Politics in Alabama - 2007

On the bright side...this little episode in the Alabama Senate serves to illustrate a few trends in Alabama politics these days...all of which are good news for the GOP.

1. Democrats in the legislature are as divided as they've ever been.


2. Republicans are as united as they've ever been.


3. As the number of Republican legislators has continued to grow, the GOP has become more successful in exploiting Democratic divisions. As a result, the Democratic Party leadership has responded with increasingly desperate measures (like this one, for example) which threaten to tear the party apart even further.


4. Republican candidates do not need to win a majority of legislative races in order to achieve a working majority in the legislature; they only need to attain a "critical mass" of membership in each house - enough to persuade conservative Democrats that their political interests are best served by either aligning themselves with the Republican Party in organizing or by switching parties outright.

Those are just some thoughts. Republicans have been very successful in national and statewide elections in Alabama. They now hold a majority of executive branch offices, and with the exception of the Chief Justice, they completely dominate the state's appeals courts. It seems to me that there is a real opportunity now to extend that success to local elections, including races for state legislature. All the GOP needs is good candidates, a good message, and a good deal of money.