Why President Obama is losing the support of white voters

If you believe the polling pollsters President Obama is losing the support of white voters.

In Washington Post-ABC polling, Obama’s approval rating among white voters dropped from better than 60 percent to just above 40 percent. In a June poll, 46 percent of white voters under age 40 approved of Obama, compared with 39 percent of whites 65 and older.

One senior strategist noted that white voters made up 79 percent of the 2006 midterm electorate, while they made up 74 percent of the 2008 vote. If the white percentage returns to its 2006 level, that means there will be 3 million more white voters than if it stayed at its 2008 levels. That scenario, said the source, “would generate massive losses’’ for House and Senate Democrats in November because of Obama’s standing with that demographic

I'm shocked! Shocked I tell you! Not.

Why is President Obama losing the support of white voters you ask? Because the white male dominated media wanted President Obama to fail. Rush, Sean, Bill, Matt, and Andrew are the defacto leaders of the gop gave the marching orders and the gop fell in line lockstep.

Obama's numbers would be better if Republicans did not continually block his agenda for the sake of politics,

Psst President Obama! Americans like winners not wimps. Who ever is advising you is advising you wrong. You need to act like former DNC chair Dr. Howard Dean and confront the right wing bullies head on. This is what I'm talking about.

Attention netroots Dr. Dean has just shown us all and without a doubt what every single Democratic operative pundit or anyone who considers themselves a "progressive" needs to do about Fox News America’s Radio Rwanda and their Republican masters on the subject of race. Do not equivocate do not try to draw parallels call a sewer the shitty smelling place it is.

And just in case you need some more gonads,I mean incentive, proud, liberal Senator Al Franken (D. MN) tells us exactly what is at stake if the cowardly dems let the racist gop regain control of congress in the mid term elections.
(D-NV) shouldn't be underestimated.

Franken credited conservatives for being motivated to reverse the gains progressives have made over the past five years, pointing out that corporations have pledged $200 million during this election cycle and "one oilman, one guy, gave Karl Rove $1 million for attack ads." He warned participants that, in addition to all of that, the Citizens United decision -- the very mention of which earned boos from the crowd -- means that "corporations now spend unlimited amounts of money... can now spend unlimited sums of money directly attacking candidates who try to stand up to them."

We don't know what we don't know about the accomplishments of the Obama administration because the media is too busy enabling the obstructing obstructors.

Psst President Obama! The White male dominated media wants you to fail. You need to get control of the message

"Are We Ever Going to Honestly Talk About Race?'

H/T Progressive Electorate who says;

Look we just need to call a spade a spade here. We aren't making any progress by dancing around the issues

I agree. I would like to direct readers to the Progressive Electorate and urge you to face your fears and participate in the discussion and stop proving Attorney General Eric Holder right (no pun).

America is "a nation of cowards" when discussing race.

Don't be skeered. :)

Shirley Sherrod is Reverend Jeremiah Wright Part II

President Obama was forced (yes forced) to renounce, reject and repudiate Shirley Sherrod the same way he was forced to renounce, reject and repudiate Reverend Jeremiah Wright,his Pastor, mentor, and friend. The man who united him in holy matrimony with Michelle. The man who baptized his children. I said it then, and I will say it now, it's the media. Strike that. It's the white wing media.

The lack of diversity in the media must be corrected. Has anyone noticed all the Talking TeeVee Pundit heads are white men and women? And they wonder why President Obama "rushed to judgement" and fired Shirley Sherrod before having all the facts? Are Glen Beck, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Rielly, Matt Drudge, Andrew Breitbart , Rush Limbaugh, and other Smear Merchants are running the country? It sure looks that way to me.

Let's rewind. Faux News found clip of Reverend Jeremiah Wright preaching in his own darn church, took a segment out of context thus portraying him to the world as President Obama's anti American pastor. Forget what Jeremiah Wright said BEFORE he said "God Damn America". Forget what Jeremiah Wright said AFTER he said "God Damn America". No one thought to look at the entire video or to examine Reverend Wright's life and his experiences. Strike that no one in the media wanted to do these things. Why? Because they wanted to expose so called "black racism" and make Reverend Wright the focus so they wouldn't have to concentrate on the substance of his sermon.

Fast forward to Shirley Sherrod. Andrew Breitbart found a clip of a speech of Sherrod made at a NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet. Took the a segment of the speech out of context and used her as the poster woman for "racism". Forget what Shirley Sherrod actually said. Forget Shirley Sherrod's life and experiences. Why? Because the media wanted to expose so called "black racism".

Let's get something straight. There is so such animal as "black racism". As a matter of fact, let's stop using the word "racism" and call it what it is, White Privilege

White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God’s punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you’re just a good church-going Christian, but if you’re black and friends with a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on black people, you’re an extremist who probably hates America.

President Obama needs to stand up to this reverse racism spin.

After the Shirley Sherrod episode, there's no longer any need to mince words: A cynical right-wing propaganda machine is peddling the poisonous fiction that when African Americans or other minorities reach positions of power, they seek some kind of revenge against whites.

