MONDAY, JUNE 8, 2026
The year when our politics flipped: Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Alabama) is a high achiever.
Also, Rep. Sewell is plenty sharp. The leading authority on this topic offers this overview:
Terri Sewell
Terrycina Andrea "Terri" Sewell (born January 1, 1965) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the U.S. representative for Alabama's 7th congressional district as member of the Democratic Party since 2011. The district includes most of the Black Belt, as well as most of the predominantly African American portions of Birmingham and Tuscaloosa.
A native of Huntsville, Sewell studied at Princeton University for a bachelor's, Harvard Law School for a Juris Doctor degree, and St Hilda's College, Oxford for a second bachelor's that was promoted by tradition to an MA. Before entering politics, she was a securities lawyer for Davis Polk & Wardwell and a public finance lawyer for Maynard, Cooper & Gale, where she was the first Black woman to make partner. She is the first African-American woman elected to Congress from Alabama and, along with Republican Martha Roby, was one of the first women elected to Congress from Alabama in a regular election.
Sewell is plenty sharp. In our view, a bit of humor lurks at the end of this additional texr:
Early life and education
...She was the first Black valedictorian of Selma High School.
After graduating from high school, Sewell went to Princeton University...Sewell completed a 158-page long senior thesis, "Black Women in Politics: Our Time Has Come." During her time at Princeton, she interned with Richard Shelby (then a Democrat) and Howell Heflin.
It's true! The chronology establishes the fact that the future Senator Shelby actually was "then a Democrat," just as the overview says.
For the record, Senator Heflin was a Democrat all through his 18-year Senate career (1979-1997). But this was back in the time when (conservative) white Democrats still dominated the electoral politics of the states of the Deep South.
Rep. Sewell graduated from Princeton in 1986. That November, the Alabama electorate sent five (conservative) Democrats to the House of Representatives, and only two Republicans.
That same year, the former Rep. Shelby was elected to the Senate. He was still a (conservative) Democrat at that point, but that party affiliation was eventually going to change.
In November 1994, the dam burst across the South, but also around the nation. Republicans gained 54 seats in that year's congressional elections, winning control of the House for the first time in forty years.
As part of that shocking partisan change, a slow-rolling party switch across "the solid South" achieved a milestone that year:
"In a significant political realignment, the South underwent a dramatic transformation," the leading authority states. "Before the election, House Democrats outnumbered House Republicans in the South. Afterwards, with the Republicans having picked up a total of 19 Southern seats, they were able to outnumber Democrats in the South for the first time since Reconstruction."
The "Republican / Gingrich Revolution" had arrived on the national and regional scene! In Alabama, all seven House incumbents were re-elected in 1994, including those five Democrats. But here's where the humor comes in:
The very next day, right around noon, Senator Shelby switched! We've always seen this as a source of humor, though it also serves as a marker of a major political realignment in a challenging political age.
The leading authority nails down the basic fact of the matter:
Richard Shelby
Richard Craig Shelby (born May 6, 1934) is an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Alabama from 1987 to 2023. First elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986 as a Democrat, Shelby switched to the Republican Party in 1994. Shelby is the longest-serving U.S. senator from Alabama, holding office for exactly 36 years.
...Shelby served in the Alabama State Senate from 1970 to 1978, when he was elected from the 7th district to the United States House of Representatives. He served in the House until 1987; during his House tenure, he was among a group of conservative Democrats known as the boll weevils.
In 1986, Shelby was elected to the U.S. Senate in a tight race. In 1994, the day after the Republican Revolution in which the GOP gained the majority in Congress midway through President Bill Clinton's first term, Shelby switched parties and became a Republican. He was reelected by a large margin in 1998, facing no significant electoral opposition thereafter.
Senator Shelby switched the very next day! And yes, that's what he did!
On Election Day, he had been Senator Shelby (D-Alabama). From the next day on, he was Senator Shelby (R-Alabama)—or, as we have always scored it, he had seemed to become Senator Shelby (Permanent majority).
For the record, Senator Shelby had every right to switch! Also, none of this, in any way, reflects poorly on Rep. Sewell, who interned with Rep. Shelby three times when he was still a Democrat.
We're also prepared to say this:
Rep. Sewell continued to speak well of Senator Shelby, long after he had switched. In our view, this news report speaks well of Rep. Sewell's personal decency, and of her all-around smarts.
In our view, this matter joins other aspects of the careers of Sewell, Shelby and Heflin which may shed light on the efforts made, within our struggling nation, to find our way out of the brutal racial history created for us by our ancestors.
That said, the senator's morning-after switch has always struck us as wonderfully comical. It also stands as a marker of the slow-rolling political switch in which "the solid South" remained largely solid, but switched from being solidly Democratic to being solidly GOP.
