And it’s not just Democrats. He says former President George W. Bush “had me to the White House several times,” and he did a traveling debate series with Newt Gingrich. He was close to Mayor Michael Bloomberg until Sharpton’s criticism of stop-and-frisk caused a rupture.
His power is more than self-promotion. Sharpton’s refusal to make an endorsement in the Democratic mayoral primary last year cost Bill Thompson, the only black candidate, a shot at a run-off, if not victory. Mayor Bill de Blasio’s gratitude is profound, as when he called Sharpton a “blessing.”
That’s odd, but Sharpton is more complicated than either his friends or enemies claim. For one thing, he’s not wedded to the tired nostrums of the black political establishment. He supports charter schools, helped me and my colleagues rescue the Apollo Theater from the greedy clutches of Charlie Rangel’s crew and, among some white business leaders, is known for keeping his word.
On the other hand, his demagoguery on race has been bitterly polarizing and his false accusations damaged innocent people, especially during the Brawley case. A mutual friend worked for years to get him to apologize, but Sharpton, after coming close, always stopped short.
“I have said very clearly that I would take the case again, but I would not have made it personal,” he says of the rape accusations. He cites a false-accusation scandal he avoided, the infamous Duke lacrosse case, yet complains he gets no credit for maturing.
“You’re not allowed to grow in New York,” he says. “To the media, you’re stuck in time, the way you were 30 years ago.”
He pauses before adding, “Was I a saint? No, but I wasn’t the captain of hell, either.”
All true, and yet for those who remember him as a racial arsonist, it is impossible to forget the past, at least until he acknowledges the truth. I ask again about Brawley. In his mind, does backpedaling from his role amount to an apology?
“In my mind, it’s clarity,” he says.
His answer is both true and unsatisfying, making it a perfect metaphor for how far he’s come, and the distance that remains. Sharpton turns 60 in October, and is an icon to a large part of the population.
But for the majority, he remains a pariah, an object of mistrust and hostility. He hasn’t been forgiven for the past, but neither has he sought forgiveness.
I like to think that someday he will seek it, and my hunch is that he would be well received, though not universally. The moment could be cathartic for America, and him.
But first, he has to ask.
Bad ‘weak’ for Bam in Ukraine
When Vladimir Putin gobbled up Crimea, President Obama said it reflected Russian “weakness.” It will be fascinating to see what self-serving rationalization Obama tries when Putin grabs eastern Ukraine.
We’ll know soon enough. The Ukrainian military is trying to take back government buildings in perhaps 10 cities occupied by separatists and Russian agents.
The risky operation could give Putin a pretext for the invasion he’s threatening. The tens of thousands of Russian troops massed on the border aren’t there for a holiday.
Of course, Putin would prefer to be handed another chunk of Ukraine without firing a shot, but he appears willing to do whatever it takes.
That probably won’t be much. Ukraine’s army is no match for his forces, and Europe and the United States are in denial mode, talking about meetings in coming months and “diplomatic solutions.” Putin must pinch himself, wondering if he’s dreaming that his adversaries are so timid.
His dream is Ukraine’s nightmare. Falling under the Russian yoke will be the end of freedom for millions of people.
In that sense, Obama got one thing right — there is “weakness.”
The source is the man in his mirror.
A lawyer joke that’s not funny
A lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client, as Stanley Cohen is proving.
A defense lawyer whose clients included Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law, Cohen pleaded guilty to a federal charge of impeding the IRS just before his trial. Remorse was not part of the deal.
“I plead to being an enemy of the fascist state,” he told reporters, calling the case a “witch hunt.”
If so, the feds got their witch. They say Cohen filed no tax returns for six years, got cash payments from clients, and kept no financial records despite bank deposits of $3.7 million.
A lawyer with so little respect for the law deserves a long prison stretch to come to his senses.
Blas is the 11th plague
Because a progressive can never let a holiday go to waste, here is part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s statement on Passover:
“Let us all reflect on the message of Passover and recommit ourselves and this city to fight for an end to inequality all across New York.”
Leftists demand separation of church and state, except when religion can be usurped to serve their agenda. So Rabbi de Blasio preached about ideas that, coming from him, sound like a plea for a tax hike.
“We will all need to dig deeper and fulfill our responsibilities to ourselves, our children and each other, and ensure that we mark this holiday by caring for the poor, sick and elderly, and making sure no one is left behind.”
Please, give it a day of rest.
For heroes only
Some Democrats want to give military veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan a parade, but there should be one rule: No politicians allowed.