Alabama used to be a blue state. How did it become so red?

Less than 20 years ago Alabama was a firmly blue state, at least in local in statewide elections. So how did it become one of the reddest states in the country in that short a time period?

[kyleharry]

"The party of Lincoln and the todays GOP are not the same." YEAH EXACTLY! I stand for the party of Lincoln not this one!

[bjt]

The reason Alabama switched over has everything to do with power of minorities. Alabama Democrats were Dixiecrats. Hell Dixiecrats were in the Klan. Dixiecrats have always been very conservative and very racist. However black people in those days had always had their vote suppressed so it didn't matter if you were red or blue and a politician. With voter reform in the 1990s and further reform in 2000s you could no longer be either or you had to pick a side because African Americans are largely Democrat. The ideology in Alabama today is the same as it was 30 years ago trust me I live right next door in Georgia. Don't forget South Carolina was largely a Democrat state full of Dixiecrats until post Ronald Reagan. All the other stuff this gentleman is talking about are some minor factors, but the Obama backlash that's real. Auh hell naw we can't have this N Word runnin our country! It's not like all those people that are Republicans now we're not alive 20 years ago. They're the same people. That's why the south in general, have the most of the impoverished states. White men have to stay in power and the only way they can is the suppress everyone else who can vote against them. In the end red and blue are simply colors. It's the ideology behind them that makes all the difference.

[larrysmith]

When I was a teenager I signed on with the Alabama Bureau of Investigations as an informant and witnessed and endured a shocking amount of corruption. I found out there was a sex trafficking ring operating within the Bureau and when I refused to participate I was severely beaten several times. When I tried to speak up the violence escalated and I quickly realized these activities were something the entire Bureau were aware of. I even spoke to several politicians and they expressed the same My refusal to be quiet eventually resulted in my being gang raped twice and giving a brain hemorrhage from repeated chocking and assaults. I won a major lawsuit and the Bureau is currently being investigated by the federal government. The ABI forced myself and those around me into lengthy contracts to keep us quiet, which have now expired. All the participates in the violence and the sex trafficking ring are still employed. One of them is Hal Taylor. He's the secretary of law enforcement for the state, as well as a known pedophile. My family have photographic evidence of the assaults and gang rapes.

[CentralKentuckyElevators]

Alabama wasn’t entirely blue in 1998 like Massachusetts is blue. They had two republican, Sessions and Shelby, in the senate and voted for Bob Dole in the last presidential election, even as Bill Clinton was very popular nationwide.

[ethanwinters]

the republicans and democrats aren't what they used to be anymore they were way different back than!

[mlpfanboy]

The answer is easy, the blue became red and the ref became blue.

[texasisfortexans]

The party of Lincoln and the GOP today are the same thing

[TheAnimeBoy]

The states changed because the parties changed

[KdaMFG]

Alabama under Conservative Democrats: Poor and Racist.

Alabama under Conservative Republicans: Poor and Racist.

The only change was the Party switch... 🤷🏿‍♂️

[surrealengineering]

*How is "today's GOP" and "the Party of Lincoln" not the same thing??* What have they changed their position on, specifically?

I hear that a lot. but looking into it. I really can't find a lot of a shift in the position of the republican party. You might say republicans were progressive once and are conservatives now, while the opposite is true for the DMC. But the republican partys position has not changed since it's founding (economics, equal rights, freedom, small gvt, etc...) Just because it was once a new idea and is now old, doesn't mean it's a different thing. It's still the same, but now it's not to change, but to keep (conserve --> conservative)

[libertykim]

Now if only we can get other states to follow

[RETROTV]

Must of been decades ago if so. As long as I've been here we've always been Republican, Right Wing and Conservative.

[alvinsmith]

It would have been nice if you also had mentioned white fear and Jim Crow

[SeanWinters]

In one word, Christianity. In more words, the Christian idea that all men are created equal was slowly accepted in the deep South a generation or so after reconstruction. This lead to a new cultural and economic understanding, which was different yet similar to the yankee protestant understanding.
The south went from a tiny middle class with serfs and aristocracy to a good mix of industry and agriculture, which grew the middle class. No longer were bosses viewed as in-born aristocrats, now they were "like me, but older, and one day maybe I'LL be the boss!"
With this form of social equality coming up thanks to capitalism, change happened rapidly, but southerners wanted to be sure that change wasn't too drastic, and they clung onto thier new version if Christianity, the nuclear family structure, and their new economic system.