We'll also tell you this:
As you probably know, Rep. Sewell's congressional district—Alabama's 7th congressional district—has been very much in the news of late as the current mid-census redistricting war piledrives across the South.
Last Wednesday, Nicolle Wallace devoted a segment on Deadline: White House to the recent Supreme Court decision in which Alabama has been allowed to proceed this fall with one majority-Black congressional district—with one such district, not two.
Wallace started her segment with several chunks of a videotaped statement by Rep. Sewell. If you want to watch the segment, you can start by clicking here.
Terri Sewell is very sharp. She's a major high achiever.
We strongly agree with one of the things she said on that tape. Then again, maybe and possibly not with another thing she said.
How should Black voters in Alabama regard that recent decision? How should Democrats—in general, how should Blue America—regard the current turmoil regarding the deliberate construction of congressional districts which are majority Black?
Those are very important questions, and the topic is highly complex. We won't be able to hit all the stops in the course of this one little week.
Tomorrow: Two of the things she said.
People who do their own research support the government giving reparations to black people for slavery and Jim Crow laws.
ReplyDeleteQuestion for Somerby: why did the South suddenly flip from Democratic to Republican back in 1994? He has gone on and on for the past 10-15 years about how the Democratic Party has focused too much on “identity politics” (for lack of a better term), but was that true back then? Clinton has been praised for his “third way”, for his “Sister Souljah moment”, and (by Somerby at least) for his willingness to interact with evangelical Christians and not attack or belittle them. And yet, Clinton immediately became the focus of relentless Republican hatred, with no quarter given. In my opinion, no adequate explanation for the party switch has been given here.
ReplyDeleteAnswering that question correctly would cut against Somerby’s right wing agenda.
DeleteAgree.
DeleteSomerby has it backwards; it was centrists Dems capitulating to Republicans that then empowered the Republicans and got us to where we are today.
Somerby is smart enough to see this, but his inner demons (unresolved trauma/need for money/fragile ego) prevent Somerby from offering cogent analyses.
After the 13th amendment, Black voters in the South endured a hundred years of Jim Crow, which effectively rendered their right to vote a joke. Racial gerrymandering was part of this. Its purpose was to render their votes (assuming they actually managed to vote) essentially meaningless via the districting process, because during reconstruction they had shown a desire to elect candidates not favorable to the status quo, including black candidates. It’s a bit ironic to argue that allowing black majority districts as a way to counterbalance that hundred years of discrimination is suddenly unconstitutional “racial gerrymandering.”
ReplyDelete“How should Democrats—in general, how should Blue America—regard the current turmoil regarding the deliberate construction of congressional districts which are majority Black?”
ReplyDeleteThere is the dissent in the Callais case by the three liberal justices, which to my knowledge, Somerby has never mentioned.
Due to Trump’s nonsensical tariffs, various wars, general corruption and incompetence, the US has rising inflation, stagnant wages, and weak employment, all contributing to Trump being the least popular president in history, as he drags down the Republican Party.
ReplyDelete“Senator Shelby had every right to switch!”
ReplyDeleteThere is the small matter of betraying the voters. Surely at least some of his voters hoped he would remain a Democrat, which he claimed to be, and support Clinton.
As Somerby notes how many southerners prefer to adhere to their racism than any sense of integrity, he expresses, fairly openly, his own racist inclinations.
ReplyDeleteGood to know, Somerby, although it’s hardly news.
Republicans view their lack of integrity as a feature, not a bug.
DeleteSomerby has had a fascination with Alabama since he rushed to exhaustively defend fellow traveler Roy Moore.
ReplyDeleteRoy Moore is a creep and sexual predator with a history of targeting teenage girls.
This was even too much for Alabama voters who rejected Moore’s bids to run for office.
Moore just lost his libel case in a federal appeals court unanimous decision that included a Trump appointed judge.
If I recall correctly, he wasn’t defending Moore, he was deploring the tactics used against him by his opponents. At the time, I thought any and all tactics should be used to smash people like Moore.
ReplyDeleteI’ve since tempered my views somewhat, even though I’m glad Moore was defeated. But it seems ludicrous to state that Somerby and Moore are “fellow travelers.” It’s bizarre to label Somerby as some sort of right-winger posing as a leftist, but that seems to be the conclusion of many of Bob’s faithful readers.
Leroy
Look back and remember that Somerby reviewed a bunch of Hollywood films that showed “May-December” romances, and that some of the girls’ mothers (apparently) approved of their daughters dating Moore. He also tried to show how girls married a lot earlier in decades past. This was more than just deploring the “tactics” used against him. It was a way of defending moore’s obsession with young girls.
