The goppers still have a diversity problem and more

Just because the gop added two African American members (and I use the characterization loosely) to it's formally Lilly white house congressional ranks doesn't mean they aren't still bigots, nor does it mean African Americans will be flocking to the grand old party like flies to molasses. You see, contrary to the popular, but misguided opinion of some, democrats, strike that, real democrats will vote for someone based upon their political views rather than the color of their skin.

Which party is more successful in electing minority candidates from non-minority districts? Not Democrats. A small little embryo now, this has the potential to morph into a huge problem for Democrats down the road.

Where would the gop be without minority members to carry the water for them?

Congressman-elect Allen West (R-Fla.), who said he plans to become the only black Republican in the Congressional Black Caucus, accused the organization of failing the black community by promoting dependence on government welfare programs.

"The Congressional Black Caucus cannot continue to be a monolithic voice that promotes these liberal social welfare policies and programs that are failing in the Black community, that are preaching victimization and dependency, that's not the way that we should go," West said on Fox News Friday. "And those are not the types of principles that my mother and father raised me with in the inner city of Atlanta, Georgia."

The gop elects two a$$ clowns but the democrats have a diversity problem? I don't think so.

This means Democrats lack a bench of minority candidates who can run for statewide office, no less national office. Most Democratic minorities make a career in the House, accruing seniority and influence but lacking broad-based political support.

The prime culprit in preventing minorities from having broader appeal is the process of gerrymandering majority-minority seats. It has guaranteed blacks and Hispanics representation, but at the cost of creating seats where candidates would have to appeal to a broader constituency, white and non-white alike. For decades, such districts were judicially mandated; in the South, officials still need clearance from the Justice Department to decrease the proportion of blacks voters in a district.

So now we get to the real nitty gritty, it's them there gerrymandered majority-minority voting districts that's the problem for white folks. Newsflash! The majority-minority seats weren't created where candidates would have to appeal to a broader constituency i.e. white folks because they know the only way white folks will vote for a black candidate is if they share their political point of view. The majority-minority districts were created so black folks would have someone to represent their interest, and not let white folks decide who their leaders would be.

The logic behind gerrymandering stems from the Civil Rights era, when white voters were highly unlikely to vote for African-American candidates, so districts needed to be drawn so black voters could elect their own to Congress. It was effective—and necessary—to bring diversity to a homogeneous body. But now, the consequence of these contortions comes at great expense to Democrats and civil rights leaders alike.

It's not consequences of these contortions that come at a great expense to Democrats and civil rights leaders, it's the consequences of white folks who would rather lose than stand with black folks.

“It’s not in the best interests of Southern voters, it’s certainly not in the interest of people who want a non-racial politics focused on substance and identity, and the content of a candidate’s character, not the color of their skin,” said outgoing Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala., a centrist black congressman who lost his state’s gubernatorial primary this year.

I guess it depends on what the definition of a non-racial politics focused on substance and identity IS considering His 7th District gave Barack Obama nearly 73 percent of the vote in 2008.

Davis' majority black congressional district in Alabama is one of the poorest in the country, boasts the state's highest HIV/AIDS rates and is the epicenter of the state's syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia epidemic, "among the highest in the country", reports WKRG.

Says Davis of his vote against expanding health care to his district's poor and low income residents: "I just don't see this as a racial vote or a racial issue."

Of course it isn't. Priorities, priorities ...

Davis and his ilk are a scourge, they shortchange their constituents to be better accepted by white conservatives.

Apparently, history means nothing, disparities in education, housing, health, crime, economics in the black community are not significant enough to tackle for a politician whose campaign was "never about race".

Never about race my Donkey. It's all about race. It's always about race. Davis tried to ride Obama's coat tails to the governors mansion while stabbing him in the back. White Alabama democrats and conservatives saw his candidacy as symbolic, a way to make America forget about Alabama's shameful racial history. In other words they wanted to put a black face on the problem then claim they were moving forward on substance.

In one of the reddest of the red states, Sparks ran an issue-oriented campaign that offered solutions to the hopes and fears of voters threatened by further job loss and inadequate health care. Voters were enticed by Sparks advocacy of gambling as a job-creator and source of government funding. And, most recently, many feared the horror of the BP's oil drilling catastrophe.

Furthermore, significant segments of the Democratic base suspected Davis of making self-serving deals with their Republican enemies to help his own career.

