Huffpo: Al Sharpton Officially Named MSNBC Host Of 'PoliticsNation'

[flpoljunkie]

Al Sharpton Officially Named MSNBC Host Of 'PoliticsNation'
The Huffington Post
Jack Mirkinson
8/23/11

Al Sharpton has been officially named the host of the 6 PM hour on MSNBC. The network announced Tuesday that Sharpton will host "PoliticsNation" on weeknights starting August 29.

Sharpton has been the de facto host of the hour for many weeks, but no official announcement had been made until Tuesday. He replaced Cenk Uygur as the all-but-official 6 PM host after Uygur's acrimonious exit from MSNBC in July.

The choice of Sharpton to host the hour has been marked by some controversy. MSNBC was criticized for not hiring a black journalist as a host, and there were charges that Sharpton's close ties to Comcast and the Obama White House helped him get the role. For his part, Sharpton dimissed these concerns, saying he was becoming the host because of his career in activism.

"I am very happy and honored to join the MSNBC team as we collectively try to get America to ’Lean Forward,’" Sharpton said in a statement. "It is a natural extension of my life work and growth. We all learn from our pain and stand up from our stumbling and one must either learn to lean forward or fall backwards. I'm glad they have given me the opportunity to continue my forward lean."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/23/al-sharpton-msnbc-host-politicsnation_n_934227.html

[spartan61]

1. Good for Al!

I enjoy his program because he doesn't let any repugs get away with false statements. He calls them on it everytime. Al's grammar and pronunciation isn't alway perfect, but he sure does get his point across and he does with lots of humor.

[northoftheborder]

6. Yes, he's quick-thinking and handles the righties well!

[murray hill farm]

2. Very...

Very cool! I really enjoy his show!

[CakeGrrl]

3. k/r - good for Al!

[polmaven]

4. Heard that from Ed

on the radio last hour. That's fabulous! He is one of my favorites!

[jwirr]

5. Glad to hear it.

[vaberella]

7. Woohoo!!! I'm so happy. n/t

[msanthrope]

8. A Bought and Paid-For GOP Whore. Documented by the FEC.

Sleeping With the GOP

By Wayne Barrett with special reporting by Adam Hutton and Christine Lagorio Tuesday, Jan 27 2004

Roger Stone, the longtime Republican dirty-tricks operative who led the mob that shut down the Miami-Dade County recount and helped make George W. Bush president in 2000, is financing, staffing, and orchestrating the presidential campaign of Reverend Al Sharpton. Though Stone and Sharpton have tried to reduce their alliance to a curiosity, suggesting that all they do is talk occasionally, a Voice investigation has documented an extraordinary array of connections. Stone played a pivotal role in putting together Sharpton's pending application for federal matching funds, getting dollars in critical states from family members and political allies at odds with everything Sharpton represents. He's also helped stack the campaign with a half-dozen incongruous top aides who've worked for him in prior campaigns. He's even boasted about engineering six-figure loans to Sharpton's National Action Network (NAN) and allowing Sharpton to use his credit card to cover thousands in NAN costs—neither of which he could legally do for the campaign. In a wide-ranging Voice interview Sunday, Stone confirmed his matching-fund and staffing roles, but refused to comment on the NAN subsidies.

Sharpton denounced the Voice's inquiries as "phony liberal paternalism," insisting that he'd "talk to anyone I want" and likening his use of Stone to Bill Clinton's reliance on pollster Dick Morris, saying he was "sick of these racist double standards." He did not dispute that Stone had helped generate matching contributions and staff the campaign. Asked about the Stone loans, he conceded that he "asked him to help NAN," but attributed the financial aid to his and Stone's joint "fight against the Rockefeller drug laws," adding: "If he did let me use his credit card to cover NAN expenses, fine." The finances of NAN and the Sharpton campaign have so merged in recent months that they have shared everything from contractors to consultants to travel expenses, though Sharpton insists that these questionable maneuvers have been done in compliance with Federal Election Commission regulations.

SNIP

Recruited in 2000 by his friend James Baker, the former secretary of state, to spearhead the GOP street forces in Miami, Stone is apparently confident that he can use the Democrat-bashing preacher to damage the party's eventual nominee, just as Sharpton himself bragged he did in the New York mayoral campaign of 2001. In his 2002 book, Al on America, Sharpton wrote that he felt the city's Democratic Party "had to be taught a lesson" in 2001—insisting that Mark Green, who defeated the Sharpton-backed Fernando Ferrer in a bitter runoff, had disrespected him and minorities. Adding that the party "still has to be taught one nationally," he warned: "A lot of 2004 will be about what happened in New York in 2001. It's about dignity." In 2001, Sharpton engaged in a behind-the-scenes dialogue with campaign aides to Republican Mike Bloomberg while publicly disparaging Green.

