While many pundits in the media are claiming this year's midterm election was a historical one from a national perspective (indeed, I heard Charlie Cook say so a few moments ago), its doesn't compare to the historical significance that this election held for the state of Alabama.
As I was standing in a polling place in Jackson's Gap Alabama last night waiting on late returns because of a malfunctioning machine I talked to my Uncle Randy who was waiting on returns for another candidate. With a shocked look on his face, which I am sure was the same look he saw on mine, he said, "This is nothing like when Uncle Carl ran." Of course he was referring to my great-grandfather who was elected county commissioner four consecutive times on the Democratic ticket in the same box that his friend was losing in now. "Uncle Carl beat people so bad here, they were scared to run," he added. No doubt this story reverberated around the state last night as old time political machines and just plain "safe" seats were turned on their heads and the Republican Party of the state of Alabama partied into the night in the "Cradle of the Confederacy.
What caused such a sea change? How could one of the seven states that voted for Adali Stevenson in 1956 go so strongly for the Party of Lincoln? Such things are the precipice of books, but the stratification of the two parties that eliminated certain members of the Roosevelt coalition has to be the opening salvo. But, you may ask, that doesn't explain why it took 30 more years after this state became reliably "red" in Presidential elections for the Grand Old Party to seize control of state government? As always with a complicated question, the answer lies with a myriad of different things. First and foremost, we have perceived pandemic unemployment, a very unpopular health care initiative, and a general lack of appreciation for the national political scene. Most of all we have a President that is wildly unpopular, and has received more criticism in this area, predominantly because we didn't vote for him, but also because he is black. All these things combined convinced most people that they didn't have to look at who was running, just the picture of the pachyderm and pull the lever. Any queries as to whether that is true should be directed at WSFA's election results and they will find that the GOP will control every state office come inauguration day. No other explanation fits.
So, where do we go from here? Well, the Republican Party wanted to run things, but now comes the tough part, they actually have to govern. Will we see pet political bills like an "Arizona-style immigration law" that do almost nothing to stop, correct, or solve the immigration problems we have or will we finally see a resolution to the "gambling" issue that is fair to all sides? Will we see a push to halt implementation of the health-care initiative, even though we know it isn't going to be repealed, at a tremendous cost to Alabama taxpayers or will we actually tackle non-spiteful ethics reform? Only time will tell, but there is no doubt that an era has ended and the GOP has finally conquered Alabama, what they will do with it is the more intriguing question.
