While basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley is celebrating Doug Jones’ victory over Roy Moore in Alabama on Tuesday night, he is also warning Democrats not to take black voters for granted.
Speaking to CNN as he celebrated the victory, Barkley first suggested Roy Moore voters were “rednecks” and “ignorant people.”
“I’m so proud of my state. I love my state,” he said triumphantly. “We got some amazing people here. Yeah, we got a bunch of rednecks and a bunch of ignorant people, but we got some amazing people here and they rose up today.”
He then warned Democrats to stop taking the black vote for granted and for them to “get off their asses” to help.
“It’s time for them to get off their ass and start making life better for black folks and people who are poor,” Barkley said.
Barkley, an Alabama native who played for Auburn University, campaigned heavily for Jones toward the end, previously criticizing Roy Moore as a “white separatist.”
“Roy Moore was an embarrassment,” Barkley said Tuesday night. “Hey listen, if any other man had eight women accusing him of sexual harassment, talking about how he really enjoyed slavery, he thinks people who are homosexual should go to jail, they wouldn’t have even been in this election.”
Exit polls out of Alabama show the black turnout this election even rose above that for Barack Obama when he ran for president.
It is good that Barkley wishes to hold Democrats accountable, however, so long as his party continues to fund racist organizations like Planned Parenthood, he can rest assured they will not be “making life better for black folks and people who are poor.”