Let's HOPE the lesson in all of this is Shirley Sherrod and Alan Grayson teach President Obama how to deal effectively with the media, I mean Bullies.

Right-wing bullies thrive on fear, cowardice and on political leaders like Barack Obama who don't want to make waves and would rather "split the difference." When I was just a wee lad in elementary school no one had explained the physics of muscles and fists to me properly. I was a safety crossing guard and there was this one big bully-- he towered over me-- who used to terrorize weaker, smaller students. He pushed some poor kid down at my post one morning and I walked over to him and pulled him off the guy. We got in a fist-fight... and he pulverized me. But he never bothered me again and he never made any trouble on my corner again. It's when you don't stand up to bullies, as Neville Chamberlain learned, that they feel empowered.

Lost in all the Sherrod hoopla is the fact President Obama scored two legislative victories yesterday. but thanks to his fear of the white...I mean the right it was drowned out by news about Shirley Sherrod.

Anyway, once again, we have a teachable racial moment in A-merry-ca. Black pundits are all over the cable networks, and they are telling the rest of A-merry-ca how black folks really feel. They hope that A-merry-ca will care. They wont. It seems everybody got the memo except black folks: There is no more racism in A-merry-ca.

Remember what Ronnie B. said;

The so-called mainstream media, now knowing that the President--for whatever reason(s)--will do nothing, watches for and covers the assaults whenever they happen. Their (rather logical) conclusion is that: "well, if the President of all people doesn't act as if Black Americans are worthy of a certain level of honor and respect, then it appears that we don't need to either".

When political leaders regard us with utter disdain and contempt, and a mainstream media goes along with blind indifference, then we are in serious trouble.

Amen.

Punk'd...... Again

You know the drill.

Find a clip on YouTube of so called black racist/racism (more on this).

Take the clip out of context.

Play the clip over and over again.

Make the POTUS respond, renounce and repudiate the speaker/group/remarks.

Viola! Punk'd again!

Note to POTUS and the NAACP...This is war, treat it as such.

: like al Qaeda, the radical right ain’t playin’ and prefers long term, secretive strategic planning calculated to do maximum damage. This is just the first in a wave of planned attacks they will be rolling out. I sure hope y’all learned something from this unsavory episode. Lesson 1: get some interns hittin’ YouTube to find anything they might be planning to use against you, issue talking points and recommendations to your city and state leaders and don’t get caught flat-footed again. This is war. Treat it as such.

This is how they operate;

“You can play the media. You can force them to cover things,” he says. “This is not just stenography. There’s a performance art to it.”

Now about that black racist/racism thing. Black folks do not have a documented history of being racist or racism.

To hear conservatives tell it, there's a one-sided race war going on in America, and white folks are the targets. From President Obama's secret plan to use health care reform as a way to procure backdoor "reparations" for slavery, to his equally secret plan to wreck the economy as a way to pay white people back for centuries of racial oppression, to his personal responsibility for a fight on a school bus in Belleville, Illinois, in which two black kids beat up a white kid, it's open season on white America. And of course, in case you weren't convinced, surely that tax on tanning bed customers that was part of the health care bill should suffice to make the case: after all, it's a clear slap at white folks and the result of the President's deep antipathy towards those of us lacking sufficient melanin.

The New Black Panther party was not trying to intimidate white voters in Philadelphia, PA as breathlessly reported by the white wing media. However there was nary a word on the real voter suppression/intimidation that occurred in 2000 (Florida) and 2004 (Ohio) and the Minute Man intimations in 2006. Black folks are the only ones convicted of "voter fraud".

Once again, a case of individual racism--which turned out to be phony anyway--gets the attention, while the institutionalized mistreatment of people of color goes ignored.

What Tim Wise said;

Sadly, nowadays the cult has the attention of the media and a white public already anxious about changing demographics, the presence of a black president and economic insecurity. Unless the targets of their race-baiting (including the President) show the courage to push back and expose them for the venal fear-pimps they are, their methods will only get more extreme, their lies more bold, and their ability to inflict lasting damage on the nation more definitive.

It's time to stand up to the media. The media doesn't get to define or determine racist/racism. As Ronnie B. says;

The Angry White Right has essentially told the President: "Boy, we're going to slap your Black mother in the face whenever we feel like it, and their isn't a damned thing you're gonna do about it. Understand?"

The so-called mainstream media, now knowing that the President--for whatever reason(s)--will do nothing, watches for and covers the assaults whenever they happen. Their (rather logical) conclusion is that: "well, if the President of all people doesn't act as if Black Americans are worthy of a certain level of honor and respect, then it appears that we don't need to either".

When political leaders regard us with utter disdain and contempt, and a mainstream media goes along with blind indifference, then we are in serious trouble.

Are we in serious trouble yet?

I think so.

Faux-pression: Racism and the Cult of White Victimhood

Faux-pression: Racism and the Cult of White Victimhood

Bummer, I'm Banned Again!