Some white Alabama democrats and conservatives saw Davis's candidacy as symbolic, a way to make America forget about Alabama's shameful racial history. In other words they wanted to put a black face on the problem then claim they were moving forward on substance.

There is no nice way to say this, so I'm going to be blunt, Artur Davis was who the conservative wing of the democratic party wanted to be the defacto leader of African Americans instead of Joe Reed. In other words, they were so busy trying to screw Joe Reed they screwed themselves right out of the majority in Alabama State Legislature.

Artur Davis has to walk the fine line in this campaign: convince the big middle of the electorate to judge him on the issues -- he's a fairly moderate reformer with broad appeal -- without turning off voters who may have followed Joe Reed's advice in the past. He needs to convince those voters to judge him on the issues instead of listening to Reed's advice.

What's the problem with listening to Reed's advice you ask? Well for one thing, he's largely responsible for creating them there gerrymandered majority-minority voting districts in Alabama which gave black Alabama taxpayers representation in the legislature and the United States House of Representatives. Reed has spent his life fighting for black representation, Davis has spent his taking advantage of Reeds work. This was a move to replace Reed, who fights for the rights of black folks, teachers, unions, etc. with Davis who goes along to get along and is not threatening to the white power structure.

Long time, respected Alabama Civil Rights Attorney Jerome Grey breaks it down in relation to Bombinghams contested District 54 election between Patrica Todd and
Gaynell Hendricks.

In 2000, the district was drawn with a 63 percent black majority. In the years since, gentrification has shrunk that proportion, and some estimate the current black population at about 50 percent. In his letter endorsing Hendricks, [Joe] Reed warned black community leaders that if they elected a white candidate, the district could be redrawn without a black majority.

“If a district became a Republican district, Republicans would fight like the dickens to keep the district Republican,” said Jerome Gray, field Director for the ADC. “The same is true if a district is majority black. Black activists and black leaders are going to fight for the dickens to keep it majority black.”

While some have attacked the ADC’s stance as reverse racism, Gray said that white Democrats simply will not spearhead the same issues as their black counterparts. He gave the restoration of felony voting rights as an example.

And there you have it. Black activist and black leaders are going to fight for our rights. The question is will white democrats fight with us or fight against us?

Joe M. Reed Esq. for Alabama State Party Chair~edit

I would strongly support Joe M. Reed Esq. as the next Alabama Democratic Party Chair. I agree we need a new, young face to help bring us into the 21st Century. Enabled by the media, the gop has managed to paint the democratic party as the party of cronyism and corruption only concerned with a few special interest groups i.e. minorities, labor, women, teachers, unions. Isn't it ironic the party who is concerned about equal rights, civil rights, labor rights and women's rights are painted as the party of corruption by the party of hypocrisy but I digress.

Not only do we need a new, young face we need a proven leader who will stand up to the right wing Bully's not appease them. We need someone who won't throw the traditional democratic base under the bus and pander to the right wing at their expense. We need someone from the democratic wing of the democratic party.

My name is Joe Reed. I'm from the brass knuckles wing of the Democratic Party, the three guys that visit you after 12 o'clock at night wing of the Democratic Party."

Was it a threat?

"If you're super-sensitive it's a threat," Reed said. "I'm one of the guys who tell you to appreciate the party."

There's more:

"We've got an opportunity now to put a Democrat -- a Democrat -- a Democrat in office . Not a Democrat who won't put an Obama sticker on the back of the Suburban. Okay. Or a Sparks sticker on the back of the Volvo. But someone who is going to be a Democrat 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. That's what we need."

It's also exactly what the Alabama Democratic Party needs.

We like justice. Our criminal defense clients deserve their day in court, just as our personal injury customer deserve compensation for their physical and financial sacrifices. A good lawyer should be seeking justice everyday. Needless to say, we have very good lawyers in our office. It's fun. We won't pretend that soundly defeating a government-financed federal prosecutor in court in a drug case, or a powerful insurance company in a personal injury case, isn't fun. It is and we won't apologize for it. We do what we do and choose whom we do it for. We believe in a client's cause and its fun, winning is fun.

Yet Another Reason Alabama Democrats need new leadership. If the Alabama Democratic Party continues to do the same old thing, we will continue to get the same old results. It's time for Change we can believe in. Let me state right now, I don't care what race, gender,religion or sexual orientation the next leader of the Alabama Democratic Party IS, I want a leader who is wants to win because continuing to lose is certainly no fun. Strike that, continuing to lose to the losers is certainly no fun.

