Sometimes, in the course of American history, there are defining moments that extend beyond their era, and span the ages. These include instances of sheer personal courage, such as Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery bus in 1955, and epic events like Barack Obama’s election as the nation’s first black president in 2008.
They can even include a scant few seconds in time, such as the moment Boston lawyer Joseph Welch admonished Sen. Joseph McCarthy during a 1954 hearing: “Until this moment, senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness. … You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?” The televised exchange was a tipping point against McCarthy and his hateful anti-communist crusade against U.S. citizens.
McCarthy’s demise underscored a central fact: This is a nation where charlatans, liars and frauds may rise to power, but inevitably, no matter how long it takes, there will be a course correction — a comeuppance so stunning that it can inspire lasting change.
Not all of these moments are equal in significance, of course, but I believe (and I’m far from alone) that we witnessed one of them last Tuesday on the largest political stage the state of Alabama will ever occupy. The nation, so direly in need of an answer to Donald Trump’s vile attack on revered institutions and the rule of law, could not have received a better Christmas gift than Doug Jones’ remarkable victory in the U.S. Senate election. And the celebration went far beyond U.S. borders.
Across the globe, in nations where Trump is considered an imminent threat to stability, there was widespread rejoicing over the outcome in Alabama. Similar recent Democratic victories in Virginia and New Jersey were significant, but they couldn’t match the seismic scale of a Democrat winning a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama. The result was immediately and correctly perceived as a repudiation of Trump.
In one truly grand moment, as Jones was declared the victor, the praise for Alabama — especially black voters who turned out in force for Jones — seemed to be everywhere. The state that had been the punchline of so many jokes about backward politics was now, for a stunning change, on that beautiful right side of history.
But we must never forget the people who did their best to send Roy Moore, a deeply flawed Republican extremist, to Washington. Chief among them was Trump, who fully endorsed and campaigned for Moore — a man who was twice thrown out of office for violating the U.S. Constitution, has repeatedly spewed bigoted and racist rhetoric and has been accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl and stalking other teenagers when he was in his 30s.
Among Alabama’s GOP leaders, Sen. Richard Shelby was almost alone in doing the right thing, publicly refusing to vote for Moore. But others, like Gov. Kay Ivey, may have a political reckoning coming. Ivey said she had “no reason to disbelieve” the women who accused Moore of sexual misconduct, but said she would vote for him anyway. A shameful decision that will be remembered during next year’s gubernatorial campaign.
By contrast, there were hundreds of thousands of very good people — many of them black women and men who have long been ignored and disrespected in the political process — who said with a collective voice that enough is enough.
They went to the polls in greater numbers than the naysayers expected. These voters were fed up with dishonest Republican politicians who shamefully pandered to the worst instincts in our culture, and had routinely weaponized racism and bigotry to score political victories. We may finally have seen the beginning of the end of such horrific leadership.
One thing is certain: It is a new day in Alabama. Doug Jones will make a great senator. He was the right man, at the right time, and in the right state to make history. The same prophets of doom who said he couldn’t win are now saying he won’t be re-elected. We’ll see about that. The people who put him in office are only going to grow in numbers and turnout. Do not underestimate their dedication and enthusiasm for bringing this state, at long last, kicking and screaming into the 21st century.
Tuscaloosa resident Mark Mayfield is a former editor-in-chief of House Beautiful and Traditional Home magazines, and was a reporter for USA Today for 10 years. Readers can email him at markmayfield2017@gmail.com.