DeleteAlso, what exactly were the tactics that Somerby found so “deplorable”?
Sorry, but I have to answer your question with a question. You wrote about Bob’s musings, “It was a way of defending moore’s obsession with young girls.” (sic)
DeletePlease look back and explain how that’s true.
Leroy
I showed you what he wrote. He was trying to normalize moore’s behavior by showing or claiming to show that moore’s behavior was just part of the culture at that time and during moore’s formative years. Of course he didn’t explicitly say he was defending Moore. But that’s pretty clearly what it was.
DeleteSomerby typically writes in a way to shroud his intentions and motives in murkiness, but it is a weak effort that is easy to see through; however, in some cases, Somerby does not bother to hide himself or give himself much plausible deniability, often it is cases related to racism and sexism, and in the Moore case, he pretty openly defended Moore.
DeleteSomerby felt Moore was being improperly maligned, and Moore felt the same, suing a PAC for an ad that showed quotes from news articles; Moore recently lost that suit in a federal appeals court decision which included a Trump appointed judge.
The tactics were not deplorable, they were appropriate, considering the behavior and the stakes. Moore should have been prosecuted
2:55, you did not “show me what he wrote.”
DeletePlease, show me what he wrote.
Leroy
Leroy, do your own research. You can search on Roy Moore's name in Somerby's archives and see what he wrote.
DeletePart of the defense of Moore was the complaint that the newspapers were calling him a pedophile. Somerby objected that the official name for men who like girls who are below the age of consent but in their teens is hebephile not pedophile. This is an important distinction to men accused of sex with young teens, but not anyone else. Girls aged 13-14 are still children and no arguing by men who are sexually attracted to them is going to change that sex with teens is not OK.
There was a lot of evidence against Moore, including concerns of his coworkers, complaints about stalking reported to mall security by girls, and claims that he assaulted a girl while offering her a ride home. His signature in a young girl's yearbook supports her claims about his sexual interest in her.
That makes Somerby attempted defense of Moore weirder. He wasn't arguing that Moore didn't do the things he was reported to have done, but Somerby seemed to be justifying what Moore did.
Also look at the Thread where Somerby keeps repeating that Lauren Bacall was only 17. It is where he talks about the glorification of May December relationships in the press and movie industry. This idea about young girls being at their prime while still underage shows up on manosphere and incel websites and in neo-Nazi arguments in favor of lowering the marriage age to increase the birth rate.
DeleteLeroy, I can’t imagine why you think Somerby started talking about Hollywood movies that showed older men in relationships with much younger women in the context of talking about the reporting about Moore. What do you imagine the purpose of that was?
DeleteOk, here, Leroy, Somerby is clearly connecting moore’s behavior to Hollywood:
Delete“In Alabama and elsewhere, cultural notions about dating, romance and marriage flowed in part from this peculiar Hollywood era.”
“the daily howler: SEX IN THE CINEMA: Next survivor, Leslie Caron!”
https://dailyhowler.blogspot.com/2017/12/sex-in-cinema-next-survivor-leslie-caron.html?m=1
Whether you term it a defense, or a normalization is your choice. Moore was banned from the Gadsden Mall back in the day for being a creep, so what is this that Somerby is trying to say? That because Hollywood showed this kind of thing, Moore thought it was ok…?
Well, if you want to re-litigate a post by Somerby written nine years ago, whilst simutaneously implying he’s both a right-winger and now, a closet pedophile, count me out.
DeleteFuckin’ morons.
Leroy
"Please, show me what he wrote."
DeleteLeroy,
You forgot to use the sarcasm font.
"The very next day, right around noon, Senator Shelby switched! We've always seen this as a source of humor, though it also serves as a marker of a major political realignment in a challenging political age. "
ReplyDeleteI do not see what is funny about this. Can someone explain it?
It's amusing to right wingers.
Delete"How should Black voters in Alabama regard that recent decision? How should Democrats—in general, how should Blue America—regard the current turmoil regarding the deliberate construction of congressional districts which are majority Black?"
ReplyDeleteIf you are black, it seems pretty obvious how this should be regarded. I would consider it a threat to the right of black people to elect black representatives in majority black districts. Cooking the books to prevent black people from participating in our electorial system is wrong.
Why is this so unclear to Somerby that he needs to pose a question about it? This is clear to Democrats. How can Somerby call himself a Democrat while being so out of step with other Democrats on civil rights and women's rights?
Somerby is a racist.
DeleteIt doesn't matter that this is happening in AL. It would be wrong if it were happening in New York or Idaho too.
ReplyDelete