For years, it hasn’t been enough for Al Sharpton to simply pontificate about racial issues. No, that’s not how a 21st century race-baiter operates. According to the New York Post, the self-appointed spokesman on race issues has for years made a nasty habit of threatening American companies: pay him in money or power – or else. “For more than a decade, corporations have shelled out thousands of dollars in donations and consulting fees to Sharpton’s National Action Network,” the Post writes. “What they get in return is the reverend’s supposed sway in the black community or, more often, his silence. … ‘Al Sharpton has enriched himself and NAN for years by threatening companies with bad publicity if they didn’t come to terms with him. Put simply, Sharpton specializes in shakedowns,’ said Ken Boehm, chairman of the National Legal & Policy Center, a Virginia-based watchdog group that has produced a book on Sharpton.” In other words, Sharpton is not a principled defender of civil rights. The only color he really cares about is green. More…