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Originally published by The National Journal on August 21, 2004

Copyright 2004 The National Journal, Inc.

Rev. Al Backers Switch to Bush
The Rev. Al Sharpton's loss appears to be George W. Bush's gain. Some former Sharpton campaign workers have formed a new group among African-American ministers to help mobilize black voters to support the president on Election Day. The National Faith Based Coalition was created as an independent "527" committee to fight for "the preservation of moral and conservative values, and social reform through economic empowerment," according to its mission statement. The group, which is slated to endorse Bush at an August 20 news conference at the National Press Club, plans a get-out-the-vote drive that will ask black voters in nine key states to "support a message that speaks out against gay marriage and abortion" and that emphasizes conservative social issues.

The NFBC leadership is an odd mix. Executive Director Oliver Kellman Jr. served as chief of staff to Rep. Sheila
Jackson Lee, D-Texas, before becoming a private lobbyist at the start of the Bush administration. Earlier this year, he changed his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican, arguing that the Democratic Party has taken black voters for granted and that Republicans are much more willing to listen to African-American concerns. During the primaries, Kellman helped raise money for Sharpton's presidential bid. Another leader at the NFCB, the Rev. Deves Toon, was on Sharpton's campaign payroll and was a field organizer for the campaign in South Carolina. A senior Democratic official said that Toon at various points during the primary season also worked for former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun. Kellman said he has also brought on Sharpton's former press secretary, Andre Johnson, to handle press for the coalition.

Kellman said there is no conflict between having supported the liberal Sharpton and the conservative views of the NFBC. During the primaries, Sharpton emphasized that the Democratic Party needs to stop assuming it will get the black vote and said that it must address the issues that matter to African-Americans -- issues that Kellman says are better represented now by the GOP.