Rev. Al: Couldn’t get away fast enough?

(Yes, I know I said I was logging off earlier to hit the pillow but I just had to write this one last post )

On Monday, I linked to a post from Little Green Footballs that had pictures of the Rev. Al Sharpton looking solemn, alongside a very somber looking Cindy Sheehan, while nearby the cameras pressed forward for the best view (see more photos here).

Wellll, it looks like Rev. Sharpton couldn’t get away fast enough:

A car carrying the Rev. Al Sharpton led sheriff’s deputies on a nine- mile chase at speeds up to 110 mph before state troopers stopped the vehicle and arrested the driver, authorities said.

The civil rights activist called the sheriff’s report "ludicrous" and accused the Ellis County officers of "embellishing the story."

"That nine-mile chase is news to me," Sharpton told The Associated Press. "All I know is that the police pulled us over because they wanted to talk to the driver about speeding."

Chief Deputy Charles Sullins said driver Jarrett B. Maupin, 43, was rushing Sharpton to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport after Sharpton visited anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan on Sunday at her camp outside President Bush’s ranch in Crawford.

Because the 2005 Lincoln was rented to Maupin, of Phoenix, sheriff’s deputies impounded the car. Maupin posted a $1,000 bond on charges of evading arrest with a vehicle and reckless driving, authorities said.

The car carrying Sharpton and two other passengers was clocked doing 110 mph in a 65 mph zone on the interstate south of Dallas, Sullins said.

[…]

Sharpton caught a lift from a passing driver and made his scheduled flight to New York.

Heh! Don’t know why he was so eager to leave. I mean, it’s not like being phony and/or being part of something phony has ever weighed on his conscience before  …

On to another Rev.: This past weekend, I laid a verbal smackdown on the disgusting tactics of Rev. Fred Phelps, the guy who likes to show up with his ‘flock’ (which consists mainly of family members) at GI funerals and claim that those GIs have been "punished" by God because America is so "tolerant" of the homosexual lifestyle.   Several commenters pointed out to me that Phelps, who it’s being implied by the usual suspects in the media as some fanatical right wing conservative Christian, is actually a Democrat.   How much so? Here’s how much:

Phelps remained prominent in state and local politics, working for years as a major organizer for the state’s Democratic Party. (He still calls himself a Democrat, refusing to change just because his party has.) In 1988, Phelps housed campaign workers for Al Gore’s first presidential run; in 1989, his eldest son, Fred Jr., hosted a fundraiser for Gore’s Senate campaign at his home.

Phelps has frequently run for public office — for governor in 1990, ’94, and ’98, for the Senate in ’92 — always losing the primaries by a landslide. Because of their years as loyal Democrats, the Phelpses have even been invited to — and attended — both of Clinton’s inaugurations. They protested at the second one. But Phelps’ campaign against homosexuality actually began in earnest just before the 1992 campaign, when politicians, especially Democrats, began to openly court gay voters.

Well whadda ya know?  Now, before my liberal readers go into a tizzy, I’d just like to point out that I don’t think Fred Phelps is a typical Democrat.  In fact, I think there are only a tiny minority of people on either side of the aisle who share Fred’s warped view of God and homosexuals.  But it should be pointed out that while the media is doing it’s best (on the heels of Pat Robertson’s inappropriate advocation of an assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez) to paint Phelps as just one more nutty, right wing Christian conservative wacko, that he’s actually not.  (hat tip: the always must read everyday blog of Jeff Goldstein)

OK – I really *am* logging off now.  G’nite all.  Time for me to go to .

Tuesday a.m. update:  Reader Camojack  points to this article at Scrappleface: Sharpton’s Driver Victim of ‘Velocity Profiling’ …. hehe …