A funny thing happens when I try to log on to Left in Alabama, I can't. I know cats are supposed to be fickle but this is ridiculous! First I was banned, then I was un-banned, now I'm banned again. My offense this time? To para quote President Harry S. Truman, I don't give em hell, I tell it like it is and they tell me to go STFU and go to hell. Daring to speak truth to power is a banning offense at the progressive blog for a new direction in Alabama politics. I guess it depends on what the definition of "a new direction" IS. *Sigh*

In response to Almoderates diary Why On Earth Should I Vote for Ron Sparks, mooncat posted Of Candidates and Car Sales, making the comparison of a customer and a car salesman in an attempt to effectively persuade someone to your point of view. I say that is a false comparison. If a customer is in a car dealership they are probably going to buy a car so they don't have to be persuaded of anything, they are looking for the best deal. The customer knows how much they can afford to spend and the salesperson knows how much they have sell the car for. IF they have a meeting of the minds, they have a deal. If not they don't, regardless of how persuasive the salesperson is the purchaser cannot spend what they don't have.

I prefer to use the relationship between a homeowner and a roofing contractor to illustrate how to effectively persuade someone to my point of view. If you hire a contractor to repair your roof and they screw it up, do you let them tell the person you have to hire to fix their mess how to fix it? I don't think so.

archangelsk is right (pun intended) on point. Hard core democrats like us took the bait and fell for the trap, I share the blame for dragging the thread into the crapper. I will disagree with this point:

As much as I hate that my candidate did not make it through in the CD-7 race, I am going to support Terri Sewell, because she is a Democrat.

It's going to be hard for me to support Terri Sewell because she is a democrat in light of the fact she doesn't appear to have the same loyalty to the democratic party. Announcing she is not going to be a rubber stamp for the democratic President is not democratic.

I should have realized there was no way to persuade Almoderate to vote for Ron Sparks anymore than I could be persuaded to vote for Robert Bentley. A mind is a terrible thing to waste and a hard thing to change.

It's the candidates responsibility to sell themselves to voters not the other way around. Candidates need to articulate why on earth voters should vote for them. Let's hear from the Candidates not the bloggers and commenter's. Stop banning loyal, committed, democrats.

I wish that you would once just acknowledge the other side of the argument, the importance of those who are registered Dems, who are the party faithful, who are the true progressives and liberals.

Resident righty OP makes it personal in true gop style;

Finally people should remember this blog is widely read and thanks to the cats somewhat influential. Just think, if you were an undecided voter, and read the comments directed toward Almoderate by Sparks supporters - is that a group you want to be part of?

If so called undecided voters base their decisions to vote for or against a candidate because of comments directed toward Almoderate so be it. I'm not going to STFU because they MIGHT vote for my candidate.
As long as DEMOCRATS are afraid to be DEMOCRATS and afraid to stand up for DEMOCRATIC values and the DEMOCRATIC agenda, and continue to pander to the RIGHT who are so wrong on every issue, we "will continue to get nothing fixed.
And that's a fact.

countrycat says;

They'd rather bully people into shutting up than try to convince them that the GOP agenda is best for the country.

As she bully's me into shutting up rather than allowing me to convince them that the gop agenda is NOT what is best for our state or our country.

My Liberal Rant

I am not a Progressive, I am a proud, card carrying, bleeding heart, tree hugging, Birkenstock wearing, LIBERAL big D Democrat. You got that?

The term "progressive" is today often used in place of "liberal." Why? Because republicans made liberal a dirty word. In an effort to appease the gop Liberals decided to call themselves progressives. Unfortunately the progressive brand has been hijacked by neo-liberals and corporatist dems.

H/T to Captain Plaid for Making It Plain!

I am libeRAL as I believe humanity can advance.

o Our civil liberties must be protected. No exceptions!

o I believe in the power of law. She’s not perfect and I’ve seen injustices, often related to power and poverty frankly. I’m very concerned with the burrowed in Federalist Society sorts on benches across this land. Our Alabama Supreme Court is largely bought and paid for by the Business Council of Alabama and other Big Mules like Alfa. The Court of Criminal Appeals used to be rather hostile to defense lawyers and I know for a fact they dodged a serious question I once raised in a brief.

o Lockean libertarians who recognize the need for social insurance and regulation were once celebrated yet are now having rocks thrown at them.

o I favor same-sex marriages or at least civil unions. Discrimination can hardly be tolerated as to a person’s sexual orientation.

o I had a person once tell me liberals believe people are inherently good. I'm not sure I buy that yet I do think many are. On some of the laggards, ignorant, … I occasionally think of how I used to work with critters by making it easy for them to do the right thing. Policies to prod, channel, and the like are OK for me but then again just help and a hug work on the face to face work I try to do. I know for a fact I helped some kids I taught or have known and likely could have done more if carrying a fair work load and able to really teach and represent.

o Education is an investment. We ought to be proud to spend money for our future generations.

o Clinton’s welfare “reform” sounded perhaps good on paper and was a winner politically yet only a booming economy avoided a train wreck. The costs of having those babies being taken from their mothers so she could do some type of “make work” is hard to measure but I bet there were and are costs.

mooncat says I am not typical of any democrat she knows
What is she thinking?

