Uncle Al Takes On Dean and The Man

[DrFunkenstein]

SIOUX CITY, Iowa - Veteran black activist Al Sharpton contended Wednesday that the news media are dismissive of his presidential campaign because newsrooms are overwhelmingly white.

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Sharpton complained that former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean has been virtually anointed the hot candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 — a case, he said, of a white-dominated media focusing on a middle-age white man.

He noted that many commentators have compared Dean to former presidents Carter and Clinton, both governors of relatively small states, without mentioning that both Georgia and Arkansas have sizable minority populations, while Vermont is nearly all white.

"No one has even asked about the fact that this surge of support has been really one-dimensional," said Sharpton.

In addition, Sharpton said he is often asked about how he can hope to lure white voters in key early states like Iowa and New Hampshire, while Dean is never pressed on how he will appeal to minorities.

"When I come to Iowa, they ask how can Sharpton get the white vote," said Sharpton. "I've run in New York and gotten more white votes in my races than he's gotten black votes in Vermont? Why aren't we talking about that?"

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=694&e=17&u=/ap/sharpton_race

[JohnKleeb]

1. I really do think Sharpton makes good points

[liberalnurse]

2. I am surprised he is playing the race card here.

It has been no picnic for Dean. Dean has worked hard to move into the front. Al has the same chance.

[Mairead]

17. And you call yourself a liberal? The sort Phil Ochs sang about, perhaps?

Al has suffered from having 'the race card' played against him over and over -- why do you suppose he gets asked how he will appeal to Whites, but nobody asks a White candidate how they'll appeal to Black folk?

[JohnKleeb]

19. good point way to put things in perspective

[indigo32]

29. You are right that

it's not fair to say Al has the same chances...
but it is fair to say Dean has worked very hard to get where he is.
AND you're sadly mistaken if you think people aren't asking about his appeal to minorities. I see it here, I heard it at the meet-up last night.

[Rhiannon12866]

35. White candidates have been very concerned about the black or

minority vote. The only reason that Al Gore ``lost'' in Florida in 2000, and, therefore, the election, was that the overwhelming percentage of the thousands of voters Katherine Harris and Jeb Bush disenfranchized were African-American or Hispanic and likely to vote Democratic. The current slate of candidates would do well to remember this.

What Sharpton's saying about Vermont is true. Vermont and Oregon have the smallest percentage of African Americans in the nation.

I used to dismiss Sharpton as being a little nutty. I remember the Tawana Brawley case. However, lately, I've found I agree with almost everything he has to say.:-)

[tameszu]

44. "nobody asks a White candidate how they'll appeal to Black folk?"

People ask this all of the time!

For example, Clinton's wins are often credited to his appeal to minority Americans.

And some say KKT's loss in MA was due to her choosing a running mate who didn't appeal to African Americans much.

Although I sometimes feel that the Q is misguided because "blcak folk" aren't really monolithic.

[bread_and_roses]

21. "the race card"...

is already on the table. Sharpton may have many deficits as a candidate, that doesn't make his point here any less pertinent.

"I am surprised he is playing the race card here. It has been no picnic for Dean. Dean has worked hard to move into the front. Al has the same chance." Right. And a kid from the inner city has just as much chance to go to college as the kid from Scarsdale, he just has to "work hard" because of course we all start in an even playing field?

edited to say I just love how people who deal with racism (and sexism) every day of their lives are never allowed to mention it.

[UnapologeticLiberal]

30. So a candidate who starts out unknown with no money

has the same chance as a candidate who starts out with name recognition, the backing of the party establishment, and a huge warchest? THAT is like saying that a kid from the inner city has as much chance to go to college as the kid from the wealthy suburb.

[bread_and_roses]

45. two points...

...one, I read this thread because I thought it MIGHT have something to say about the Democrats and the minority vote in the next election, a topic which interests me and which I consider important. Instead, once again, the issue is ignored in favor of paens to Dean, for whom I have a vast yawning indifference, and who, whatever he is, is not dealing with institutionalized racism in his campaign.
...two, we all use shorthand on the internet, so I will not read too much into your use of the phrase "race card" but it is generally a phrase indicating denial that racism could possibly be playing any role in a given situation. And that is nonsense. And a Democrat actually willing to address it just might bring out some of the minority vote. Which would be a good thing if we want to get rid of Bush and Co.

