Al Sharpton Says Race Won’t Decide The Election

September 23rd, 2008 | By Sonnie Johnson

I never thought the day would come. Al Sharpton temporarilay put down his race card and started making sense. He is starting a National Bus Tour to make sure that Voter’s know the rules of their states. There have been alot of changes in the Election Laws and it’s very important that you know if they affect you.

Some states now require you to register at least thirty days before the election.

Some states require you to have two forms of I.d. Valid Drivers’ License and Voter Card.

Make sure you know the rules of Provisional Ballots in your state. If there is a problem when you go to vote, they will give you a provisional ballot. This does not mean you voted. It means they could possibly count your vote, if needed. It’s up to you to correct the problem, to make sure your vote is counted.

Many states have early ballots. If you know who you want to vote for, then this is a way to help their campaign. Voting early could eliminate the need for your candidate to spend so much in your district; allowing them to concentrate on the places still in contention. Now I don’t agree with voting early; at least not until you’ve seen the debates.

There maybe other rules that affect your ability to vote. Be proactive and don’t wait until it’s to late to complain.

With that being said, Al Sharpton continued on to repeat the words of Barack Obama. If you watched the Democratic Nomination Race, millions of Americans voted for Barack Obama. They had the choice to pick a white candidate and they didn’t. This race will be on policy.

That’s coming from the #1 race card benefactor. This is a smart play by Sharpton. He knows until this election in over, he can’t do anything related to race. If he does, he will be placed in the group of blacks inadvertantly hurting Barack Obama by being who they are.

If we can get the majority of blacks to let go of the issue of Race, then we can make some progress. I had this thought as I received Birthday Wishes this weekend. My oldest brother, who is married to a white woman, called. Then my Aunt, who is married to a black man who had kids with a white woman before marrying my Aunt, called. And the day before, I heard from my daughters’ grandfather, who is white. All voting for Barack Obama. All asking me, Why I wasn’t?

I don’t get in to it with family anymore. When you start to ask questions like, how can you talk about white people when you have a baby by a white person. They tend to get upset with you. If you ask them why they refer to all white people as “whitey” until the family shows up and you realize “whitey” is a part of us. But as soon as the party’s over, they go back to being “whitey” in conversation. They tend to want to blame me for paying attention.

Racism doesn’t exist in the same form as the past. We have the right to make choices; succeed or fail on our own merit. And it’s refreshing to hear Al Sharpton echo some actual words of encouragment to that point. Even though I know it won’t last. When the election is over, no matter the outcome, Al Sharpton will be back on the hut to point out Racism. Whether justified or not. That’s his role to play.

I just hope we don’t forget about these words as soon as we get the chance. The next time Sharpton wants us to rally, we actually make sure the fight is justified. Then maybe he’ll be forced to do the same, and we could make a new indent in history. The moment racism stopped being used as an excuse.