U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Birmingham), one of the key allies of Sen.-elect Doug Jones during this year’s U.S. Senate special election campaign, discussed her get-out-the-vote effort in Alabama’s African-American community NPR’s “Weekend Edition Saturday.”
Sewell acknowledged she was “partially excited” about African-American turnout in that election. However, she also said she believed the African-American vote was taken for granted when asked by host Scott Simon.
“Does the national Democratic Party sometimes take the votes of African-Americans for granted?” Simon asked Sewell.
“I do believe that,” she replied. “I also know that generally, you know, oftentimes, our base feels that they are neglected. But I do believe that we can turn that around by directly speaking to our base when it comes to policies that affect the family. So, talking about health care and the fact that this administration wants to repeal without having a replacement for the Affordable Care Act, speaking about the ability to have equal funding – public funding for education so that all of our children get to reach their God-given potential.”
“Those issues, as well as getting us prepared for the future of work, which is going to leave a large swath of rural America behind,” she added. “I think, you know, talking in terms of workforce development and training opportunities for the future of work was something that Doug [Jones] spoke very often about. And, you know, now comes the hard part, holding him accountable, as well as all elected officials accountable, to really deliver on those promises.”
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