[blm]

23. The media "has worked hard" promoting Dean since

the beginning of the year. Especially Rove's favorites like Howard Fineman and Deborah Orin, they can't seem to get enough of pushing Dean's candidacy over the others. The press is doing its job for Rove and their corporate masters. Well beyond race.

Nothing to see here.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

26. Read Deborah Orin's piece this morning. Thur. 17th

http://www.nypost.com/commentary/2642.htm



edit: With friends like this.....

[blm]

31. She completed her first task...

Promote Dean, dump on Kerry.

Now it's time to start the tear down of Dean, too.

That's how they always do it. Same old, same old.

[ProfessorPlum]

33. I agree that the media loves to dump on Democrats

whether they spell their names Kerry or Dean. Apart from that, I'd say you are the one "completing a task".

[blm]

38. meaning?

I warned that Fineman, Orin and the American Spectator are not honest about their agenda in their Dean articles that also managed to target Kerry as a villain. Now, Orin turns on Dean, as expected by me, and somehow *I* am the bad guy?

You can't bring yourself to admit that I was right, can you?

Rove's mediawhores trumpeted every Dean attack on the other Dems and the Democratic party for months. Big surprise that they would play Dean up over the others. Now, they'll tear him down.

[VermontDem2004]

48. That isn't true

I haven't seen the media focusing this much attention on Dean since as early as the beginning of July. He made a few tv appearences and mentioned a few times but that is really about it.

[AP]

50. Mara Liasson did the first positive Dean story on NPR

she liked him alot just before the pro-Dean stories began to go wide in the national press.

[SummerGrace]

3. I was at the Sioux City forum

Interesting that this is what the reporter chose to write. At the forum Al Sharpton addressed all the major issues and discussed his solutions to the problems facing us. It was broadcasted on cspan so there should be a replay.

[whirlygigspin]

4. division tactic

republican mole writer. been there...blah

[TheDonkey]

5. Sharpton went too far.

I like Al, but he is being unfair to Dean.
The media has potrayed him as McGovern and Dukakis more than Clinton or Carter.

As for the white media not talking about him? I don't think anyone white, black, hispanic, whatever is considering Al Sharpton a likely chance to get the nomination let alone win the presidency. That is why the media ignores him, just like Kucinich, Mosley-Braun0 and even Edwards has been ignored lately.

I think Al Sharpton was a little too much with that comment.

[Mairead]

18. Good handle

[blm]

24. No...the media says that "other Dems" say

Dean will be another McGovern or Dukakis. The media fawns over Dean because he attacks the other candidates and the Democratic party, and they love to trash the Dems.

[AP]

51. It's a fair comment and crucial issue for Democrats

Bottom line for 2004: Democrats won't win unless they run a candidate who appeals to minority voters. If Dean's biography and resume don't have elements which click in the minds of minority voters, it's better to address it now, than to be scratching your head the first Wednesday morning of November 2004 wondering what went wrong.

[Devlzown]

6. He tells it like it is.

Which is another reason he isn't getting any press.

[SummerGrace]

12. What the reporter wrote about

was not discussed at the forum. Al Sharpton talked about sElection 2000, how our gov't can listen to our phone conversations/arrest us and detain us without due process - the threat to our rights, how workers should have the right to unionize, he said we should have Constitutional Amendments for voting, health care, and education; he talked with a sense of urgency about how we need to WIN this election to stop the corporations, Bush and his buddies from bankrupting us and sending us to war; that we need to protect this country from within by strengthening security of our ports, funding first responders and protect the country externally by diplomacy and helping to provide basic needs such as water, meds, and sanitation to people - he said people will help us with terrorism because it's in their interest to help us if we are helping them improve their living conditions - that we can't bully our way to peace and security.

[blm]

25. Same with Kucinich.

DK was MUCH tougher on Bush and scrupulously antiwar, even speaking at antiwar rallies that Dean steered clear of. But, DK and Sharpton were ignored while the media made Dean the darling of the antiwar crowd.

[w4rma]

7. Dean got his support *despite* the media, though

The media only really picked up on Dean after he began to overtake Sen. Kerry as the frontrunner.

