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Sharpton Bid Gets Mixed Reactions on Hilltop

By Danielle Scruggs
Black College Wire

Al Sharpton plans to target "disaffected voters."

For more than 20 years, the Rev. Al Sharpton, 48 year-old activist and head of the civil rights organization National Action Network, has provoked thought, incited anger and been the source of fodder for tabloids and late-night talk show hosts.

On Jan. 21, Sharpton officially launched a bid in the 2004 U.S. presidential race.

He was quoted by Newsday as saying, �The Democratic Party cannot win unless it expands its base.� Sharpton also said he wants to change American politics and reach out to what he calls �disaffected voters� -- Latinos, blacks, gays and lesbians, and young people. And he pointed out that he is the only candidate who is �anti-war, anti-death penalty, and anti-tax cut, across the board.�

In a CNN.com article Jan. 5, two weeks before he officially entered the presidential race, Sharpton said that he wanted to bring the Democratic Party back to its liberal roots, and he would bring diversity of views as well as color to the crowded Democratic roster. �Without me in the race, it will be part of an exclusive club picture again,� Sharpton said.

Lereina Roberts, a senior acting major at Howard University, said she had mixed emotions about Sharpton�s political move. �I don�t know if he�d be a good president. I wonder how much pull and leverage he�d have with the Senate and Congress,� Roberts said. �But if he�s going up against Bush, I�d vote for him.�

Vincent Spriggs, a freshman physical therapy major, was more optimistic about Sharpton's decision.

"I think he'd be a good president despite the adversity he has faced because he can relate to black people. He'll do his best to represent the black community." Spriggs says he would vote for him.

Associate political science professor Don G. Davis said he was not sure of the impact Sharpton will make. �In terms of the larger picture, it�s of minimal significance. It will not be comparable to the two previous Jesse Jackson bids,� Davis said. �It�s likely to have minimal effect on the Democratic Party, considering the Jackson bid was taken seriously and attracted broad support and still ended up not producing much change.�

However, Davis points out that Sharpton�s bid could possibly force the Democratic Party to reevaluate itself.

�The party, in my opinion, has become callous and disregardful of black issues and problems and has made little difference for us in spite of the fact that we remain the party�s most loyal constituency,� Davis said. Sharpton�s bid �is an attempt to bring the party back to a progressive posture, especially in regards to minority issues. Sharpton�s bid won�t achieve much, but he is not the buffoon people make him out to be.�

Davis thinks Sharpton would have had a greater impact on the Democratic Party if he had run as an independent instead of as a Democrat. Sharpton ran as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate in 1994 and for mayor of New York in 1997. He was unsuccessful in both bids.

Danielle Scruggs is a student at Howard University who writes for The Hilltop.