Al Sharpton bears his fair share of responsibility for heating up racist rhetoric and causing discord that led to the murder of two NYPD officers over the weekend. In the wake of those murders, Sharpton made himself the issue, complaining that he received death threats, playing one such voicemail threat at a press conference. Then he lectured, “To blame the mayor and others is not what we need. The blame game will only lead to further kinds of venom and further division.” We wish we could say he’s learned his lesson – that his own blame game led to all kinds of division and violence – but such is not the case. In fact, he lamented that the two police deaths could distract from his mission: “We are now under intense threat from those who are misguided – from those who are trying to blame everyone from civil rights leaders to the mayor rather than deal with an ugly spirit that all of us need to fight.” Such appalling nonsense is utterly inappropriate for the moment. He continued, “There are those of us committed to nonviolence and making the system work. And there are those committed to anarchy and recklessness who could care less about the families of police or the families who have raised questions about police accountability.” Of primary importance is putting Sharpton and his ilk permanently out of business. No respectable politician of any stripe should be dealing with this clown.