I begged readers to read the History: Democrats $ Republicans On Civil Rights and Equality which let me know what kind of democrat I'm not;

Conservative Democrats left the party in opposition to civil rights and became Republicans. After the Civil Rights law was signed into law, conservative Democrats left the party. Strom Thurmond, who ran as a segregationist in 1948, became a Republican, as did Jesse Helms (who went on to filibuster against making Martin Luther King Jr. day a federal holiday).

I'm not the kind of democrat who runs away from Nancy Pelosi and President Obama in an attempt to woo so called moderates/independents and other concern trolls.

I'm not the kind of democrat who jumps in bed with the Tea Party Gang.

I'm not the kind of democrat who says support my candidate/point of view or else.

I'm not the kind of democrat who falls for the Talking TeeVee Pundit Head spin

I'm the kind of democrat who is sick and tired of being bullied by the right wing because you know what? I really don't want to hear the other side.

So There!

Saturday Must Reads

If you don't read anything else I've posted or ever will post, I am begging you to read History: Democrats & Republicans On Civil Rights and Equality. H/T Oliver Willis

There is an awful lot of misinformation and untruth out there about the legacy of the two major political parties and the civil rights movement. Conservatives often like to use slight of hand, insisting that because the early Republican party was stronger in support of civil rights, this means that conservatives have the moral high ground. This is totally untrue.

After you read the above post PLEASE read Reading Racism from Right to Left: Reflections on a Powerful Word and it's Applications. H/T Tim Wise

This is part one of a two-part series on racism on the right and left of the United States’ political/ideological spectrum. Part One provides the reader with a working definition of racism, and then explores how racism at both the ideological and institutional levels is connected to and enhanced by American conservatism. Part Two will explore the ways in which American liberal and left rhetoric and policy prescriptions can also manifest or further racism at the ideological and institutional levels.

The piece is long, and less a polemic than an analytical think piece, but hopefully folks will find it helpful in future discussions of racism with friends and adversaries alike...

Then, Imagine if the Tea Party were Black H/T Ephphatha Poety

Imagine that a black pastor, formerly a member of the U.S. military, were to declare, as part of his opposition to a white president’s policies, that he was ready to “suit up, get my gun, go to Washington, and do what they trained me to do.” This is, after all, what Pastor Stan Craig said recently at a Tea Party rally in Greenville, South Carolina.

Peaceful reading.

Redeye's Week In Review

Artur Davis, I mean Terri Sewell is the democratic congressional nominee from the 7th district. She was quoting Shirley Chisholm on Wednesday and announcing she wasn't going to be a rubber stamp for President Obama on Thursday. Now we see why Emily's list was so *ahem* invested in 7th district congressional race. If the republicans were smart, and I'm not saying they are, they would run a social liberal, fiscal conservative candidate against Sewell in the fall and take a "safe" democratic seat. But why should they bother to run a candidate when they have Artur, I mean Sewell? I wonder if Sewell is going to vote for Nancy Pelosi for speaker of the house? Naahhh. This is messed up on too many levels to enumerate. The voters in the 7th district don't deserve this. If the Alabama democratic party were courageous, and I'm not saying they are, they would run a real democrat as an independent in the fall. With democratic nominees like Sewell who needs republicans?

Speaking of Artur Davis, he's exhibiting the learned helplessness democrats are famous for in Alabama.

U.S. Rep. Artur Davis, D-Birmingham, praised Robert Bentley for his victory in Tuesday's runoff election and predicted the Republican Party nominee will be tough to beat in the general election.

With democrats like Davis who needs republicans?

Republicans and *ahem* progressive cats won't have Dr. Paul Hubbert to kick around anymore since he is stepping down as the State Party Vice Chair. He is public enemy #1 because he is an effective advocate for public schools, public school students, teachers, administrators and support staff. Dr. Joe L. Reed is public enemy#2 because he is responsible for "gerrymandering" them there black voting districts thanks to that there Voting Rights Act.

Districts with huge majorities of minority voters? Not good. Those are intended to actually dilute the effect of minorities at the voting booth and shouldn't be tolerated by anyone on the progressive side of the map.

With progressives like these who needs democrats.

The political career of Bradley Byrnes is over, thanks in large part to democrats and the AEA. Yep, those so called anti corruption, anti gambling corporate candidates crashed and burned. Schnauzer I join you and Mrs. Schnauzer in your childish delight

So we hope you will excuse our childish delight at the thumping corporate candidates have taken at the election box recently in Alabama. The battle for honest governance is far from over--in Alabama and beyond. But we must admit to feeling a tiny bit of vindication today--and even a sense of "up yours" to those who have soiled our democracy.

The NAACP called on the Tea Party Gang to reject the racist elements and found themselves under attack from the mainstream media. That's right (no pun), the organization that fights racism is under attack for exposing the racist elements of the Tea Party gang at the same time the media is doing everything but ironing the white sheets, lighting torches and getting the rope for Mel Gipson. So, how come the media, which is predominately white, gets to defend the Tea Party Movement, attacking the NAACP and convicting Mel Gipson? Who made them the arbiters of racism? This is the same media who painted anti war protesters as anti American, anti military, namby, pamby, tree huggers and Cindy Sheehan as a traitor because she dared ask why her son died in Iraq.

