Southern politics is really very simple. And from what you describe as the situation in 'Bama, you could just as well be talking about Florida or Georgia. The south is made up of one party states---the only complication is that now they have two lables to contend with.

The political directions are still based on racism, or at least the attitudes the developed and were learned from racism. If they ain't us, theyse bad. If you is us, you is good. Simple equation complicated by the influx of lots of folks from the rust belt and NY/New Jersey. And, oh yes ER, we have the Cuban contingent in Miami who have absolutely no connection with Hispanic populations. When Florida was an actual one party state, a southern Democrat was quite a bit to the right of a New York Republican. And a Massachusetts Republican was feared by the John Birch Society because they were so liberal.

Keep in mind the South was instructed in what liberal meant by the likes of that august Democratic Senator, friend of Richard Nixon and Bebe Reboso, George Smathers. Smathers instructed Florida voters that his opponent was a liberal and, could you believe it, favored boys and girls at the University of Florida matriculating together before marriage. Smathers further painted a bad image of Claude Pepper by association when he told north Florida voters that Pepper had a sister who was a thespian.

Well, family values hold strong and homophobia is pervasive and anyone different is suspect in most of the rural south. So, you see, southern politics isn't very complicated------or, maybe it is?

Publius