Yes, in general, his complaints are VERY TRUE, but I think that in Dean's case the white newsrooms were not the reason he has been getting his coverage. In fact political newsrooms are now primarily white, but also primarily Republican (as should be obvious from the topic of this article). Sharpton had *alot* of other great things to say, also.

[DrFunkenstein]

8. He Has A Good Point About Vermont Being Vanilla

But I think he is over-stating his case. I don't think if Colin Powell or Condi Rice were running, the honkey media would be quite so dismissive.

[dsc]

11. They weren't dismissive

of Wilder when he ran nor of Jackson when he did. Sharpton has been elected to nothing and hasn't even won a primary in one of the most liberal cities and states in the nation. He lost to Ruth Messenger for goodness sake. She may have been a nice lady but not a political power.

[VoteClark]

9. Al is a Bad ASS!

I agree with 98% of what Al says. He is awesome in my book. He can't win, we all know that, but I think he has great points and needs to hammer away at all the stuff that is wrong with the country like he has been doing.

J4Clark

[leftist_rebel1569]

34. I agree

I supported him from the beginning. He's always my favorite, even though he doesn't have a chance. I only wished he did...

[JohnKleeb]

39. hes a great guy

I have always liked him for his wit, "We're looking for the black voters who voted for Lazio" lol that was in November 2000 but on the second thought he told about what Bush could be, and he was right, would make a great press secretary and I enjoyed hearing him speak last October in DC at the anti war rally.

[Rhiannon12866]

36. Well said! n/t

[OneBlueSky]

10. Al could generate a lot more support if he just . . .

got a different hairdo . . .

[w4rma]

13. I like Al's hairdo. It's got that wind-blown look (n/t)

[Jim Sagle]

14. Al speaks his mind.

:boring:

[killbotfactory]

15. WTF does race have to do with it?

He's getting press support because he was considered a long shot and then outraised everyone in the second quarter and is quickly rising in polls.

[dfong63]

16. shut up, al

"I've run in New York and gotten more white votes in my races than he's gotten black votes in Vermont? Why aren't we talking about that?"

Sharpton may have gotten votes, but he didn't win. and that's no big surprise, because he made a huge fool of himself in the Tawana Brawley affair. besides which he's been making outrageously racial-polarizing statements for years. he is NOT someone who can unify America or win an election. he lost in New York, what makes him think he can win nationwide? stop wasting everyone's time, Al.

[Larkspur]

20. Dean addressed his support of minorities by attending the NAACP

convention when Lieberman, Kerry, Edwards, Gephardt, and Graham bypassed the convention or had planned on bypassing the NAACP convention.

He also gave a speech in Spanish to a Latino group in Texas and has repeatedly said that he would defend everyone's civil rights. He's called for either the full repeal of the Patriot's Act or those parts that are unconstitutional.

Just because Vermont is mostly white doesn't mean that Howard Dean can't defend the rights of minorities as President.

[disgruntella]

22. thanks for posting this info

Personally, I think it's good for Al Sharpton to bring this up, if it gets Democrats talking about what the candidates are doing to address black, Latino, and other "minority" voters.

[corgigrrl]

27. All campaigns better not take AA vote for granted

And gov Dean has written specifically to the Congressional Black Caucus to say how much he WILL work with them and that he would never take the African-American vote for granted.
Dean's positions that I've read on race are really good and his statement's on racial profiling and affirmative action could hardly be stronger. Check them out on his Web site if you don't believe me.

BUT i also want African-Americans to know that they have input in this campaign; i want to be part of something where faces of all colors are on board and happy with the man they are backing. And I'm not just leaving that up to campaign leadership. Dean supporters in my community are going to the people to ask them what are your concerns, what do we need to do to get your support, we will take those concerns back to the campaign. We want to work together, not in any token fashion, but because we have to work together to beat the people running the show, who have absolutely no concerns for black, brown, or gay or working poor or frankly even the middle class!

I'd like to hear from African American voters what they think we should do to help get the disenfranchised AA voters back on board with Dems. I hope the Dean campaign places visibility high on the list too, he has hired Christopher Edley to speak to minority issues and needs.

[CMT]

28. well then we should have disqualified George McGovern in '72

becuz South Dakota doesn't really have sizable population both people wise or of people with color--but he was a great man who was right on the issues and represented all the people.

