Posted on 03/11/2003 7:01:29 AM PST by areafiftyone
Buoyed by a new poll that shows her edging the Rev. Al Sharpton, Democrat Carol Moseley Braun brought her presidential campaign to Sharpton's home turf yesterday.
But Braun - the only black woman ever to serve in the U.S. Senate - bristled at any suggestion Sharpton is her chief rival for the nomination.
"The black community is not a monolith, and to suggest that black voters have to be [in] lockstep and have to get behind a single black candidate seems to take that community for granted," she said in an interview with the Daily News.
"And to suggest that somehow I am competitive with Al Sharpton and not competitive with [ex-Vermont Gov. Howard] Dean, [North Carolina Sen. John] Edwards, [Missouri Rep. Richard] Gephardt, [Connecticut Sen. Joseph] Lieberman or [Massachusetts Sen. John] Kerry is to really relegate me to an unfortunate corner. I hope to reach out to all people."
Still, Braun took satisfaction in a little-noticed Quinnipiac University poll last week.
It found she had 7% of the Democratic vote, placing her ahead of Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.), Sharpton (who had 5%), Dean and Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio).
In an interview, she blasted President Bush's tax cuts, blamed him for the weak economy and opposed war with Iraq. Although Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is a "bad guy," he's only "a flea," she said. "Our threat are the terrorists."
Braun, who is from Illinois, was warned by a top Sharpton supporter, former New York State Controller Carl McCall, that she would find little support among the black community here.
Busy schedule
Still, she swooped into town late Sunday, her first visit since entering the race last month. She spoke at Riverside Church and attended the swearing-in of Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. (D-Brooklyn). She met potential donors and spoke at a Women's Campaign Fund dinner yesterday.
Unable to win Senate reelection after one controversial term, Braun is given scant chance in her 2004 presidential bid. Indeed, her entry fueled speculation that Democrats asked her to join the race to dampen support for Sharpton.
But she said hers is neither a vanity nor a spoiler candidacy.
"I can state unequivocally that no one from the Democratic Party asked me, told me or encouraged me to get into this race."
As for her own chances, "I have won 14 elections and lost one. That is not such a bad batting average. ... I'm in it to win."
If the GOP has a primary, I'll be voting for the best Republican of those running.
DUH!!! That's exactly why she's in the race, to cancel out Al and keep the 97% of blacks who vote for weasels as a block.
Al will never run as an independent because he won't be able to resist the bribes, threats, and warnings that will come forward should it really look like he might.
It has long been my view that Willie and the slime at the DNC got far more FBI material than has ever been suggested and that they still get new stuff. Al's campaign couldn't stand a couple of leaks to the extremist left wing media. So, they'll buy him out and pay him to come on board. It is not like he isn't a sleazy crook or that a fantastic pay day wasn't his goal all along.
Ah, the ever reliable Quinnipiac University Poll. BS polls, made to order.
You could flow-chart this thing.
1. Mostly-Fraud announces
2. Early polls show Mostly-Fraud with a slight lead
3. Various mixed polls show horse-racing in the black community.
4. Mostly-Fraud pulls ahead amongst blacks coming into early primaries, but has made no headway with whites.
5. Mostly-Fraud does poorly in early primaries, getting 7% of the vote. Rev. Al does worse, with 5%.
6. After one-third of the primaries have elapsed, and a front runner has emerged, Mostly-Fraud suspends campaigning for lack of funds.
7. Rev. Al has no chance to recover from early poor showings, but hangs in until the Convention, discrediting himself with the majority of Democrats, black and white.
The inevitable result is that the blacks stay on the plantation, where they belong. Carol Mostly-Fraud knows that this is her purpose, but she is a reliable party hack, and is willing to sell out cheap.
Like you said, there's that 3% undecided you can't count on.
No joke, well, it's funny, but I didn't make it up.
Web site circa 1998: "At this point, the fate of Nigeria is uncertain; yet we may consider looking to the military regime's most loyal defender in the United States senate, our own Illinois Senator Carol Moseley-Braun, for answers. Perhaps Moseley-Braun, a dear friend and personal ally of the late despot Gen. Sani Abacha, could offer insight into the regime's intentions. Strangely, however, we have yet to hear from Sen. Moseley-Braun on this issue..........."
"I'll show dat suckah Clintun who de first Black president be."
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