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?