Politics - Why won't Rev. Al sound off on Bubba?

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Current News : One Thread

NYPost

WHY WON'T REV. AL SOUND OFF ON BUBBA? Monday,February 26,2001

By STEVE DUNLEAVY

UNTIL our own Fred Dicker found Al Sharpton to get his take on the all-important gubernatorial races yesterday, I was getting worried.

Al, my old pal, where have you been? I was getting concerned you might have had the flu - or worse, lost your voice.

See, I felt sure I would have heard from you when those pardons from "The Gang of Four," Bill, Hill, Hugh and Rog, came down.

I mean, I was certain you would have pointed out that one of the luckiest guys to slip out of the slam, courtesy of the old-guard White House, Carlos Vignali, was a pale face.

Carlos baby, who is white, as you know, Al, from press reports, was trying to shift 800 pounds of coke to Minnesota to convert into crack so kids up in the frozen North could heat their brains.

Couldn't you have pulled a few strings with your old buddies Bill and Hill to spring a few young black kids who barely spat on the sidewalk?

As Paul A. Gigot of the Wall Street Journal, observed: "Black voters have been Mr. Clinton's most loyal backers.

"But what will they think when they learn that he granted clemency to a hard-case white drug dealer who hired Mr. Clinton's brother-in-law when so many young African-Americans are in prison because of lesser charges?"

Al, are you there? There are half a million people in the country's jails serving mandatory sentences for drug violations.

And, as you know, Al, a frightening percentage of them are young blacks. I have known of kids who held as little as 10 ounces of coke who were sentenced up to 10 to 15 years.

The Wall Street Journal further observed: "This (clemency for Vignali) from a president who tried to use the same race card against Republicans."

And what about New Square? Exercising their democratic right to vote, the residents of the upstate town seemed to be the only Hasidic community delivering big-time for Hillary. Fourteen hundred-twelve in the vote leaving Rick Lazio, the traditional Hasidic favorite, out in the cold.

Suddenly, after New Square raised a brave flag for Hillary, four of their members got a break from prison after ripping off $42 million dollars in federal funds. But of course I know you are aware of that, Al.

But fair is fair. If anyone worked his butt off for Hillary, if anyone delivered the black vote for Hillary, it was you Al.

What sort of a break did any of your constituents get? I could be wrong, but up in Harlem, where you and Hillary bonded during the senate campaign, at the time and off the top of my head, I can't recall anyone in that community who ripped off $42 million from the federal government.

You bust your hump for Bill and Hill and that's the thanks you get?

Okay, you're not a Denise Rich. And you're not a Hugh Rodham. And you haven't delivered a million-and-a-half-dollars for Clinton campaigns and libraries.

But you work 24-7 for the cause, and that's the thanks you get?

You are probably in the minority of Democrats, because you're one of the few who hasn't come out and slammed this canard.

Well, maybe you're mellowing, or is it the fact that, like Republican George Bush, you're staying above the fray?

What a gentleman. Anyway it's good to know you're alive, fit and well and your voice will be in full-throttle for the future.

-- Anonymous, February 26, 2001


Moderation questions? read the FAQ