Politics in Alabama

There is nothing quite like politics in the deep South, particularly in the state of Alabama. Like football and religion, people take their politics very seriously in this state. My county in particular boasts no fewer than six governors in state history. This is nothing to sneeze at when one considers how rural my county is. Shoot, we think we are just as good as the big dogs, so we are willing to take on the world in our own terms. You might liken us to David versus Goliath. We may be small in numbers, but we wield considerable clout. At one time the governor and lieutenant governor simultaneously came from my home town which has less than 2,000 people. I don't think that people in places such as New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles could even begin to fathom this situation.

Political advertising at election time can turn downright nasty. However, there are several commercials that stick in my mind as simply being hilarious. One year a political contender was running against former governor Fob James for the state's highest office. Occasionally people deliberately mispronounced his name as "Frog." Mr. James' opponent capitalized on this by running an ad that showed a frog leaping in the air. The gist of the commercial was that "Frog" flip flopped on issues.

My all time favorite television ad was the one that aired when Jim Zeigler ran against George Wallace Jr. for state treasurer. The ad solemnly warned voters, "If you elect George Jr. as state treasurer, his Uncle Gerald will steal all the money! * Then a shadowy figure appeared on the screen. This dark figure of a man was shown smoking a cigar. Then he spotted a suitcase full of money. Looking this way and that, the spectral man grabbed the money bag and ran boogety, boogety, boogety into the sunset. I tell you, it doesn't get much better than this. The ad was an absolute hoot. It cost Zeigler the election because voters were too busy laughing at Zeigler to vote for him.

Tonight voters across the nation are deciding on candidates to fill a variety of government positions. Of course, the political system should not be taken lightly, but the antics of politicians certainly take the edge off the predictability of campaigns, and give voters something to gossip about the next day when the dust has settled after the election. Hope you fulfilled your civic duty and voted today. May the best candidates win!


* Uncle Gerald was a rather colorful member of the Wallace clan not unlike Billy Carter, Jimmy Carter's brother.