Sharpton recently rebuffed an appeal by DNC chair Terry McAuliffe to join a post-primary March 25 event to support the nominee, sending a letter saying he would attend but would also "continue to campaign vigorously until the last day of the convention." He has also repeatedly vowed that he would speak on prime-time TV during the July convention, saying party leaders would decide "whether that's inside the hall or out in the parking lot," threatening demonstrations unless granted exposure guaranteed to turn off many voters. Stone terminated a 45-minute Voice interview shortly after he was asked about any involvement he might have had with the letter to McAuliffe, saying he was "not characterizing my conversations with Sharpton," though he freely did in a recent Times interview.

SNIP--much more on on the sellout at link--
http://www.villagevoice.com/2004-01-27/news/sleeping-with-the-gop/1/

Yes--Al had no problem having his 2004 run paid for by the guy who did the Brook's Brother's riot. Guess who introduced them to each other? Donald Trump.

[Cervantes]

11. Right. Al Sharpton is a secret conservative plant

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

[msanthrope]

12. Did Roger Stone not fund his campaign? Did the FEC lie? What secret?

Al has always been available to the highest bidder--in this case, Comcast.

[stevenleser]

13. One donor or Republican in your campaign doesnt make you a Republican. sorry. nt

[msanthrope]

14. Um, Roger Stone wasn't a 'donor.' He gave Al credit cards, contractors, consultants--over 200k

in support. He became the largest supporter of Al's campaign--in fact, the article I posted details many of the expenditures.

270k in a promissory note?

"Credico, who's remained in close touch with Stone throughout the Sharpton adventure and who heard the Maddox story from him, says Stone told him he took a $270,000 promissory note from Sharpton. Stone also told Credico that Sharpton ran up $18,000 on his credit card last year, covering some of the costs of a California trip, including a fundraising dinner thrown by NAN. "I can't believe Roger's still involved with Sharpton," Credico said. "All he does is complain to me about Sharpton owing him all this money. Last time we had dinner, I told him, Why don't you just get out of it?" Credico has his own complaints about the campaign's finances, saying that Stone and Halloran promised to send him to Iowa but never did, setting him back the price of an airplane ticket from California when he rushed back to New York."

[stevenleser]

17. Like I said, one GOP guy in your campaign doesnt make you a Republican

They can do a lot for you or a little. Still not enough to say Al is a Repug

[msanthrope]

18. A Nixon operative running your campaign and providing the majority of the funding for it

makes you a GOP whore. Flat out.

[CakeGrrl]

19. So any problems with the Hamsher-Norquist connection, or

is that all good since she was doing it in opposition to President Obama's staff?

Any problems with Cenk Uygur's Federalist Society, Bush-I voting, "Clarence Thomas was unjustly treated", Reagan-loving roots?

Any issues with John Avarosis working for GOPer Ted Stevens?

Are these GOP whores, too? Or do they get a pass?

[msanthrope]

20. Have any of them been funded by a GOP operative to order to siphon

off votes from a Democratic candidate?

I would have a problem with any supposed 'Democrat' accepting money from a Nixon operative and running a faux campaign.

[CakeGrrl]

22. So only Sharpton's 'associations'

don't pass your smell test.

Okey doke!

[msanthrope]

24. No. Sharpton himself doesn't pass any smell test.

Clergy, funded by the GOP to run against Kerry? He deserved his 285k fine, every penny of it.

[Empowerer]

26. He doesn't sound like a bought and paid for Republican shill to me . . .

Tonight I want to address my remarks in two parts.

One, I'm honored to address the delegates here. Last Friday, I had the experience in Detroit of hearing President George Bush make a speech. And in the speech, he asked certain questions. I hope he's watching tonight. I would like to answer your questions, Mr. President.. . .

I have come here tonight to say, that the only choice we have to preserve our freedoms at this point in history is to elect John Kerry the president of the United States.

I stood with both John Kerry and John Edwards on over 30 occasions during the primary season. I not only debated them, I watched them, I observed their deeds, I looked into their eyes. I am convinced that they are men who say what they mean and mean what they say.

I'm also convinced that at a time when a vicious spirit in the body politic of this country that attempts to undermine America's freedoms -- our civil rights, and civil liberties -- we must leave this city and go forth and organize this nation for victory for our party and John Kerry and John Edwards in November.

And let me quickly say, this is not just about winning an election. It's about preserving the principles on which this very nation was founded.

Look at the current view of our nation worldwide as a results of our unilateral foreign policy. We went from unprecedented international support and solidarity on September 12, 2001, to hostility and hatred as we stand here tonight. We can't survive in the world by ourselves . . .

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.
. . .

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 good men, 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.

