Al Sharpton Does TV Ad For LoanMax

Via Instapundit and via Ed Cone we discover that Al Sharpton, the race-baiter, Jew-hater, liar, hoaxer, and former candidate for the Democratic nomination for President has been doing TV commercials for LoanMax.

LoanMax, run by the perfectly-named Rod Aycox (who also runs LoanSmart), owns the entire car-title loan industry in Iowa. This is the same car-title loan industry that charges up to 360% APR, something that Republicans Willard Jenkins of Waterloo and Christopher Rants of Hell find perfectly OK.

The Iowa Senate Democrats have an excellent web page documenting the practices of LoanMax.

From EURWeb:

Folks in the New Mexico and D.C. metropolitan area can tell you – Al Sharpton’s LoanMax commercials were shady-looking enough before a New York investigative news crew found the company to be the target of consumer groups for alleged predatory lending.

“When I’m out fighting for the little guy and I need quick cash I find comfort in knowing that LoanMax is here for me,” Rev. Al says in the spot, which comes off as a “Saturday Night Live” skit poking fun at a cheesy car dealer commercial. Throughout the ad, he gestures stiffly with his eyes slightly off to the side to read the cue cards, and he points to the camera for emphasis at the end – it’s one of those ads...

In Iowa, one of the states where LoanMax operates, 1,000 cars had been repossessed by last May.

“LoanMax is a bottom feeder, said Iowa State Sen. Joe Bolkcom. “They are taking advantage of people in our state. My goal is to put them out of business.”

So what does Sharpton have to say about touting LoanMax? He told CBS 2: “I don’t understand why it’s wrong for the little guy with no credit not to be able to get money.”

Bolkcom has a winning issue. His bill in the last Iowa Legislature passed the Senate by a vote of 50-0, only to be killed in the House by that idiot Republican Rants.

We advocate a takeover of the Iowa House by Democrats in the 2006 elections solely for this issue to get passed. Rants needs to pay for blocking Bolkcom's bill with total loss of political power. It's the right thing to do.