For John, BLUF: Republicans have been out of power in the Commonwealth for decades, but the pendulum does move. Nothing to see here; just move along.
Our memory of past events can slip into an acceptance of the conventional wisdom. My memory of the "Solid South" of the 1940s and 1950s, and even the 1960s, was of a region where the Primary Election determined the outcome and the General Election was of no importance. Whoever the Democrats picked in their primary was the person who would gain the office. Cut and dried.♠ It turns out that my memory did not retain the nuances of the time. As noted in this article from Powerline, Republicans were slowly making progress. It took a long time, but change did happen.
And Democrats helped. In the 1960s Governor George Wallace hauled Alabama into the 19th Century, and then built roads and helped bring industry to Alabama. The Voting Rights Act of 1965, voted in over objections from Democrats, also helped.
Hat tip to the Instapundit.
Regards — Cliff
♠ Sort of like other regions today.
Sadly, I think the only change that can be made by Republicans in order to gain back control is to quite literally become more like Democrats. Given the nature of the society, folks today are not interested in deficit issues or not spending. They want to be taken care of by the government as is their right.....and the Republicans haven't discussed how they can do that better than the Democrats who are already doing it.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, at this point in time, given the foregoing, I don't think that the majority of the public really cares much about having a two party system. And if one persists, that same majority wants both parties to be essentially of like mind.....lots of compromise which is code for do it the way of the Democrats.
Why was Barabbas freed? His supporters yelled the loudest. That is how majority rule works.