Yes, I think Sharpton is not just being self-serving in the following comments (from the NYT article quoted here earlier):
"Another of Mr. Ferrer's main supporters, the Rev. Al Sharpton, who had refused to endorse Mr. Green, made clear that he was not unhappy with the outcome of the contest. He disputed the assertion that he or any of Mr. Ferrer's supporters deserved blame for the loss, and thus discredited them with the party.
"'As Mark Twain said, rumors of my death are premature,' Mr. Sharpton said in a voice mail message he left for a reporter yesterday.
"If anything, he said, expounding on the topic in an interview later in the day, the outcome demonstrated his rising influence in Democratic politics in New York. 'I refused to help Green, and by anyone's estimation it hurt him,' Mr. Sharpton said. 'But there's nothing the party can do to me. What can they do to me?'"
Carl
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