Back in December, we learned that Al Sharpton was preparing to retire. In the process, he managed to sell his life story to his own charity, the National Action Network (NAN), for more than half a million dollars. (That’s some sweet work if you can get it, eh?) But what’s the good reverend going to be doing with all this free time on his hands? Apparently, he’ll still be meddling in national politics.

And lest you think this perpetual scam artist isn’t still influential in Democratic politics, think again. There are plenty of 2020 candidates beating a path to his door and hoping for his endorsement. Unfortunately for them, Al won’t be handing out any such endorsement deals for at least another year. (Free Beacon)

Al Sharpton is being heavily courted by Democrats seeking his endorsement as they pursue the 2020 presidential nomination, but he said he won’t make a decision on who he’ll support for at least a year.

The liberal civil rights activist and MSNBC host has met with a flurry of possible 2020 contenders in recent weeks, including Sens. Kamala Harris (D., Calif.), Cory Booker (D., N.J.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.), and he’s planning to speak soon with former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D., Texas), the Atlantic reported.

Sharpton has become a mainstream figure in the Democratic Party, in sharp contrast to his early days as a fiery, jumpsuit-wearing racial antagonist, known for his invective against Jews and the police.

I don’t know what sort of a charmed life this guy is leading, but it’s certainly working for him. Despite seemingly always running one sort of scam or another over his entire career, Sharpton has managed to stay one step ahead of the law. And he’s rewarded by being presented as an influential figure in Democratic Party politics. Assuming the original reporting from The Atlantic is correct, nearly half of the top contenders for the Dem nomination in 2020 have either taken meetings with him or requested one.

And it’s not just Gillibrand, Harris, Booker and O’Rourke who are buttering him up. He’s doing a NAN event on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day where Joe Biden and Michael Bloomberg will be grabbing photo ops with him.

How does this never come back to bite them? Going all the way back to the days of the Tawana Brawley hoax scandal and continuing through is many issues with the IRS, Sharpton has made a living as a race baiter and tax cheat. He’s urged violence against the police and profited from tragedy for as long as he’s been in the news. He was also famous for shaking down corporations for donations to NAN, threatening them with allegations of racism, protests and boycotts if they didn’t pony up.

And don’t even get me started on his long history of antisemitism. It goes much deeper than his well-known ties to Louis Farrakhan. Sharpton has been an enemy of the Jews for as long as I can remember. (Then again, that last one might not be that damning during a time when antisemitism seems to be getting more popular among Democrats, particularly supporters of new representatives like Ilhan Omar.)

For all that, the Democrats still seem to be stuck with Sharpton like an albatross around their necks. They can’t afford to ignore or offend him and most clearly feel that they need his endorsement. Good luck with that. I can’t help but believe that most of the nation will eventually catch on to his schtick.