Rev. Sharpton fires up Democratic voters at Miami church

More hypocrisy from the left. Imagine if this were a Republican doing this at a church. - Sailor

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Rev. Sharpton fires up Democratic voters at Miami church



By Jamie Malernee
Staff Writer

August 30, 2004

They danced, clapped, shouted and sang, and that was before the Rev. Al Sharpton even opened his mouth.

By the time the former presidential candidate finished his sermon to more than a thousand people gathered in a Miami church Sunday, blending politics and religion into a call to action to South Florida's black community, congregation members churned with energy.

They left determined, they said, to turn out in unprecedented numbers during the upcoming elections.

They will have to, Sharpton warned, if they don't want a replay of the 2000 presidential race. He said he was "returning to the scene of the crime" in Florida, while the Republican National Convention gets under way, so people remember how President Bush "got here in the first place."

"We're not people who are going to be beat twice," he declared to his overwhelmingly Democratic audience at New Birth Baptist Church. "Didn't nobody give us the right to vote. People lost their lives. We can't sit here 40 years later and let someone buy the vote, somebody hustle the vote, pimp the vote. We've got to win Florida."

The stop was one of several Sharpton is making across the state this week to boost voter turnout and protect voters from what he calls a "strategy of suppression."

He pointed to recent reports in Orlando of law enforcement officers questioning elderly black voters as proof that intimidation is beginning anew.

The officers say they were investigating a complaint that absentee ballots in a mayoral race were tampered with, but high-ranking Democrats have demanded a civil rights inquiry.

Sharpton promised to have lawyers at every polling location in Florida in November to ensure no one is denied the right to vote. They will keep their eyes open for abuses, he said, such as elections officials asking people for multiple forms of identification or officials claiming residents aren't registered to vote when they are.

For Tuesday's primary, Bishop Victor T. Curry, head of New Birth Baptist, said he had contacted the supervisors of elections in Broward and Miami-Dade counties to warn that various groups would be on the lookout for such violations. Anyone with problems is encouraged to complain to the People for the American Way or call in to the radio show he will be on Tuesday, Gospel AM 1490 WMBM.

"It's our time; it's our turn," said Curry, who made no apologies for turning his Sunday service into a political rally also attended by Democrats U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, state Sen. Frederica Wilson, state Sen. M. Mandy Dawson and Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

"Every Christian ought to have a Bible and a voter's registration card and use both as often as they can," he thundered from the pulpit, sparking applause from the crowd and shouts of "Amen!" and "All right, all right!"

Sharpton hammered away at various forces during his speech, most notably President Bush. He criticized the recent ads by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which questioned John Kerry's service in Vietnam, but put the responsibility on voters to know better.

"We can't be stupid," he said. "[Kerry] went and defended his country and risked his life. That's what he did. But the issue isn't what happened in a war 30 years ago. The issue is the war going on today."

Sharpton also pulled no punches against his community. He called black people who don't bother to vote "lazy and ungrateful."

"It's not enough to read black history. You've got to make some," he said. "You sit here and ask God to bless you, and you haven't used the blessing he gave you."

When he was done, Sharpton introduced the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. McAuliffe apologized to the congregation for the 2000 election and for not being in Florida to stop voting problems.

"I'm in the house of the Lord, so I'm going to beg your forgiveness. We let you down. People were naïve, and we thought the Republicans would not do this," he said. "I'm chairman now, and I am not naïve. We will protect your votes this time."

Earlier, Sharpton spoke at Haitian Emmanuel Baptist Church in Miami, calling upon the much smaller crowd to use their votes to speak out against discrimination.

That message resonated with Daniel Coicou, 22, a Haitian immigrant who is starting community college but cannot vote. He said immigrants from other countries, such as Cuba, are treated better.

"It's a big difference. I've been in this country 14 years, and I can't do anything," he said.

Sandra Hamilton, a Miami resident and New Birth Baptist member, complained that politics in the United States has gotten as dirty as in her native Jamaica.

"I can't believe it's America sometimes," she said.

Pembroke Pines resident Delores Crump vowed to vote in the primary and the November election, saying she is confident 2004 will have a different outcome than 2000.

"We're going to win," she said. "Things have got to get better."

Jamie Malernee can be reached at jmalernee@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4849.