Matt Halprin

Michael Maurer, a pro-Israel activist who lives in the St. Louis area, became concerned about Al Sharpton at a time when the former congressman was becoming a critical front-runner in the Republican presidential race — and he has even made noise about running for president himself.

Meanwhile, conservative journalist Jennifer Rubin has made some incendiary comments about Sharpton and his history of anti-Semitic statements, and there are worries that he might be impeached in the near future. His mother may even be deadset against him.

So who is Michael Maurer and why was he so alarmed?

As we know, Sharpton was among the most prominent critics of President Obama's decision to launch his first bid for re-election. He later ran for the Virginia state legislature with the help of Democrats in order to preempt a popular Democratic primary challenger against Obama.

While Obama's re-election ultimately resulted in a loss (though Sharpton finished second) there is no denying that the former congressman's candidacy came as a major surprise.

But Maurer isn't just another anti-civil rights activist or what he says is his racial bias. In fact, one of his missions in life is helping to shed light on the inflammatory images that have become part of the current politics.

Maurer has been a longtime activist who is now a convicted felon — and a devoted Obama supporter, taking him to numerous protests across the nation.

But with Maurer, and his work with the Southern Poverty Law Center, one can easily see how the famed civil rights advocate became one of the country's leading analysts of the current landscape of racism and as a media personality who can be seen virtually everywhere on the right.

Maurer, who lives in the St. Louis area, became involved in civil rights activism a decade ago, serving as an organizer for the chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) there.

So in an effort to help educate pro-Obama voters, Maurer played an active role in the presidential contest, first helping launch Obama's 2008 campaign and then serving as an organizer for the Democratic National Committee.

A couple of months ago, Maurer published an op-ed on the Southern Poverty Law Center website that accuses former vice president Joe Biden of having been a secret agent of Jewish conspirators.