MSNBC's Conflict of Interest: Al Sharpton
The
day before Al Sharpton’s particular brand of civil rights activism led him to
speak at Michael Brown’s funeral, The New York Times was celebrating him with
asoftball
piece that outlined Sharpton’s
strong connections to the Obama administration, White House adviser Valerie
Jarrett, and even New York Mayor Bill de Blasio. What do all these leaders have
in common? They lean left—hard left. Or as the motto of MSNBC, where Sharpton
has a weekday show, puts it, they “lean forward.”
"Read More"
But
Sharpton’s leftward leanings weren’t the subject of the feature by the Times.
Instead, authors Nikita Stewart and Jason Horowitz focused on Sharpton’s
burgeoning political prowess in the national sphere, and they call him “the
country’s most prominent voice on race relations.”
“In
little more than 24 hours this weekend, the Rev. Al Sharpton led a march on
Staten Island to protest the death of a black man in police custody, went to
Washington to appear on ‘Meet the Press’ and flew to Ferguson, Mo., where on
Monday he is to eulogize the 18-year-old black man whose fatal shooting by the
police set off days of unrest,” reported Stewart and Horowitz. “In between, Mr.
Sharpton talked by phone to Valerie Jarrett, a White House adviser and
presidential confidante, who told him that representatives of the Obama
administration would be at the funeral for the 18-year-old, Michael Brown.”
Some
might argue, instead, that Sharpton has made a career of stoking unnecessary
racial tension. For example, the Tawana
Brawley case, and the Crown Heights riots in New York in 1991 should be
enough to keep him from being held up as an iconic civil rights leader. Scott
Johnson of Power Line blog has provided an excellent recap of some of Sharpton’s more egregious
activities, as well as his unique relationship with both the White House, and a
certain cable network that works daily to be very helpful to President
Obama.
Johnson
cites an article by Howard Kurtz, formerly with The Washington Post and CNN—now
with Fox News—who is “dismayed by Sharpton’s multiple roles,” previously in the
Trayvon Martin case, now in the Michael Brown case: “Now we see the same
syndrome in the Ferguson tragedy,” writes Kurtz. “Sharpton with the family.
Sharpton leading rallies. Sharpton quietly working with Obama. Sharpton
denouncing the police on MSNBC. How is this allowed?”
President
Obama has been criticized by the black community for not being more vocal about
the death of Michael Brown, even though the President has been burned in the
past by his comments on the Trayvon
Martin case and the arrest of
Harvard Professor Henry
Louis Gates.
But
Sharpton has been more than vocal in his opinions about Officer Darren Wilson,
who fatally shot Brown. MSNBC titled one segment of Sharpton’s PoliticsNation
show, “Still no arrest in Michael Brown shooting.” The implication seems to be
that Wilson is guilty of murder, and should be arrested and tried in the courts.
But in the Trayvon Martin case, Sharpton publicly and vociferously called
for George Zimmerman’s arrest. Zimmerman was later found not guilty of a
crime in the case of Martin’s death.
Investor’s
Business Daily raises
serious questions about
Sharpton, calling him Obama’s new Jeremiah Wright, and about Michael Brown.
In another
piece, IBD looks at the star witness against Wilson, and finds his
credibility extremely suspect. All the more reason to allow the wheels of
justice to turn, impartially and without political and media pressure, to
determine the guilt or innocence of Officer Wilson.
Stewart
and Horowitz outline the intimate relationship between Sharpton and the Obama
administration in their lengthy feature. He’s been described by Politico as
President Obama’s “go-to civil rights advocate,” they write. Then there is this
interchange, which is said to have taken place at the 2004 Democratic
convention: “He said: ‘Well, reverend, you know, my theme is a little different
than yours,’” quoting then-state Senator Barack Obama. “I’m going to try to
unite all Americans.” Sharpton replied, “I respect that. You do what you got to
do tonight and I’m going to be there applauding.”
“They
have since acquired an appreciation for each other’s usefulness,” Stewart and
Horowitz cynically report, especially given Sharpton’s “understanding of when to
keep his distance.” This comes in sharp contrast to Jeremiah
Wright, who proved politically volatile to President Obama during his first
presidential campaign.
Sharpton
is “rewarded with invitations to White House Super Bowl parties, where he laughs
it up with the president,” is a “special host to the president” and “provides
the president with protection from his critics in the African-American
community,” reports the Times. And, according to Politico, he vacationed at
Valerie Jarrett’s condo in Martha’s Vineyard, close to where the President was
staying with his family. As for presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, Sharpton
told the Times that he has a “lot of respect for her.”
What
Stewart and Horowitz fail to question is how someone so connected to President
Obama that he receives regular invitations to the White House can go on MSNBC
and then pretend to be a journalist. Even an opinion journalist. They describe
Sharpton as an “incessantly televised pundit,” a “constant presence on TV and
radio,” and “a skilled political operator.” The emphasis is on political. It’s
all politics for Sharpton—racial politics. His show on MSNBC shouldn’t be
considered news, but just an extension of his political ego and activism. It is
a stain on the integrity of not just MSNBC, but of NBC as well. They should end
this conflict of interest.
---
Roger
Aronoff is the Editor of Accuracy in Media, and a member of the Citizens’
Commission on Benghazi.
He can be contacted at roger.aronoff@aim.org.
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Subject:
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Democrats
fear Obama amnesty plan
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Date:
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8/27/2014
10:44:13 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time
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