If you're reading this blog, you probably know me. You may even be one of those who know who I am. I am unapologetically Democratic. I am also unapologetically in favor of Democrats actually winning general election campaigns. Hence my nom de plume. In the name of Party activity it will be necessary for me, from time to time, to play well with others who have read this blog. In the name of Democrats actually winning general election campaigns, and/or not straying from Democratic principles to do so, it will be necessary for me to step rather emphatically on those same persons' toes from time to time. Human institutions invariably have people who mean well, but who seem always to be on the wrong foot. These institutions have people whose contributions are irreplaceable, but who occasionally err. They also invariably have people who are aboard for no purpose other than their own selfish interest, the common good be damned. The Alabama Democratic Party has its share of all three. It is my hope in writing this blog to enlighten and guide the first class, support and encourage the second, and, if warning leads not to reformation, leaving the third wondering who sliced that long gash in their bellies, and what their entrails are doing on the ground.
My family have been in Alabama for two centuries. And for all of that time, they have been active in the Democratic Party, originally among the supporters of Andrew Jackson. I have been active, or in and around, courthouse and state politics my entire life. One of my earliest memories is the spanking administered to me, to drive home the lesson that just because it was cool to put bumper stickers on the wall while Mom and Dad were helping decorate the local Democratic headquarters that morning, it was not cool to do so that afternoon at our house. (In my defense, I was not quite five.) I have been on the staffs of several state-level campaigns, here and in other states (including one of an incumbent Democratic president in New Hampshire), and have run one Presidential primary campaign in Alabama. I have been a member of the Alabama delegation to at least one Democratic National Convention. I say all this not to brag, but to make clear that I have been around the block more than once. I know from painful experience what works, and what doesn't. More than once, a losing candidate has told me after his or her defeat, "I shoulda listened ..."
Of the three categories of members of institutions I listed above, I consider myself fairly firmly in the second. And as I described that class as subject to occasional error, I welcome comments on this blog. If I have an objective fact wrong, please tell me so, and if you can, provide a link so I can have the antidote to the stupid pill I took that morning. If you have an opinion that differs from mine, please set it out in a comment, as well, and I will try to respond, and get you out of the first group and into the second. (Just kidding.) Thanks for reading, and remember: Friends Don't Let Friends Vote Republican.