President Obama is cautiously optimistic the oil well gusher is plugged in the Gulf of Mexico. Republicans voted lock step against extending unemployment benefits and financial reform. The Tea Party candidates crashed and burned. And republicans still think think they are going to regain control of the government in November.

Ain't that a dip?

Edit~I Told You Terri Sewell was Artur Davis in Designer Pumps

The winner of the democratic congressional primary from the one and ONLY Alabama district President Obama carried in 2008 has announced I'm not going to be a rubber stamp for Obama.

I tried to tell y'all

Terri didn't pledge to vote in the interest of the voters of the district. She round about said she would vote against Nancy Pelosi and President Obama. Why would Nancy Pelosi and President Obama introduce legislation that wouldn't be in the interest of the 7th district?

But I was accused of inventing a straw man, making sh*t up, and peddling hypocrisy (I'm looking at you mooncat, countrycat, Kathy, Kayman, et.al)

Inventing a straw man
So you can knock it down. In other words you're making shit up.

You weren't in the audience Thursday so I know you have no idea what Terri Sewell said, but you obviously feel free to twist my words. She unequivocally said her first priority would be the needs and wishes of the 7th congressional district. When pressed, she said even the President could not convince her to vote against the interest of her district. Nor could partisan politics. That's a very strong statement of loyalty to the voters who elect a representative. Under normal circumstances you would praise a representative who vowed to actually represent We the People, but for some reason you are now looking for reasons to criticize it.

I need hip boots for the hypocrisy you are peddling.

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday Terri Sewell was quoting Shirley Chisholm, today she's sounding like the rest of the Alabama Congressional Critters.

"I'll be a partner with Obama" to "By no means will I just rubber stamp any and all policies of the administration"

This is what happens when the republicans enabled by the media and neo liberal bloggers choose the democratic nominee from the 7th district.

If the Alabama democratic party was courageous, and I'm not saying they are, they would run an independent against Ms. Nine West Pumps in November. The residents of the 7th district deserve better. They are the most loyal voting block the state and national democratic party has, it's time to stop taking their loyalty for granted.

Enough!

Updated; I Weep for the Residents of Alabama's 7th Congressional district

What did the residents of the Alabama's 7th Congressional district to do deserve another wall street attorney who doesn't know their Donkey from a hole in the ground as their representative in congress? I mean really? The republicans and their neo liberal enablers just helped elect the worst democrat to congress. Don't ever let them tell you they have Alabama's best interests or the best interests of the 7th district at heart.

My worst fear has come to past. Republicans, enabled by the media (again) and the neo liberals (again) bought and paid for the only African American seat in congress (again). I'm sure they are patting themselves on the back and high fiving their "victory" this morning, but this is wrong on so many levels. For one thing it proves it's not about the people, it's about the money, the power and the influence. It's proof the residents of the 7th district didn't get to decide who represents them in congress (again).

How did the Alabama Democratic Party let this happen? Why did the Alabama Democratic party let this happen? How many members of Congress does Hoover need?

If and when Sewell has to cast votes on financial reform and job creation, will her instincts be those of Tuxedo Junction, or those of the brokers and bankers on Waterside Drive?

I am full of righteous anger this morning. As I've said before I don't live, work or vote in the 7th district, but I care about the 7th district. I care about the poverty and the despair and I care about who represents them in congress. Are they being punished for being poor? Are they being punished because they don't own flashy blogs? Are they being punished because they dared vote with HOPE for CHANGE we can believe in? What did they do to make them unworthy of effective LIBERAL representation in Congress?

Terri Sewell. I know you said:

service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth
and
When I go to Washington, we all go to Washington

But talk is cheap. I hope you live up to the words and legacy of my Sorority Sister and not the legacy of your predecessor who voted against health care reform, the hate crimes bill, resigned from the house judiciary committee to run for Governor and was an apologist for some racist actions. Shirley Chisholm was a true, proud LIBERAL who spoke truth to power, unbossed and unafraid.

As a freshman, Chisholm was assigned to the House Agricultural Committee. Given her urban district, she felt the placement was irrelevant to her constituents[2] and shocked many by asking for reassignment. She was then placed on the Veterans' Affairs Committee.[2] Soon after, she voted for Hale Boggs as House Majority Leader over John Conyers. As a reward for her support, Boggs assigned her to the much-prized Education and Labor Committee,[7] which was her preferred committee.[2] She was the third highest-ranking member of this committee when she retired from Congress.
All those Chisholm hired for her office were women, half of them black.[2] Chisholm said that during her New York legislative career, she had faced much more discrimination because she was a woman than because she was black.[2]

Terri Sewell, my big REDEYE will be trained on you like a laser beam. It's not about YOU, it's about the voters of the 7th district. I HOPE and PRAY you prove me wrong, not for MY sake, but for the sake of the the 7th district, our state and our country.

