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Sharpton knocks Democrats over economic stimulus | Associated Press

February 12, 2009 in Uncategorized | No comments

MIDDLEBURY (AP) – The Rev. Al Sharpton criticized Democrats on Wednesday for “diluting” education portions of the economic stimulus bill in order to get re-elected.

In a speech at Middlebury College, the civil rights leader also encouraged collegians to become vocal advocates for change.

“I am a civil rights activist and advocate,” he told a packed house of 675 people. “I do not seek, as many who seek political office, to be appreciated or liked. I do not seek approval as opposed to clarity, unlike some politicians. I was concerned to see that some of the Democratic members of the Senate took out the portions that gave real vision and strength to President (Barack) Obama’s stimulus plan and diluted educational funding. It seems they were more concerned about midterm elections than vision.”

In addition to those who got into the campus chapel to hear him, another 700 students crowded satellite venues on campus to watch him speak on a closed-circuit video feed.

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