It has been more than 10 years since I have been able to vote for Congress.
I wasn't prevented by law from casting a ballot, just the fact that I live in one of the reddest districts east of the Mississippi River -- the 6th District of Alabama.
You see, since 2000 there has been no Democrat on the ballot in the 6th District, which is represented by Spencer Bachus, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and a wholly owned subsidiary of Corporate America. And since he has been the only name on the ballot -- and because I see write-ins as a waste of time -- I have not voted for a congressman in a decade.
But that has now changed.
Not only has a Democrat qualified for the 6th District seat -- there are TWO Democrats running. That means a primary.
Hallelujah and Praise Jesus!!! My cup runneth!!!
As we say in the South:
Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit!!!
And not only are there two Democrats, but both are well qualified to hold elective office. One is quite impressive. She is Penny Bailey, a retired Air Force colonel with 24 years service.
While serving in the Air Force, Penny served overseas in Belgium, Great Britain, and Germany. Her state-side assignments were in North Dakota, Nebraska, Alabama, Florida, Utah, and Washington, D. C. Both she and her husband were serving at the Pentagon during the September 11th attack on our country. Penny was an Executive Support Officer for seven 4-star Generals; three were Chairmen the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Penny retired as a Colonel from the Air Force after serving twenty-four years in the Air Force. Her last assignment was as Vice Wing Commander at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. She was responsible for 4,000 people and a budget of $4 billion. Her husband is a Colonel and still on active duty as a Flight Surgeon.
The other candidate is William Barnes, an attorney and Vietnam vet who ran for the Senate in 2010 against Richard Shelby.
The current representation of Alabama's 6th Congressional District, is a perfect example of the dysfunction in Congress. The representative from this district has found himself swimming in a pool of accusations. Those accusations concern his relationship with Wall Street and his actions during the financial meltdown of 2008.
Those of you who live in districts where you have fine Democrats to choose from each election may think I'm gushing and being silly, but this is pretty heady stuff here in Deep Red America.
How red is the 6th? McCain carried it with 77% of the vote in 2008. So, I suffer no illusions of turning it blue. But finally having a choice is an important first step.
It's especially important when you consider who the choices are on the GOP side. Bachus is running for re-election and is opposed in the primary by Scott Beason, a state representative from Gardendale.
When Bachus has drawn a primary opponent it has usually been a nutjob who claims he's too liberal. Roy Moore's lawyer once ran against Bachus.
You may have heard of Beason. He was the chief proponent of Alabama's atrocious anti-immigration law. He also made the news by once referring to African-Americans as aborigines.
This will be a classic battle between a Wal-Mart Republican (Beason) and a Wall Street Republican (Bachus).
Yes, Beason is a real piece of work. He actually makes a shill like Bachus seem tame by comparison. And that's tough to do.