Great editorial from The Washington Post:
Al Sharpton is not a lifelong fighter for justice
President Trump has perfected the art of the undorsement, the ability to get his opponents to beatify whoever and whatever he denigrates. Whether a first-term congresswoman, a quarterback or the city of Baltimore, #resistance to his targeting is futile.
Unfortunately, “the enemy of my enemy is my infallible hero” is a terrible approach to politics, aptly demonstrated this week when Trump turned his sights on the public figures who stepped in to defend Baltimore’s honor. Al Sharpton — who should still be seen as a notorious hate figure but has somehow escaped that fate — practically tripped over himself trying to get Trump’s attention. It worked. “Al is a con man, a troublemaker, always looking for a score,” Trump tweeted. “Just doing his thing. Must have intimidated Comcast/NBC. Hates Whites & Cops!”
Then ensued one of the more depressing news cycles of the year, as major Democratic presidential candidates praised Sharpton to the heavens.
Sharpton “has spent his life fighting for what’s right and working to improve our nation, even in the face of hate. It’s shameful, yet unsurprising that Trump would continue to attack those who have done so much for our country,” tweeted Sen. Kamala D. Harris (Calif.). Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) insisted that Sharpton “has dedicated his life to the fight for justice for all. No amount of racist tweets from the man in the White House will erase that — and we must not let them divide us. I stand with my friend Al Sharpton in calling out these ongoing attacks on people of color.” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio boasted of his decades-long relationship with Sharpton, thanks to which he could attest that “Trump’s characterization is not only disrespectful, it’s untrue.” Then former vice president Joe Biden, that great moderate hope, added his voice to the chorus, calling Sharpton “a champion in the fight for civil rights.”
Say it ain’t so, Joe.
Sharpton is unworthy of such praise, so much so that the decision to back him reflexively is a massive moral demerit. Calling Sharpton a lifelong fighter for “justice” ignores his history of race-baiting and deadly anti-Semitic incitement.
Much much more at the site - Sharpton is quite an odious little man. Only in it for himself.
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