Proof Terri Sewell is not the Democratic nominee the people who live, work and vote in the 7th district want or need to deserve to represent them in Washington can be found in this thread from Left in Alabama.

We heard after the primary about how Dems rejected Davis because he didn't play to the base. Well that's all fine and good if you can win an election with just your base. Unfortunately, you can't, and I think that's where the state Dems are falling short. Until the folks on the left figure out that they're going to have to make some concessions to appeal to independents and even some (gasp!) moderate Republicans so that they can get a little bit of progressive in there, they'll get nothing accomplished. The far left liberal Dems are an endangered species in Alabama. You won't win an election on your own.

Be sure and read the comments;

I like Teri Sewell, too.
So far... Just wanted to get that out there.

See what I mean?

You like Terri Sewell and Artur Davis, but not Ron Sparks. (1.00 / 3)
Why am I not surprised? This is how the residents of the 7th district ended up with a wall street securities attorney with NO experience as the democratic nominee from the the only district President Obama carried in 2008. Republicans, enabled by the media and neo-liberals picked the Democratic nominee from the 7th district, not the people once again. That's messed up.

Jesus, save us from the conservatives/ republicans/moderates/independents/ progressive/neo-liberals. They know not what they do.

Why I weep for the people who actually live in CD 7

Better no experience in government
Than experience in government malpractice.

The voters spoke in the 7th CD runoff last week. Everyone who respects the process should accept that those voters weighed their alternatives and made the choice they deemed best for them.

And, Republicans were voting in the Republican gubernatorial runoff (along with all those Republican members of AEA) not in the Democratic runoff.

7th Congressional District Runoff Roundup

I don't live, work, or most importantly vote in Alabama's 7th congressional district, but I know a lot of people who do. I know a lot of people who don't have indoor plumbing, don't have access to health care, send their students to under achieving public schools and have toxic coal ash waste dumped on them. The 7th congressional district is historically and culturally important to me because thanks to the work of Dr. Joe L. Reed, it is the only African American district in Congress.

Alabama's 7th congressional district is in the heart of the black belt and the cradle of the civil rights movement in Alabama. It was the only Alabama district President Obama won in 2008. For the past 8 years the 7th district has been represented by Artur Davis, who sold them out for his own blind ambition. They deserve competent, committed, effective, courageous, experienced leadership in congress. The stakes are just too high.

Candidate Artur, I mean Terri Sewell claims she has no republican backing, her opponent is unfairly attacking her, and that she wears nine west shoes, all in an attempt to distract voters from the fact she doesn't have experience or a record to run on.

As unclesam.johnson said, this is an election for people who actually live in the 7th district.

This is truly an election for the people that actually live in congressional district 7 and for people that can actually VOTE in the district. The problem is that way too many people and organizations are trying to influence it for the wrong reasons (I'm sure that many consider this subjective but it is really not). People that do not live in the district can give high level spin for candidates, write flashy blog posts, post misinformation about candidates, put up radio ads, act as tools of outside interest but in the end it is about the people that vote. It will be about the people who's everyday life is affected by their congressional representation.


It is morally wrong for people that do not live in the district to try to influence votes, however, its a free country and free speech reigns. As supporters of constitution reform, we all know the dangers of being able to vote for issues that do not affect us (e.g. why do I need to vote on sheep herding, shrimp farming etc.. in other parts of the state).

At the end of the day, the people that actually live and vote in the district will select their choice of the candidate that they trust, has a record of experience, and the one that will do the right thing. Fortunately enough, very few on this blog will have the opportunity to do so.

I am praying the people that actually live and vote in 7th district select their choice of candidate and don't let the republicans and their enablers steal the only African American congressional seat.

How many members of Congress does Hoover need?

Ms. Sewell did not grow up in poverty. Her parents were both public schoolteachers (as were mine). While not wealthy, schoolteachers in Alabama were no longer skipping meals by the time Ms. Sewell came along. (Thank you, AEA.) She spent several years as a partner in a Wall Street law firm where per-partner profits were well over a million dollars a year. She is now a partner in one of the most elite law firms in Alabama - perhaps the most elite. Her choice of home was certainly not constrained by her income. No longer married to anyone with an interesting history, she need not worry about the size of the home or yard.

Terri Sewell is a nice, accomplished, young lady. But that doesn't mean she should be elected to Congress to represent one of the poorest and disenfranchised districts in Alabama.

Let the voters of the 7th district decide who represents them in congress, not the gop. Been there. Done that.

Oh Ye of Little Faith

There is lots of hang wringing and anquish going on in democratic circles about what they should do on Tuesday. To crossover or not to crossover, that is the question. The reason I am not going to cross over is because it doesn't matter which of the the two republican gubernatorial B's (Byrne/Bentley) win, Ron Sparks is going to beat them like a drum. Bryne is a victim of his own ambitions and Bentley is just plan scary. Democratic nominee Ron Sparks says no to crossover voting.

People who call themselves Democrats should continue to vote as Democrats in the primary runoff on Tuesday, the Democratic Party gubernatorial nominee said Wednesday.

