Al Sharpton Enjoying His Role as Democratic Kingmaker

[Geee]

PJMedia

Democrats running for president in 2020 swarmed New York City this week to speak at a convention hosted by Al Sharpton's National Action Network. Sharpton denies his kingmaker role, telling reporters, “Don’t let them say you came here to kiss the ring, ‘cause I don’t wear a ring."

That may be true. In fact, Sharpton is more like a mob boss, demanding fealty and tribute from his capo underlings. More to the point, the Democratic candidates speaking before the NAN activists tried to out-radical each other. Several offered mea culpas for past racial indiscretions. South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg apologized for using the phrase "all lives matter," claiming he didn't understand the "context" in which the phrase was used.

CNN:

 

"At that time, I was talking about a lot of issues around racial reconciliation in our community. What I did not understand at that time, was that phrase, just early into mid-2015, was coming to be viewed as a sort of counter slogan to Black Lives Matter," Buttigieg said. "And so, this statement, that seems very anodyne and something that nobody could be against, actually wound up being used to devalue what the Black Lives Matter movement was telling us."

 

He added: "That is the contribution of Black Lives Matter and it's a reason why, since learning about how that phrase was being used to push back on that activism, I've stopped using it in that context."