Wikipedia defines “carpetbagger” as “a derogatory term applied by former Confederates to any person from the Northern United States who came to the Southern states after the American Civil War; they were perceived as exploiting the local populace.”
Now, allegations of carpetbagging have been thrown about in the Republican primary race to take on U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) in 2020.
Is Tommy Tuberville a traditional carpetbagger? No. He is from Arkansas and coached in the South for a large majority of his career. But the common usage of the term is a bit different from the definition, even Hillary Clinton faced carpetbagging charges when she moved to New York for a gifted Senate seat.
But is Tuberville going to be “perceived as exploiting the local populace?”
If you ask Alabama State Senator Arthur Orr (R-Decatur), the answer is “Yes.”
Orr was on WVNN’s “The Dale Jackson Show” and was responding to the news that Tuberville voted in Florida in 2018 and only moved to Alabama to run for office.
Orr was unapologetic that Tuberville’s actions are in fact carpetbagging.
“I don’t know how long he lived in Florida, but obviously he was taking residence,” he said.
Orr speculated Florida’s lack of income tax could have been a reason for Tuberville taking up residence in Florida and believes that voters will take that into account saying he “probably wanted to avoid Alabama state income tax but now he wants to represent the state, pssht forget about it.”
Will voters feel this way in a Republican primary?
Maybe.
But Orr added later that he would vote for Tuberville against Sen. Doug Jones.
The real question is, “Will his opponents use this against him?”
Listen here:
Dale Jackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 7-11 am weekdays on WVNN
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