And there's a whole generation of young leaders that have come forward across this country that stand on integrity and stand on their traditions, those that have emerged with John Kerry and John Edwards as partners, like Greg Meeks, like Barack Obama, like our voter registration director, Marjorie Harris, like those that are in the trenches.

And we come with strong family values. Family values is not just those with two-car garages and a retirement plan. Retirement plans are good. But family values also are those who had to make nothing stretch into something happening, who had to make ends meet.

I was raised by a single mother who made a way for me. She used to scrub floors as a domestic worker, put a cleaning rag in her pocketbook and ride the subways in Brooklyn so I would have food on the table. But she taught me as I walked her to the subway that life is about not where you start, but where you're going. That's family values.

And I wanted somebody in my community -- I wanted to show that example. As I ran for president, I hoped that one child would come out of the ghetto like I did, could look at me walk across the stage with governors and senators and know they didn't have to be a drug dealer, they didn't have to be a hoodlum, they didn't have to be a gangster, they could stand up from a broken home, on welfare, and they could run for president of the United States.

As you know, I live in New York. I was there September 11th when that despicable act of terrorism happened.

A few days after, I left home, my family had taken in a young man who lost his family. And as they gave comfort to him, I had to do a radio show that morning. When I got there, my friend James Entome said, "Reverend, we're going to stop at a certain hour and play a song, synchronized with 990 other stations."
I said, "That's fine."

He said, "We're dedicating it to the victims of 9/11."

I said, "What song are you playing?"

He said "America the Beautiful." The particular station I was at, the played that rendition song by Ray Charles.

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.

Thank you. And God bless you.

---Rev. Al Sharpton, Democratic National Convention, July 28, 2004

[msanthrope]

32. Was that before or after he critiqued Dean for not having enough blacks in his administration

in Vermont.

Understand that while Al was making pretty speeches--he was taking money from the GOP, and attacking Dean and Kerry on their payroll.

Forked tongue, and all.

http://www.villagevoice.com/2004-01-27/news/sleeping-with-the-gop/1/

[EffieBlack]

34. Are you serious?

It is now verboten - and proof that one is a Republican plant - for a Democrat to criticize another Democrat when running in a Democratic primary?

You do know that candidates in primaries often criticize each other.

And here are the actual facts behind your smear of Rev. Sharpton. Howard Dean, in fact, was very good at criticizing his fellow Democrats. One of his harshest and most repeated criticisms was that the other candidates were weak on civil rights and that he was the only one of the candidates talking about civil rights. Sharpton took issue with this and called Dean on it, as he should have. During a debate, when Dean again made this claim, Rev. Sharpton defended the other candidates from this accusation by reminding Howard Dean that had very few blacks in his Administration, which was true.

"“While I respect the fact you brought race into this campaign, you ought to talk freely and openly about whether you went out of the box to try to do something about race in your home state and have experience with working with blacks and browns at peer level, not as just friends you might have had in college.”

But, apparently, Howard Dean accusing the other candidates of being soft on civil rights was perfectly ok while Al Sharpton pointing out that Howard Dean wasn't as good on civil rights as he claimed to be means he was attacking his fellow Democrats at the behest of Republicans. And how dare a black man - the only African American in the race - criticize a white candidate for what he (and many of us) thought was a disingenuous claim about race and civil rights in a presidential campaign.

Howard Dean bragging about how much better on civil rights he was than everyone else in the race = speaking truth to power. Al Sharpton defending the other candidates against this claim = race hustler.

You are being ridiculous. You've got to do better than this if you want to convince anyone else to share your over-the-top hatred of Rev. Sharpton.

[msanthrope]

35. Proof of being a GOP plant is taking 270k from Stone to bring up race--

And Al's campaign manager--a Stone appointee, admitted he'd directed Sharpton's attacks, including his insistence that he speak primetime at the convention (which he was not allowed to do.) Sharpton then refused to support the nominee, Kerry, and continued his attacks on the party.

"Sharpton recently rebuffed an appeal by DNC chair Terry McAuliffe to join a post-primary March 25 event to support the nominee, sending a letter saying he would attend but would also "continue to campaign vigorously until the last day of the convention." He has also repeatedly vowed that he would speak on prime-time TV during the July convention, saying party leaders would decide "whether that's inside the hall or out in the parking lot," threatening demonstrations unless granted exposure guaranteed to turn off many voters. Stone terminated a 45-minute Voice interview shortly after he was asked about any involvement he might have had with the letter to McAuliffe, saying he was "not characterizing my conversations with Sharpton," though he freely did in a recent Times interview.

