You Go Al S.!!!!!!!!!!

[strandinthewind]

I JUST LOVE HIM SOMETIMES!!!!!!
______________________________________________________________

If you were not turned to C-Span or PBS early in the evening last night, you probably did not see Al Sharpton’s speech. Think what you want of him, but he is a fiery orator, got the crowd going, & was brave enough to go off the DNC script & actually take Bush on by name. According to Tucker Carlson (you can judge reliability), the Dems did not want him to speak at all, but he said that he was either going to speak on the floor or speak outside chained to the door of the convention. I copied some choice quotes from CNN’s site & have the link to the full transcript of the speech at the bottom.

On Iraq:

We did it with a go-it-alone foreign policy based on flawed intelligence. We were told that we were going to Iraq because there were weapons of mass destruction. We've lost hundreds of soldiers. We've spent $200 billion dollars at a time when we had record state deficits. And when it became clear that there were no weapons, they changed the premise for the war and said: No, we went because of other reasons.

If I told you tonight, "Let's leave the FleetCenter, we're in danger," and when you get outside, you ask me, Reverend Al, "What is the danger?" and I say, "It don't matter. We just needed some fresh air," I have misled you and we were misled.

On Bush’s speech to the Urban League:

Mr. President, as I close, Mr. President, I heard you say Friday that you had questions for voters, particularly African- American voters. And you asked the question: Did the Democratic Party take us for granted? Well, I have raised questions. But let me answer your question.

You said the Republican Party was the party of Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. It is true that Mr. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, after which there was a commitment to give 40 acres and a mule.

That's where the argument, to this day, of reparations starts. We never got the 40 acres. We went all the way to Herbert Hoover, and we never got the 40 acres.

We didn't get the mule. So we decided we'd ride this donkey as far as it would take us.

Mr. President, you said would we have more leverage if both parties got our votes, but we didn't come this far playing political games. It was those that earned our vote that got our vote. We got the Civil Rights Act under a Democrat. We got the Voting Rights Act under a Democrat. We got the right to organize under Democrats.

Mr. President, the reason we are fighting so hard, the reason we took Florida so seriously, is our right to vote wasn't gained because of our age. Our vote was soaked in the blood of martyrs, soaked in the blood of Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner, soaked in the blood of four little girls in Birmingham. This vote is sacred to us.

This vote can't be bargained away.

This vote can't be given away.

Mr. President, in all due respect, Mr. President, read my lips: Our vote is not for sale.

Closing, drawing on a 9/11 radio tribute where “America the Beautiful� was played:

As you know, we lost Ray a few weeks ago, but I sat there that morning and listened to Ray sing through those speakers, "Oh beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountains' majesty across the fruited plain."

And it occurred to me as I heard Ray singing, that Ray wasn't singing about what he knew, because Ray had been blind since he was a child. He hadn't seen many purple mountains. He hadn't seen many fruited plains. He was singing about what he believed to be.

Mr. President, we love America, not because all of us have seen the beauty all the time.

But we believed if we kept on working, if we kept on marching, if we kept on voting, if we kept on believing, we would make America beautiful for everybody.

Starting in November, let's make America beautiful again.

http://us.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/0...ipt/index.html

[Patti]

Thanks for the link. Unfortunately, I turned the TV on right as his speech was ending. I had on MSNBC and they "pulled the plug" on him. Chris Matthews was going on ad infinitum about how it was so bad what Sharpton had done. I used to kind of like Matthews but I think he has been HORRID during this convention, asking stupid questions, trying to be provocative and failing horribly IMO. But I digress...

I think it's great that Reverend Al had the cojones to stand up there and be direct!

[CarneVaca]

That Al Charla... I mean, Sharpton, delivering one of the better speeches says something about this sorry bunch. My favorite line was when he said if Bush had been president during Brown v. Board of Education, Clarence Thomas would not have been allowed to go to law school. Way to call that moron from Texas a racist!

But Al fudged a little:

It was those that earned our vote that got our vote. We got the Civil Rights Act under a Democrat.

Rev. Al, you'd better check those records again. True, the act passed under a Democrat, but I bet you know that proportionaly more Republicans than Democrats voted to pass it.

Regardless, I love that he gave them one speech for the teleprompter and delivered another. You go, Al!

[darklinensuit]

I missed it but even the conservative pundits I saw commended him for going off-script.

- Jake

[Jason T.]

It was an amazing speech without doubt. He's always been one to get a message out, but last night he did it...and then some. It was great.

He's one of the great Democrats of our time.

[estranged4life]

Originally Posted by darklinensuit

I missed it but even the conservative pundits I saw commended him for going off-script.

- Jake

Network News channels had some Democrats on last night who said "Sharpton has no pull" at all in the DNC even though he gives great speeches...Maybe he showed 'em up & thus the jealousy? Who knows.

I missed Sharpton's speech cause I was watching the DNC chairperson (Cannot recall the guys name at this moment) on the "O'Really Factor" since Wes Clark snubbed "O'Really" to appear on the "Larry Fling" show.

[CarneVaca]

Indeed, Sharpton has no pull. Let's face it, the man is a charlatan. It's too bad. He has a wonderful orating gift, and he is right about most issues, more right than the party bosses, to be sure. But his credibility will always be in question.