[crissy71]

32. Say what you want about Al

Since he's started campaigning he's won me over big time. He probably got himself into the Tawana Brawley affair too quickly and once it turned into a farce he couldn't get himself out.

He's got better digs on Bush than anyone and he speaks from the heart.

One thought, whoever wins the nomination should hire Al's speechwriter (which may be the man himself)

Another thought, whoever wins the nomination should work just as hard as Big Dog to win the support and respect of Al's constituency - otherwise we're doomed

[nocreativename]

37. go al

I know he's bad talking Dean, and I like Dean. But I agree w/ him the problem is more than midle aged and white it is rich middled aged and white.

(added) That is biggest reason I don't like Kerry He is really middled aged he is really white and really really rich. (added again) and really really really male That hurts my marx bone.

Also, I think it's good everyone is betting up on dean, now when he gets the nomination he's ready to take on Rove and Bush co.

[DrFunkenstein]

40. Dean Is The Son Of Poor, Black Sharecroppers

I don't like Kerry because he used his rich-boy privileges to dodge the draft and buy his way into this election. I hear he has caviar with milk for breakfast. And I hate French people. I support Dean because he's not French (I think).

[nocreativename]

41. that is not what I said

I was saying that mr. Ketchup is way up there in the not poor range. And he is very very white.

Dean is rich as well most doctors are, but not stinky corprate rich. I also said I agree with all.

Dean did not get out of a draft becuase of money.

[DrFunkenstein]

42. His Parents Were Stinky Corporate Rich, Probably More Than Kerry's

My rootless sarcasm was not meant to say Dean bought his way out of the war and into hippie ski bumhood. I just meant that Kerry didn't rest on his privilege like many of his economic class.

[molly]

54. Mr. Ketchup?

Dean came from a VERY wealthy REPUBLICAN family - much-much-much more wealthy than Kerry's - ever hear of Dean Witter, etc?

snip.....

Dean was born into a wealthy New York family in 1948. The oldest of four brothers and the son of a wealthy, conservative stock broker, he grew up in the Hamptons and the Upper-East side where he attended elite private schools. In 1967 he entered Yale University. While at Yale, Dean discovered that he had an innate sympathy for the civil rights movement and the plight of the poor. He steered clear of radical protests and student demonstrations, later saying that he “instinctively distrusted ideologues,” but he also came to oppose the escalating Vietnam War.

http://www.bop2004.org/dtaweb/bop2004/default.aspx?SECTION=CANDIDATE&CID=8

[virtualobserver]

55. Thurston Howell III

One of the most ridiculous spin moments for me was when the RNC started implying that Kerry was the incarnation of the Gilligan's Island character. If any of the candidates of wealth win from the Democratic side, you can count on a bit of class warfare from the Repubs.

[dean4america]

56. in point of fact

The Dean family is NOT part of *that* "Dean" in "Dean Witter." His father did work for the Dean Witter corporation at one time, but nothing more.

[DrFunkenstein]

57. He Steered Clear Of Radical Protests?

What kind of protests did he attend, based on his innate sympathies?

[Rhiannon12866]

43. Huh? Kerry is a veteran, the only one among the candidates

He served in Vietnam.

[Rhiannon12866]

46. I like Al. He tells it as it is. I used to dismiss him as a nutcase,

but I have made it a point of listening to him now and I realize that I agree with all of what he says. He knows that he hasn't a chance of getting the nomination, but that gives him more credence with me. He is speaking out, without fear, saying things that need to be said. He has the courage to speak out, bringing our attention to many issues. He is a great speaker and I applaud him for this. He may not win, but the Democratic Party definitely needs Al Sharpton to tell them what is important and what needs to be done, with humor and eloquence.:-)

[genius]

47. Good for Sharpton

The number one problem with this election, is that the conservative Republicanmedia has already chosen the person it wants to win the nomination. Democrats have to decide whether they will be Republican pupets or support a real Democrat.

[Rhiannon12866]

52. Who do you believe the media has chosen?

I have only seen support for George Bush*.:shrug:

[VermontDem2004]

49. The media attention came

after his campaign started getting support. Most of the media portrayed Dean as someone who will be in and out early, well he proved them wrong. Alot of this media attention came after he raised an unexpected, $10 M.

[virtualobserver]

53. you hit the nail on the head

It's all about the "green" . The media also like poll numbers and controversy. Other than that, they couldn't care less.