Redeye's Inbox

I would like to share a few emails I received in response to some of this weeks front page diaries.

WTF is the Democratic Party?
I want to know too. You and I ARE on the "same page," Girl Friend.
The President that we worked so hard to elect has extended yet another
olive branch to the GOP by offering to freeze salary increases for all
Government workers while prices on everything from electricity to food
continue to rise.. Meanwhile the National Dem. Party has selected a
former Blue Dawg from New York to head up Party activities for the 2012
push to elect Democrats. Another slap in the face to the liberal,
progressive Democratic Party base who made the difference in electing
Obama President. Sheeze! What's next? Cuts in Medicare, Medicaid and
Social Security? I'm polishing my pitchfork for that one.

I just received a horror story from a friend in Florida. Her bank was
taken over by one of the Banking giants we bailed out. The Giant Bank
then proceeded to play Bank Bingo with the mortgages on both her
business and her home, increasing the rates and making it damn near
impossible for her to keep either her home or business from going
under. She is temporarily covered by Unemployment Benefits, which are
helping make the mortgage payments, but there's no way of knowing when
the newly elected Republican Congress are going to stop paying those
benefits. When that happens, there goes both her home and her business
that she has worked so hard to maintain all of her adult life. Stories
like this are being repeated all over America, but those huge salaries
and bonuses for Banking CEOs keep being doled out. The rich are
getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. It's Class Warfare and
the rich are winning more than just elections. They are eliminating
the Middle Class in America!

Like you, I can't understand why Americans don't wake up to what is
happening before it is too late.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving in spite of all the dire stuff
going on around us, and would like to wish you Happy Holidays and a
Super New Year.

Note: I agree and I'm polishing my pitchfork too!

I Choose Neither
Every real Democrat I know is doing more than just a little soul
searching after the last election. Clearly something has broken within
the Democratic Party in Alabama, and I believe it began with Ron Sparks
and other True Democrat's inability to raise the funds needed to win
the race. That, of course, could have been overcome IF the
progressive/liberal Democrats had hit the streets and donated to the
campaigns of old fashion, "We serve the people," Democrats with the
same zeal they exhibited during the 2008 election, and had been given
real Democrats running for office instead of Rahm's "Blue Dawg
Democrats" as candidates. We have now seen the Corporate Takeover of
our Government raise it's ugly head once again. How we managed to
hang on to the U. S. Senate is akin to a miracle. How much good will be
derived from our hanging on to the Senate is yet to be seen. The
Republicans in Congress are STILL obstructing all laws that are not
favorable for the very rich and their corporations as exhibited by
their recent threatening letter stating that they will obstruct all
matters coming before the Senate except tax breaks which include
millionaires and billionaires, and renewing funding so the government
can continue to function.

Our State Party is broken, so perhaps now it is time to make a clean
sweep of the Party Leadership and begin anew, electing, keeping, and
appointing only those Democrats who adhere to the long standing
Democratic principles of taking care of the least among us and our
elderly, supporting the efforts of Unions, who fight against the
excesses of their Corporate bosses, and ending all inequality of
racial and lifestyle issues once and for all by passing such laws as
"The Dream Act" and repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." More than
anything else, however, The Glass/Steagall Act needs to be reinstated
and thereby bring back the banking regulations that kept us out of a
depression/recession until it was repealed. Paying Unemployment
Benefits is a must as well. The money spent by those receiving
assistance during unemployment goes directly back into the economy for
things like food and making mortgage payments to keep families from
joining the ranks of the homeless in America. We know that the
"trickle down economy" proposed by the Republicans hasn't worked in the
past and won't work now. 12 million jobs were created during the
Clinton Administration. Under Bush and his tax cuts for the very rich
only 1 million jobs were created as the Nation's newly unemployed
continued to march off a cliff to drown like lemmings.

The greatest disappointment is that our President from whom we expected
much change and progress has accomplished neither. His bipartisan
give-aways have NOT WORKED and his disregard for the Liberal Democratic
Base turned out to be a disaster when we review the results of the 2010
Midterm election. I am beginning to fear that President Obama is
nothing more than yet another Corporatist Politician. That hurts most
of all.

