Obama-lackey Sharpton plans to sue in order to disenfranchise Florida voters

[DemVet]

Lawsuit Eyed by Sharpton Over Florida
By GRACE RAUH
Staff Reporter of the Sun
March 10, 2008

Laying the groundwork for a court battle that could divide the Democratic Party, the Reverend Al Sharpton is threatening to sue the Democratic National Committee if it counts Florida's primary results in the official presidential delegates tally.

Rev. Sharpton is traveling to Florida today to compile lists of residents who skipped the January contest because they thought their votes would not count. He plans to have those residents sign affidavits saying they would be disenfranchised by the seating of the Florida delegation, in the event the Democratic Party allowed that to happen.

The party had promised to exclude Florida and Michigan from the nomination process after the states scheduled their primaries in January, earlier than party rules had allowed, but the close contest between senators Clinton and Obama has turned attention toward those primaries, prompting debate between the campaigns and party leaders over how to handle the lockout.

Mrs. Clinton's campaign has said it wants the Florida and Michigan primaries to count, while Mr. Obama's campaign has said it will support the Democratic National Committee's rules.

Mrs. Clinton won the Michigan and Florida primaries. Mr. Obama removed his name from the ballot in Michigan prior to the primary.

Rev. Sharpton has not endorsed a presidential candidate, but his efforts in Florida are widely viewed as benefiting Mr. Obama, who has won more delegates overall than Mrs. Clinton.

A professor of political science at the University of Virginia, Larry Sabato, said he thinks Rev. Sharpton is trying to say that if Mr. Obama wins the most pledged delegates and the most popular votes, but loses the nomination, there will be consequences.

"One of the consequences will be legal trouble or lower turnout by African Americans. That's what they are threatening. I'm not saying that necessarily will happen" Mr. Sabato said. "Who knows whether legal action will occur? Who knows whether African Americans would actually take a walk — they may end up voting Democratic anyway — but that would be the threat."

Rev. Sharpton did not return calls for comment yesterday, and a spokeswoman said he could not be reached because he was participating in a march in Selma, Ala., and then was delivering a speech there. His signature-gathering effort in Florida and the threatened lawsuit were disclosed in a news release from his staff.

He is scheduled to visit Orlando, Port St. Lucie, Miami, and Daytona during his two-day trip across state, and will meet with local chapters of the organization he leads and founded, the National Action Network....................

http://www.nysun.com/article/72572?page_no=3