“We have some important races where their votes are important,” Ron Sparks said.

What worries me about the hang wringing is this comment;

I am not at all sure our Democratic candidate can win the gubernatorial race.

Let me ask you this. Have you ever heard this point of view expressed publically from the republicans about their candidate? Hell NO. One thing I can say about the republicans is they stand up and support their guy or gal 110%. They stand up and fight for their guy or gal with all their heart and soul. They are committed and loyal to their party and their candidates. Why can't democrats do the same? Why are democrats "afraid their candidate can't win"? If you think that way they won't win. It's called a self-defeating attitude. It's how we become losers. I'm tired of being a loser. If we get off our Donkey's and vote for them they will win.

Alabama democrats have been conditioned by the right wing, to believe they can't win elections unless they pander to the right wing.

Enough of the learned helplessness and self defeating attitudes. Have faith in our party. Work for our party. Don't give in or give up.

Fight because we(democrats/liberals) are right and they(republicans/conservatives) are wrong!
Winners never quit!
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run but only one recieves the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 1 Corinthians 9:24

Redeye stepping down from the soapbox to go pray Democrats get off their Donkey's and vote!

Edited;"The preservation of the truth,"

A sermon on the fourth great end of the church was the title of the sermon at my church this July 4. Although I am a firm believer in the separation of church and state I made the connection between the sermon and the toxic political culture where we the people are being lied to without impunity by candidates and elected officials via the mainstream media.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal." You either believe that to be true or you don't. We are all one in humanity. The truth is not "fair and balanced".

"Education makes the search for the truth possible".

If we the people aren't educated we can't discern fact from fiction. We can not make informed decisions which IMHO creates a toxic culture of corruption and cronyism.

Join me as I seek to preserve the truth.

Jefferson County Commissioner and democratic 7th district congressional candidate Sheila Smoot is going to be indicted on federal charges win or lose after the runoff, say some 7th district congressional candidate Terri Sewell supporters.

Is this the truth? Who knows, but if it is the truth, it's further evidence of the political prosecutions and legal lynching of political opponents in Alabama politics IMHO.

Sheila Smoot is a liar and if you vote for her something bad will happen According to some Sewell supporters Sheila Smoot is supposed to have lied about Terri Sewell's spotty Alabama voting record.

Yesterday I received a fundraising e-mail from EMILY's LIST. It was an urgent request to help one of their candidates in dire distress, Terri Sewell in AL- 7. According to the e-mail Terri was being unfairly and baselessly attacked by her opponent and needed money immediately to prevent something terrible from happening.
Emphasis mine;
EMILY's LIST did not explain what Terri Sewell stood for, what her opponent stood for, anything about the nature of the unfair attack, or the significance of AL-7

See what I mean? Here are the missing FACTS:

Alabama CD-7 was formerly held by Arthur Davis, who left to seek higher office. There will be a runoff in the Democratic Primary on July 13th between Sheila Smoot (Jefferson County Commissioner) and Terri Sewell (Lawyer). The winner will be the first black congresswoman from Alabama. While Arthur Davis voted against Health Care, BOTH candidates are for it. In fact both candidates claim to be progressives.

Because of the massive backing the EMILY's LIST endorsement has given her, Terri Sewell has ALWAYS BEEN the odds on favorite in this race.. She has received over $1 million dollars for her campaign.

The unfortunate Sheila Smoot, who was not the Early Bird and did not get the EMILY's LIST endorsement only raised $138,000.

Before the last two e-mails asking for emergency funds, Terri Sewell had 7 times more money raised for the campaign than Sheila Smoot. Her campaign also released an internal poll, a few days ago, showing she had a 20 point lead over her opponent.

Maybe the reason for alarm in the Sewell camp was that Smoot was seeking and may have gotten the backing of Jim Clyburn, Bennie Thompson and maybe even, the Congressional Black Caucus.

Perhaps by getting the gullible, brainless and rich EMILY's LIST donnors to give her a few hundred thousand dollars more and show what a top money raiser she was, Jim Clyburn and the Black Caucus could be convinced to back her and not Smoot.

This is not the first time EMILY's LIST supported dubious candidates and their schemes.

EMILY's List has not yet apologized for funding a homophobic, anti-abortion and anti-Semitic candidate a few years ago, against a sitting democratic congressman whose voting record was impeccable on all progressive issues. The donors of EMILY's LIST ended up funding a candidate that used a large part of the campaign budget to produce and air ant-Semitic TV ads, including one which equated Jews with the KKK.

I guess we the people are supposed to be too dumb to see the same people backing Artur Davis are the same people backing Terri Sewell. So what does the Sewell camp do next? They create a weapon of mass distraction.

What is worse, a thief or a liar?

Sheila Smoot is a liar. At least, her campaign is lying when they made this claim about Terri Sewell: "She didn't even cast one vote in Alabama until 2008."

And this one: "Sewell never even voted in Alabama until 2 years ago. ... She never even bothered to vote and now she wants to represent you in Congress. ... Sewell doesn't even vote, but she attacks Shelia Smoot's record?"

