The Rev. Al Sharpton has become a larger-than-life presence in the Ferguson, Missouri, shooting case because the media are "addicted to race like crack," veteran Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf says.
"He is the man of the moment who has filled a very vacuous hole. Where others should be and would be in previous generations, he's filled that," Sheinkopf on Wednesday told Rick Ungar, guest host of "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
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"The media is addicted to race like crack, because he is the race man of the moment. He's been in that position for a long time. Now he is much more presentable.
"He's got the mayor of the city of New York, he's got mayors around the country, he's got his own program on MSNBC, and he's with the president. These are serious things.
"Sharpton is filling an important role. Will it help the country? Who knows? Is it helping the country right now? Likely not."
Sheinkopf, president of Sheinkopf Communications, said Sharpton has beaten other civil-rights leaders in hogging the spotlight because he is "much more telegenic."
"In the 24-hour news cycle, he fills an important hole. He's bombastic enough, and even when he lays back he's bombastic," Sheinkopf said. He is the guy that people want to see because he's the most newsworthy guy at the moment."
Asked about the Ferguson case — in which a young black man, Michael Brown, was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson, who is white — and its aftermath, Sheinkopf said:
"The people on the streets, unfortunately, have a legitimate beef. There's a lot of people that look like them in federal prisons. There's a lot of people like them who are way below where they should be on earning levels.
"There's a lot of people who look just like them that don't have the education opportunity and are being left out of this political system. This is a response to all that.
"Unfortunately, that death [of Michael Brown] is a great tragedy because any death of anyone, particularly at that age, is a great tragedy. Is that a reason to have a national response? I'm not sure. I don't know the answer."
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