You Go Al S.!!!!!!!!!!
 

I JUST LOVE HIM SOMETIMES!!!!!!
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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

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!

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:

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!

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

- Jake

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. :thumbsup:

One of the...
 

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.

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.

Al kicked major ass. They gave him 6 minutes and had pre-approved his speech. He went off-message and took up 20+ minutes! It was wonderful. He said what needed to be said. I was yelling "Preach it Brother Al--Preach it!" at the TV last night. The pundits were all in a tizzy--I still can't believe MSNBC & Chris Matthews had the audacity to cut him off! Trust me, I fired off an angry e-mail to them today about it too.

I still havent...
 

watched MSNBC since it replaced the CNN's on our cable system, But with Comedy Central why bother watchin' the news networks? Jon Stewart's show does a "great" job of covering the DNC :lol:

CNN aired the whole speech... i thought it was great speech, a lot of emotion in his speech for sure...

A lot of ppl were a little put off guard with it, as the DNC was supposed to be positive and not much Bush bashing so to speak...and him calling the president out was great IMO...

"MR PRESIDENT!!"

lol...priceless

I think CNN has provided the best coverage of this convention...they even aired John Mellancamp's performance of "Small town" last night, well MOST of it...he did great btw...and CNN does a great job of covering a Democratic festival but at the same time trying to remain non-partisan...Larry King has Bob Dole on as a guest each night (and I like Bob Dole a lot)..and does some great interviews, a lot of Larry's democratic guests seem to love Bob as a person as well...and Bob is very light hearted, ya know, he is great friends with many democrats even tho he disagrees with them on most issues...and he has a great sense of humor about the whole thing

Chris

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.

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.

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

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.

Tucker Carlson is a turd. Period.

What's your complaint exactly? It's a party convention. The idea is to get people to vote for the party.

Or do you just think the black guy shouldn't have been allowed to speak?

Bull****. ;)

Tell me what the Republicans did for blacks. Nothing. Sharpton was amazing and he was dead-on. I see you are not refuting anything he said with facts. If you want to talk about votes being taken for granted, let's talk about how the Rpeublicans take the southern vote for granted. :wavey: Virginia and the Carolinas are already in the bag, don't you worry.

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.

Lincoln was a Republican.

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

its the fact that he was infuriated that bush had the audacity to campaign to african americans *gasp* the horror!.....i mean this dude was yelling....he was obviously pissed off about it. al sharpton can't control peoples minds...let them think for themself. its like if kerry came to campaign here in texas and they yelled at him for doing that....i would get pissed off if someone did that being from texas. but i wouldnt get mad at kerry for doing it...he's just trying to get votes where he normally doesnt do well. good for him. as much as i think he's a douche.

You're spewing again. Prove it. ;)

:nod: I hear ya!

what did the dems do for blacks? (i'm not trying to start anything but maybe you know something i dont which is entirely possible)

I think you're still missing the point of what convention speeches are about. Every single person who got on that podium, save for perhaps Ron Reagan, made a pitch to vote for Kerry, so in a way, they were telling people how to think. I find it curious that you only seem to object to the flamboyant black guy doing it. Is it because he was just so damned effective? Did he strike some kind of nerve?

I may be a pest, but I am fair. I don't let blind partisanship cloud my judgment or sense of fairness.

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

Well, in so much as a douche is used to cleanse certain orifices from odor-causing bacteria, and many of us are hoping that John Kerry will cleanse the White House of the odor-causing bacteria its currently infested with... I guess it's reasonable to think of Kerry as a "douche." ;)

dude i didnt watch the convention.....i saw him on cnn.....i object to some of the things i read the edwards had to say but i didnt read or see much of anything else. i'm FAR from racist.

and i couldve gone up there and yelled at the height of my voice VOTE JOHN KERRY and been just as effective. you just have to put energy into what you say and you'll get a rise out of people.

and also this is my first election i'm old enough to vote in so its really the first one i have a big interest in. so excuse my naivity of the conventions i've never paid attention to them before.

Who signed the bill into law? Introduced it? Sponsored it? Who created HUD? Welfare? Affirmative Action? Who sponsored and signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965? Who was the first party to allow a black man to speak at their convention? What party had the first black man to run for president? What party has the most African American members of the House Of Representatives? Congress? Mayors? Governors?

Sure Lincoln was a Republican. What are the similaritites between the Republican party of 1865 and today? Were they against abortion and was their playbook the Book Of Revleations? Did they favor taxation of only the poor and the middle class?
Don't be coming at me with this weak ****.

Well there'e a few who are serving in rather high ranking positions in the current administration. Does that count?

Besides Rice and Powell, name them.

what the hell dude? he said a few he didnt say multitude.....were there significantly more during clintons administration?

Yes. Want me to list them?

What have Powell and Rice done for their people BTW?

not that i dont believe you but go ahead and list them.....and i dont know everybody in the current administration.....is that all is in the bush admin or are you truly asking who else there is? do you not know? and colin powell is the man....i think he's great and if he wanted to he could make a good president but he doesnt want to ....and i dont think american would vote in a black president ...unfortunately thats how it goes

There are no other African Americans in the Bush Cabinet. Rice and Powell are the show ponies. As I said, what have they done for their people? Nothing IMO.

Off the top of my head with the Clinton admin:
Ron Brown, Ben Johnson, Jesse Brown, Joycelyn Elders, to name a few. Donna Brazile was Al Gore's campaign manager.

Edited to add: Mike Espy, Togo D. West Jr., Rodney Slater

The fact that they are there is enough in my opinion. They are great role models for the African American community. What would you think of the first African American President Colin Powell, and a Republican at that? How cool?! :)

Is he a turd or a period? Make up your mind vwith these bodily functions. :shrug:

- Jake

I know the question was not meant for me, but IMO Colin as president would not be cool. :(

- Jake

Let me guess, you'd rather have Al Sharpton? :laugh: Seriously though, would you care to elaborate on why you wouldn't like Colin Powell as President? Just curious.