This would mean that Terri had never voted for her mother when she ran for city council.

All spin all the time, unfair and unbalanced.

Oh, what a tangled web we weave...make it about Smoot being a liar instead of the source of Terri Sewells huge war chest. What gradyw said;

So here's my analysis: Sewell has a voter registration card from 1984. She says she voted in multiple races. She lived out of state for 20 years or so, may have registered somewhere else or became inactive here in Alabama. She moved back to Alabama in 2003-2004 but didn't vote here until 2008, when she ran as a Delegate in the 6th Congressional District, according to records provided.

Terri Sewell and her republican backers are trying to steal the only African American seat in congress by lying to the voters because she can't run on her record because she has NONE. And that's the truth.

So help me God.

As a wise man in Arizona recently said, "Buyers Beware". Never give funds to anyone unless you know the candidates, the positions they hold and how they are running their campaign

WHY would a liberal democrat WANT to vote for a republican?

Seriously. Mooncat over at Left in Alabama asked republican gubernatorial candidate Bradly Byrne the following question at a candidate forum sponsored by right wing radio station WVNN last week;
I'm a Liberal Democrat, Why Should I Vote for You?
Bradly Byrne replied;
"If you're a liberal Democrat, I can't think of any reason you'd want to vote for me" -

I can't either. The key word is IF.
IF you are a liberal democrat why would you want to vote for a republican? republicans are against everything liberal democrats stand for.

Liberal Democrats are pro choice, republicans are anti choice.

Liberal democrats are pro quality of life, republicans are pro life as long as it's in the womb, after that all bets are off. republicans are pro life and anti welfare. republicans are pro life and pro death penalty.

Liberal democrats are pro public education, republicans are anti public education.

Liberal democrats are pro labor, republicans are anti labor.

Liberal democrats are pro civil rights, pro equal rights, pro human rights, pro LBGT rights, republicans are anti civil rights, anti equal rights, anti human rights, anti LBGT rights.

Liberal democrats are anti war, republicans are pro war.

Liberal democrats are pro government, republicans are anti government unless they are the the government.

Liberal democrats care about the least of these, republicans care about making the rich richer.

I guess it depends on what the definition of "liberal democrat" IS.

Wanted: Alabama Democrats has a must read rant about the conventional wisdom infecting Alabama democrats with learned helplessness. We are not republicans. We don't want to be republicans.
We are democrats and we are right.

We are proud liberals.

What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label "Liberal?" If by "Liberal" they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of "Liberal." But if by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal."

Real liberals don't WANT to vote for a republican, or a republican lite.

"Let's hear from the candidates not the bloggers"

Commentor unclesam.johnson says he's tired of the mudslinging and wants to hear from the candidates.

This is truly another sad day as I read this diary. I am disheartened to read that our "left" is now "right" by attacking one of our Democratic candidates. NOTE TO READERS: THEY ARE BOTH DEMOCRATS. "We" all supported Parker Griffith as a Democrat and sent him to DC and were are all too familiar with his "questionable" medical practices.

So if you/we gave him a forum as a Democrat why will you/we not make an attempt to be fair and do the same for BOTH of the Democrats in this race? Let's be fair to BOTH Sewell and Smoot in this dialogue.

A lot of time was obviously spent attempting to research this. It is stated that "The bottom line in all this is that Jefferson County residents were harmed, financially and culturally." The readers are are harmed by not being able to read a positive article on this blog regarding the candidates. This is truly a disservice. The interesting fact is that most of the constituents that live in that district probably have never even heard of this blog and are more affected by the candidate coming to their home, their church or their events. I am exhausted with the mudsliing by bloggers and want to hear from the candidates.


Or, do we continue to let negative front page articles be the mouthpiece for the Sewell campaign instead of hearing from the candidate? This bias may be turning people away from Sewell just as the slanted reporting did for Davis and some of his die-hard supporters. Just something to think about.


Why doesn't LIA just sponsor a debate/forum/teleconference between Sewell and Smoot and let the people decide for themselves. I feel that these 3 options will let all attend. How about that? Is another debate/forum/teleconerence a possibility?


Let's return to civility and let the people decide whom they want to represent them without all the schadenfreude.

I'm with unclesam.johnson. Enough with the mudslinging and the hypocrisy. As I've said before I don't live or vote in the 7th district, but I care about the residents of the 7th district. They deserve better than what they've gotten. The voters in the 7th district are the most loyal democratic voting block we have. The 7th district was the only Alabama district President Obama carried in 2008. They voted with HOPE for CHANGE they could believe in. They don't deserve to get the shaft or to be marginalized and minimized.

So what's it going to be Left in Alabama,

Let's repeat the request/solution for clarification (0.00 / 0)
Why doesn't LIA just sponsor a debate/forum/teleconference between Sewell and Smoot and let the people decide for themselves. I feel that these 3 options will let all attend.

Or,

do we continue to let negative front page articles be the mouthpiece for the Sewell campaign instead of hearing from the candidate?