So these things, the family, the church/community, and the economics, all lent themselves to the republicans, which weren't necessarily built around keeping the old "southern" ways alive, but we're built on the promise of the "American" way of life, as stated in the constitution.

This is why Southerners are so patriotic compared to the rest of the country. While our communities are unique, we fell in love with the economics of the American way, we fell in love with the idea of the "American" way, and the party which upheld this ideal was and is the Republican party.

All the while, the Democrats went from courting the aristocracy, to courting the lowest of the lows and their masters. Thus we see the rise of the northern "political/party machines" where unions gave the poorest jobs in return for votes, which helped the lowest class and the richest class... For a while, until they realized they could tap into more vote buying with entitlements and turned minorities into slaves again, breaking up the family and throwing the Uber rich into education to break up Christianity.

So in one fell swoop, the Democrats started going after the 3 things which southern republicans fell in love with. They attacked the family, the economy, and the church. This leads us to where we are now, with the Democrats devaluing human life and creating their own religion.

[leol]

I was looking for am Alabama Democratic YouTuber who has the wherewithal to go interview some of the military people who Tommy Tuberville (sic?) features in some of his ads, and ask them what they think of his actions, and if they are truly military, they can't be happy. And am positive that he will never give up his blockade until he thinks his reelection could be at stake. Are you that person.

[citycapital]

"The Republican party isn't what it once was."

Yet Lincoln would probably pick Trump over Hillary or Bernie regardless.

[mervyngreene]

Claiming that Alabama was a "blue state" in the late twentieth century is misleading to the point of being intellectually fraudulent.

Prior to the enactment of the various federal civil rights statutes, most major successful Alabama politicians were members of the Democratic Party.

Unfortunately, throughout my life (I am 65 years old), Alabama political affiliation was based on a single issue: Civil Rights legislation (especially concerning segregation).

Prior to the 1970's, the majority of the federal politicians were referred to as "Dixiecrats."

I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama in the 1950's and 60's. Back then, citizens could be divided into three groups.

(1) The strong supporters of segregation left the Democratic Party en masse and joined the Republican Party (the Southern Strategy).

2. The strong advocates for Civil Rights (anti segregationists). They have been Democrats since the FDR era.

3. The third group were followers of traditional republican issues (corporate politicians).

Members of the first two groups are examples of the old party loyalty ("My Daddy always voted Democrat and so will I.) mentality.

The first group followed Republican doctrine as much as the Squad follows traditional Democratic Party doctrine.

The most interesting thing about Alabama politics is that once you get past blatantly race oriented issues. The first two groups have always had similar beliefs (anti abortion, anti LGBTQ protections, and anti union sentiments.

Basically, the majority of people in Alabama have very conservative viewpoints. However, for past two decades, the members of the second group have cultivated alliances with true liberals/progressives. Just like members of the third group have actively cultivated members of the second group.

[LyrradSenoj]

Lets continue to spread this conservatism thru the rest of the country. Keep it up Alabama.

[JY]

You said that Abraham’s Republican Party and the GOP are not the same you should probably delete this video and actually do research or go to school for history instead of just reading a few things on google and thinking you know everything

[byrdma]

I have lived in Alabama my entire life. I am 73 and I can honestly say “I was there, when…” your video is mostly right, but I would add additional influence that help turn Alabama from blue to red “ corporate power” During the Reagan years, corporations campaigned in big ways to push the Republican Party and destroy unions. Republicans favor corporations but not so much civil rights. Certain television sitcoms made it cool to be conservative. Contrasted to the 1950’s when Democrat was cool and Republicans appeared as old starchy rich white people. No one would admit to being conservative. The Democrat party did not recognize what was happening in the media till it was too late.