Al Sharpton and the Street Machine in Philly
The Philadelphia Inquirer has a story on Al Sharpton soliciting funds from one of Mayor John Street’s pay-to-play pals, Ronald A. White. At the time the FBI was investigating Street and his associates, and unwittingly caught Sharpton asking White for help in raising the money necessary to get on the 2004 presidential election ballot.
With a hidden FBI camera rolling inside a New York hotel suite in 2003, an unsuspecting Rev. Al Sharpton, Democratic candidate for president, spoke candidly.Sharpton offered to help Philadelphia fund-raiser Ronald A. White win a multimillion-dollar business deal, if White helped him raise $50,000 for politics.
White offered $25,000. “If you bring my guys up on this hedge fund, and I have the right conversation,” White said, “I’ll give you what you need.”
“Cool,” Sharpton said.
While Sharpton wasn’t charged in the scheme, the FBI and IRS continued their investigations into Sharpton, examining whether the money he raised violated campaign finance laws.
Sharpton claims he’s innocent, saying “It’s not illegal for me to help guys get contracts . . . making introductions for Mr. White and Mr. Hawkins, if they help me raise money,” Sharpton said. “I’m not a public official.”
I can’t help but wonder what happened to supposed civil rights leaders like Al Sharpton and even Mayor John Street. I cannot believe that at one time long ago these men believed in their causes and seriously wanted to help their communities. In their early years they butted heads with City Hall, but over time they eventually took control (as in Street’s case) or exercised tremendous power (as in Sharpton’s). They in effect became the very entity they fought so hard against and the community they once championed suffered. Perhaps they became proof for Lord Acton’s axiom that “Power tends to corrupt,” or maybe it was simple selfishness.
Regardless, Street has left his native Philadelphia a “filthy mess,” in the words of incoming mayor Michael Nutter. As for Sharpton… Well, he’s just an embarrassment:
On a few calls, Hawkins expressed his concern about Sharpton’s shortcomings as a candidate. He was sloppy with campaign finances, Hawkins said, worrying that some campaign funds might get mixed with personal or National Action Network funds.“He’s a train wreck – a plane crash waiting to happen,” Hawkins told White.
He’s already playing his usual card: that he’s being persecuted by the Federal Government, a claim made by public figures busted by the feds since Al Capone.
“This is government harassment,” he said. “I knew this investigation would come back when we started the Jena protests.”
Some in the African American community and the limousine liberal set may believe it, but the “victim card” was overplayed by Sharpton years ago. He’s about as much a victim of the feds as a mafia don or your run of the mill crack dealer, and just as useful to the community he claims to represent.
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