Note: I fear President Obama let his advisers and the media shape him into their image of the first black President. President Obama let the media define him. Therein lies the problem. A media that is controlled by white males who wanted him to fail so that he would be the first and last African American President of the United States of America.

Tooting my own horn

I'm writing this in reference to XXXXX's suggestion that Democrats search their souls to see if they're good democrats, or something to that effect. If everybody had worked even one-fourth as hard as I did, there may have been a different out come. I have long contended that most Democrats do nothing during an election but go into a voting booth and vote, if they even do that. Here's some of what I specifically did for Ron Sparks and Steve Raby.


First I tried to get people registered. I took applications for registration forms to three black ministers and asked them to distribute
them to any person they knew who is not registered to vote. I'm guilty as sin of targeting people who I think will vote democratic. I don't have the
time to waste on anybody I'm not sure of. Been there, done that. As an enticement, I paid $2 each for 20 pictures of President Obama being sworn in to give to people to hang in their homes. I always carried a supply of registration forms in my car in case I encountered anyone who wanted to
register. I have been run off store parking lots more times than one.

I made many phone calls from the Democratic Headquarters for various candidates.

I e-mailed and called teachers, both active and retired to within an hour of the polls closing reminding them of the pitfalls awaiting them if
Republicans got elected. (They can read today's paper to see how right I was.)

I would drive to neighborhoods I never knew existed, park my car then walk door-to-door through big lots and no side walks handing out candidates'
literature as well as letters I had written and signed myself. Then I decided that it would be more expedient if I did small businesses instead for a couple of reasons: both candidates stressed the importance of small businesses and had so much to offer them, and also the few people working there usually represent more than one family. Thus began my sojourn into the small business community. Starting at the Tennessee River, I hit every small small business on both sides of the street to Weatherly Road: propeller shops, tire stores, parts stores, antique stores, consignment shops, auto stores, engine shops, tackle shops, quilting stores, doctors' and dentists' offices, barber shops and beauty shops. I particularly enjoyed going into businesses with Mo Brooks signs on their property such as Lily Flag Furniture and Fuel City. At two ABC stores and a wine store in other areas of town, I found that everyone working there was a Democrat. In all my encounters, not one person was ever rude to me.

I did the same thing on Meridian Street hitting small businesses on BOTH sides of the street from where it begins down town to Oakwood Avenue. If
the businesses were closed, I struggled to get the info into a crevice around the door, sometimes lucking out and pushing it all the way in, or getting it to go under the door. Sometimes I attached the literature to doorknobs with rubber bands. I worked the old Holiday Office Center south Parkway, a big, sprawling multi-story complex. Twice it grew dark, as was the case at Holiday Office Center, and I would be afraid for I always worked alone.


On Bankhead Road, I covered two condominium complexes where doormats were close together and easy to slip material under. You learn the ropes after awhile, and you discover that people are really nice, regardless of their political persuasion.

Somebody said to toot your own horn, for ain't nobody gonna toot it for
you.

I have tooted my own horn.

Note: Toot on! Toot often! This is the kind of democrat I wish we had more of instead of some of the democrats we have. This illustrates the difference between the gop and the democratic party..the gop is organized, their voters don't have to be begged to come to the polls and vote because they've been armed with misinformation and righteous anger. The gop also put their most effective voices out front whereas democrats tend to suppress their effective voices out of fear of offending the gop.

What's the difference between Charlie Rangel and Joe Wilson despite the obvious?

I wrote this to another list: “Clearly this was done to a black progressive who had done great work for years and years. But never to the slimy Republican thieves who get away with anything, even when Democrats are in power

Please note that the Ethics Committee is thoroughly bipartisan – half democratic and half republican. The demographic significance is that the committee is strongly skewed to white persons – almost all of them are white.

Yes, the decision is racist!”

Reprimands are also issued in a racist (and nationalist) manner. When Earl Hilliard was running for Congress the first time, he wrote the Ethics committee asking if he could use an office he owned in Montgomery for a satellite campaign office. The Ethics Committee said it was OK!

