Al Sharpton — described as President Obama’s “go-to man on race” by Politico — is calling for the resignation of Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s first chief of staff, over another accidental police shooting, this time of a 55-year-old mother of five.
Because this is the perfect Obama-era scandal, Emanuel is currently vacationing in Cuba.
Sharpton on MSNBC this morning:
SHARPTON: I cannot for the life of me imagine how he could not know how this further imperils it, unless he’s sitting wherever he is writing out his resignation, because I think this is absolutely — you talk about crisis with steroids! A grandmother who did nothing, who the police admit they had no reason to shoot! Then you have all these other shootings, including the 19-year-old that was killed. You had other shootings over the weekend and you’re in the middle of a recall. They’re circulating petitions in Chicago to recall you. The state legislature is going to have to deal with it. If you don’t come back? And the governor doesn’t make a statement? This is the height of either insensitivity, lack of intelligence or arrogance, or reasonable combination of all three!
JOHN HEILEMANN: Whether he is recalled or not, can he be an effective mayor now? Is this environment too toxic for him to govern?
SHARPTON: I don’t see how he can continue governing now. I think there was an outside chance before, as he did reaching out behind the McDonald’s tape . . . now I think he’s going beyond the point where he can eve govern with the trust of the people.
HEILEMANN: Do you think he should step down?
SHARPTON: I think that the people have to make that decision, but certainly from where I sit, he should. I think they have clearly said, “How do we trust this kind of administration to correct, when you’ve got this going so far off track and you’re not even showing up and dealing with it?”