While Bush forces like the Club for Growth were buying ads in Iowa assailing then front-runner Howard Dean, Sharpton took center stage at a debate confronting Dean about the absence of blacks in his Vermont cabinet. Stone told the Times that he "helped set the tone and direction" of the Dean attacks, while Charles Halloran, the Sharpton campaign manager installed by Stone, supplied the research. While other Democratic opponents were also attacking Dean, none did it on the advice of a consultant who's worked in every GOP presidential campaign since his involvement in the Watergate scandals of 1972, including all of the Bush family campaigns.Asked if he'd ever been involved in a Democratic campaign before, Stone cited his 1981 support of Ed Koch, though he was quoted at the time as saying he only did it because Koch was also given the Republican ballot line."
http://www.villagevoice.com/2004-01-27/news/sleeping-with-the-gop/1/

And let's not forget, as New York Democrats do not--that good ole' Al worked to get Bloomberg elected, actively campaigning against Mark Green. Al is for the Sharpton, by the Sharpton, and of the Sharpton, always.

[EffieBlack]

37. While your obsession is completely irrational, it's obviously heartfelt

You must be pretty frustrated that someone you hate with such passion is getting this kind of respect.

I guess you'll just have to find something else to watch at 6 pm.

[msanthrope]

38. Being a host of a Comcast show means respect?

Only to the media-dominated, I am afraid. I miss Media Whores Online. They would have had such fun...

[Name removed]

23. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[theaocp]

9. Good for him, I guess.

He plays ball. I would love to watch him go after Wall St. and other substantive stuff, but red meat to those who like watching Republicans embarrass themselves is good theater. If you're a fan, enjoy. It frees up my 6p hour to read. A votre sante.

[Cervantes]

10. I like Cenk but I HATED him on MSNBC.

He always came across so stiff, it was like the complete opposite of TYT. I *LOVE* Al Sharpton on MSNBC

[ChiciB1]

15. I Had To Stop Watching The 6:00 PM Hour Of MSNBC... Al's Voice

and his over-talking grated on my nerves like finger nails on a chalk board. I tried and tried to deal with it but have finally given up. I can't say that he's not covered some issues in a positive manner, but in the end, for me I have to pass. He's very argumentative which one can interpret as a plus or minus. For me, it's too over the top!

I've found something else to watch at that time or just turn the TV off. I felt this was going to happen, but wish they could have found someone else. And NO, it has NOTHING to do with race, just in case any here feels like making the comment.
:shrug:

[Cervantes]

16. You just described EXACTLY how I feel about Ed

I've really really tried to like him, but he is such a loudmouth it just really irritates me, even though I agree with pretty much everything he says.

[Tarheel_Dem]

40. And how I felt about Cenk. My problem with Al is that he's so used to speaking to crowds,

that he hasn't learned to use his inside voice in the studio. But, I am impressed with the guests he lines up. As an AA myself, I appreciate that MSNBC recognizes that there's a whole underserved demographic out there that Al has a connection with. It's just good business.

Oh, and I agree with you about Ed as well. UnWatchable. :hi:

[PatSeg]

39. Same here

I tried listening to him, but it was almost painful. He butchers the English language, talks over his guests, and is often very rude. If they were looking for another minority commentator for their lineup, there are far more professional, competent people available. Melissa Harris Perry comes to mind. She has done an excellent job guest hosting for a couple of shows.

Oh well, gives me a good reason to turn the TV off.

[Empowerer]

21. That's wonderful news. n/t

[democrat2thecore]

25. Al Sharpton is a racist clown for sale to the highest bidder

What an embarrassment if MSNBC allows this hand-always-out racist to take that time slot.

[AngkorWot]

27. lol

y u mad tho?

[EffieBlack]

28. Wow

It's interesting that white men who aggressively speak truth to power and fight for common people are considered strong and committed. Black men who do it are called racist hustlers.

Go figure.

[Name removed]

29. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[democrat2thecore]

30. What?!?

Welcome to DU, but we don't make such gross characterizations of fellow posters. We callout public figures many times (as I did with Sharpton)...you may agree or disagree with my thoughts on Sharpton, but it does NOT give you the right to call a fellow poster a racist. I have been a member here for a very long time - over four years. I wouldn't still be here if I was a racist. I may not like race-baiting --- but I sure don't tolerate real racism either - in any form. To call me that is opposed to everything I believe.

[Name removed]

31. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[DCBob]

41. clue...

less.

[Tarheel_Dem]

33. Thank you MSNBC.

:bounce:

[great white snark]

36. Great news! Kick.

[DCBob]

42. Love Reverand Al!! He bashes Republicans instead of the President.

Nice change from some of the other MSNBC hosts.

[David Sky]

43. Never watch or listen to him. Turn the channel. His delivery is painful

he might or might NOT have good ideas, but verbally beating up on conservatives is NOT a winning strategy, sort of like throwing whip cream pies at people, it gets old and tired so soon.