Well, shortly after Earl went to Congress, he organized a caucus within the Black Caucus to concentrate on getting to know African nations better, and had Members “adopt” a country to get to know and to direct assistance to as much as possible. In doing this, he found that there one African nation not recognized by the US, Libya, and he couldn’t find out specifically why. (This was after Reagan tried to assassinate President Gadaffi by shelling the Presidential Palace from a US ship near the shore. [He failed to kill him, but he did manage to murder Gadaffi’s daughter, 3 years old, as I remember])

Unable to get clear info on our embargo, Earl went to look at the situation (he was unable to use his passport, since the State Department controls all use of passports) and arranged to go without using it (Americans are constitutionally guaranteed the right to go anywhere in the world, but the State Department and Treasury control things, making it difficult. [Later, during Clinton’s bombing of Iraq between the Bush wars, I went there without passport, and later still to Cuba – there being careful to stay below the $200 limit of matter we brought back]) You see, the administration doesn’t like the freedoms the Constitution grants to Americans! Anyway, when Earl returned, some Members freaked out, especially the ever-asinine Spencer Bachus, who called for Earl’s removal from Congress. That died, but ethics charges were filed against Earl from the campaign office matter, but in fact triggered by this incident.

The ethics charges hung over his head for years, not coming up, but used by the Birmingham News (Noose) in every election to smear him. Finally a Democrat who was a member of the Israel nationalist caucus became chair of the Democratic side of the Ethics Committee (I don’t remember his name but he was from Southern California) and the charges came up and Earl was reprimanded in a truly kangaroo trial. Earl was glad since he had called for them to hurry up and get it done over the years and get it over with, but the lowest level of politics ruled. Of course the reprimand meant nothing in the real world.

Note that a black member interested in a black nation was attacked by racist white southern member, Bachus. Sound familiar? Yes, Congress is racist, and the Democratic Party doesn’t purge itself of its own racists.

Both men, Rangel and Hilliard, are among most honorable and ethical members of Congress I have ever known.

Note: I'm sure it's no surprise I agree the Rangel censure was racist. Read the 10 good reasons Rangel shouldn't have been censured. Read the letter from Rep. Bobby Scott who served on the committee. Read about past sanctions and actions taken against other members of congress. If it's not racism, what is it?

We Will Overcome Someday
I'm wondering where all the righteous people have gone after
the humiliating defeat handed liberal Democrats recently? Surely we
liberals aren't so thinned-skinned that we no longer have the urge to
fright for the democratic principles so near and dear to all of our
hearts. It's time to get off the pity pot and renew the fight, my
sisters and brothers. We can and shall overcome if we put our bruised,
bloodied, but unbowed shoulders to the wheel and push! It's hard work,
but it is necessary work, right now, if we are to be successful in our
fight for liberty and JUSTICE for all American citizens. I like the
idea of hitching up the galluses one more notch on my coveralls, one
more time, and putting my bare feet on the hot asphalt road to
righteousness and liberty for all. Please join me and make a joyful
noise for justice, equality and freedom for all Americans. If you will
take the first step, and if we all take that first step, there is no
obstacle, boulder nor barrier that we cannot overcome.

Note: Let us march on until victory is won!

Thanks for reading, lurking, your emails and your comments.

What's the difference between Charlie Rangel and Joe Wilson despite the obvious?

The Big House will vote wether to lynch, I mean censure Representative Charlie Rangel (D.NY) today. I'm sure members of the grand old party are lighting the torches and cracking their whips in anticipation of putting that uppity boy in his rightful place. but Charlies Rangel doesn't deserve censure

When the House votes Thursday to discipline Rep. Charles Rangel – who was found guilty of 11 counts of ethics violations – the 80-year-old congressman and war hero should receive a reprimand, not censure.

Did Rangel make serious mistakes by failing to pay some taxes and report personal income? Absolutely. And he should have known better, especially since he chaired the powerful Ways and Means Committee, which is all about tax legislation.

But should Rangel be forced to stand before Congress and face public humiliation? No.

Rangel has been through enough embarrassment. Censure is the highest ethics punishment a lawmaker can receive outside of expulsion. Why drag Rangel to the House floor and force him to stand before his peers and take a verbal flogging? It accomplishes nothing.

Was Rep. Joe "you lie" Wilson censured for heckling the President of the United States during the State of the Union address and bringing Tea Bag Tactics to our House?

Representative Wilson got off with an apology (of sorts), Charlie Rangel should get the same.

Humbled and apologetic, Rangel wrote a note to Congress: "I am truly sorry for my mistakes and would like your help in seeing that I am treated fairly."

Rangel shouldn’t get kicked while he’s down. A reprimand seems appropriate, especially since Rangel was not found guilty of corruption. Rangel is cantakerous, stubborn, and throws theatrical fits, but he's no crook.