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by estranged4life

Network News channels had some Democrats on last night who said "Sharpton has no pull" at all in the DNC even though he gives great speeches...Maybe he showed 'em up & thus the jealousy? Who knows.

You have to remember those "Network Democrats" ususally aren't Democrats at all.

[MikeVielhaber]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

I JUST LOVE HIM SOMETIMES!!!!!!
______________________________________________________________

If you were not turned to C-Span or PBS early in the evening last night, you probably did not see Al Sharpton’s speech. Think what you want of him, but he is a fiery orator, got the crowd going, & was brave enough to go off the DNC script & actually take Bush on by name. According to Tucker Carlson (you can judge reliability), the Dems did not want him to speak at all, but he said that he was either going to speak on the floor or speak outside chained to the door of the convention. I copied some choice quotes from CNN’s site & have the link to the full transcript of the speech at the bottom.

On Iraq:

We did it with a go-it-alone foreign policy based on flawed intelligence. We were told that we were going to Iraq because there were weapons of mass destruction. We've lost hundreds of soldiers. We've spent $200 billion dollars at a time when we had record state deficits. And when it became clear that there were no weapons, they changed the premise for the war and said: No, we went because of other reasons.

If I told you tonight, "Let's leave the FleetCenter, we're in danger," and when you get outside, you ask me, Reverend Al, "What is the danger?" and I say, "It don't matter. We just needed some fresh air," I have misled you and we were misled.

On Bush’s speech to the Urban League:

Mr. President, as I close, Mr. President, I heard you say Friday that you had questions for voters, particularly African- American voters. And you asked the question: Did the Democratic Party take us for granted? Well, I have raised questions. But let me answer your question.

You said the Republican Party was the party of Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. It is true that Mr. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, after which there was a commitment to give 40 acres and a mule.

That's where the argument, to this day, of reparations starts. We never got the 40 acres. We went all the way to Herbert Hoover, and we never got the 40 acres.

We didn't get the mule. So we decided we'd ride this donkey as far as it would take us.

Mr. President, you said would we have more leverage if both parties got our votes, but we didn't come this far playing political games. It was those that earned our vote that got our vote. We got the Civil Rights Act under a Democrat. We got the Voting Rights Act under a Democrat. We got the right to organize under Democrats.

Mr. President, the reason we are fighting so hard, the reason we took Florida so seriously, is our right to vote wasn't gained because of our age. Our vote was soaked in the blood of martyrs, soaked in the blood of Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner, soaked in the blood of four little girls in Birmingham. This vote is sacred to us.

This vote can't be bargained away.

This vote can't be given away.

Mr. President, in all due respect, Mr. President, read my lips: Our vote is not for sale.

Closing, drawing on a 9/11 radio tribute where “America the Beautiful� was played:

As you know, we lost Ray a few weeks ago, but I sat there that morning and listened to Ray sing through those speakers, "Oh beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountains' majesty across the fruited plain."

And it occurred to me as I heard Ray singing, that Ray wasn't singing about what he knew, because Ray had been blind since he was a child. He hadn't seen many purple mountains. He hadn't seen many fruited plains. He was singing about what he believed to be.

Mr. President, we love America, not because all of us have seen the beauty all the time.

But we believed if we kept on working, if we kept on marching, if we kept on voting, if we kept on believing, we would make America beautiful for everybody.

Starting in November, let's make America beautiful again.

http://us.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/0...ipt/index.html

screw al shorpton....let the people do what they want with their vote. it's not up to him. the demcrats absolutely take advantage of the african american vote. they take it for granted.

[Johnny Stew]

Originally Posted by MikeVielhaber

screw al shorpton....let the people do what they want with their vote. it's not up to him. the demcrats absolutely take advantage of the african american vote. they take it for granted.

I personally think the Democratic party stands out because they don't take African-Americans for granted.
They recognize them as a very important community, and they embrace them.

[DeeGeMe]

The Democrats embrace everybody--and that's why the Repugs hate us. They believe in the politics of division and we believe in the politics of inclusion.

[CarneVaca]

Originally Posted by Johnny Stew

I personally think the Democratic party stands out because they don't take African-Americans for granted.
They recognize them as a very important community, and they embrace them.

You're right, Johnny. They just take the liberals for granted. They think that because they aren't quite as bad as the Repugnants, that we should vote for them. To them, I eloquently extend my middle finger.

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by MikeVielhaber

screw al shorpton....let the people do what they want with their vote. it's not up to him. the demcrats absolutely take advantage of the african american vote. they take it for granted.

As opposed to Katherine Harris and the Republican party who purged them from the voter rolls in 2000?
What's your party doing for them MikeVielhaber? Name one thing your party has EVER done for African Americans. I'm waiting.

[CarneVaca]

Originally Posted by gldstwmn

As opposed to Katherine Harris and the Republican party who purged them from the voter rolls in 2000?
What's your party doing for them MikeVielhaber? Name one thing your party has EVER done for African Americans. I'm waiting.

Lincoln was a Republican.

More Republicans in Congress voted for the Civil Rights Act in the 60s than Democrats, proportionally.

[Johnny Stew]

Originally Posted by CarneVaca

More Republicans in Congress voted for the Civil Rights Act in the 60s than Democrats, proportionally.

Which was a very good thing, definitely... but tell me, what has the Republican party done for African Americans in the forty years since?