If Rep. Joe Wilson got off with a reprimand after publicly disrespecting the President of the United States of America, a reprimand is certainly good enough for Rep. Charlie Rangel who is guilty of sloppy bookkeeping.

The House of Representatives passed a resolution Tuesday reprimanding Rep. Joe Wilson for shouting "You lie!" during President Obama's address on health care. The resolution states that the House "disapproves of the behavior of the Representative from South Carolina."

Why have another televised high tech lynching of an uppity black man?

Never mind...we know.

I Choose Neither~edit

Left in Alabama commenter bluebearcat makes one of the most profound analysis of the divisions within the Alabama Democratic Party I've heard in a long time, and also makes a compelling case for the need for some deep democratic soul searching, in response to mooncat's accusation There's a double standard for black office holders and office seekers in Alabama whenever they get outside of minority districts,

What bluebearcat said, emphasis mine;

Here's a couple of differences....
1) There's a difference between an incumbent taking a symbolic vote in hopes that their constituents won't be represented by a Republican and a congressman from a safe Dem district actually putting a major reform in jeopardy in hopes that he will get elected to higher office. Both are disappointing, but one took a meaningless action for survival; the other jeopardized health care reform (and, yes, voting against health care reform while its eventual outcome was in doubt did in fact jeopardize its passage).

2) Davis campaigned as a trans formative figure for Alabama politics; he often spoke about the exact same hypocrisy and corruption that you refer to above. But, if he was serious about making things better, MAKE THINGS BETTER. Davis had a chance and showed us the content of his character. Actually, he had multiple chances and each time let his district and his supporters. Whether it was hate crimes or the Justice Department, Artur Davis turned an impressive legacy as a congressman into a sad example of gutlessness in the face of ambition.

My argument is not that the established ADP bureaucracy is somehow better than Artur Davis. They are not. My argument is that Artur Davis is every bit as bad. It is a false choice to say that we must choose between the regressive and antiquated status quo of the ADP and the neo-Conservative ideas of Artur Davis. We should choose neither. There is a future for progress in this state, but it ought not be built on capitulation before the fight has even begun.

For the life of me I cannot understand the dogmatic defense of the indefensible by those who call themselves progressives. When Artur Davis voted against health care reform, he voted against his party and his constituents for his own political gain. It was more important for him to pander to white voters than to do right by the people who elected him. He betrayed the public trust. As bluebearcat said it showed the true content of his character, and IMHO voters were right to reject him at the ballot box. If any other elected official had betrayed their constituents in that manner I feel safe in saying he/she would be called out and rightly so. Why does Artur Davis get a free pass because of the color of his skin? What does it say about white voters if they only way they will support an African American candidate is if he panders to them at the expense of the people who elected him?

15 of 16 Congressional Black Caucus members from the South voted in support of the legislation. Without the nearly unified and unanimous support of the CBC, it is likely health care reform would not have had a chance, which brings us back to Artur Davis's opposition to health care reform.

Davis is running for governor of Alabama and even though his constituents are among the Yellow Hammer state's poorest and most in need of comprehensive health care reform, he voted against their needs to position himself as a moderate. He knows that in order to win the votes of white moderates (he'll never win the votes of white conservatives) he must show that he is against the expansion of government. Yet, throughout his career—moderate by CBC standards, liberal by white Alabama standards—Davis consistently supported the CBC agenda, which encourages the government to actively improve the lives of their constituents.

Essentially, Davis threw his current constituents under the bus for his own political advancement.

White Alabama democrats have some deep soul(pun intended)searching to do. Speaking only for myself, I'm tired of the "we want black democrats to be seen but not heard" mentality of the party elite. I'm tired of the African American vote being taken for granted. I'm tired of conservatives running as democrats to take advantage of the black vote then governing like a conservative republican. I'm tired of democratic candidates pandering to the right at the expense of the traditional base. I'm tired of African Americans being treated like second class citizens with a nod, nod, wink, wink. To quote Dr. Joe Reed;You cannot curse Bubba and Cooter, Big Man, and June Bug in the daytime and beg them at night. If I wanted a republican representative/governor/senator I would vote republican.

I don't have to be member of the Alabama Democratic Party, I chose to be a member of the Alabama Democratic Party because I believed we shared goals and values. I choose not to be a member of a democratic party who would rather lose than stand up and fight for what is right.