There is an amazing bipartisan success story taking place in Alabama, yet no one seems willing to acknowledge it.
Not Republicans. Not Democrats.
Not a single person, from all I’ve read, has uttered the words “bipartisan” or “compromise.” No one has talked about reaching across the aisle or working with the other side or the willingness to overlook resistance and criticism to make it happen.
The success story is the funding of the Mobile River Bridge and Bayway Project.
It is, in many ways, exactly the way government is supposed to work. Lawmakers from both sides work together to identify and fund the project and then work to get the project up and moving.
Despite all of the usual political games being played in the public eye. Despite all of the public bickering and outlandish criticisms.
It’s a needed project. It will benefit the citizens of this state for decades to come. It will assist with tourism, business and future economic development. It will make life better for the citizens of Mobile, and the surrounding area.
You’d think a project like this would bring out the best in people. Instead, it’s just more of the same.
Last week, Alabama’s two U.S. Senators, Republicans Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville, penned an op-ed thanking President Donald Trump for the project. They heaped praise upon him and talked so breathlessly about his contributions to the project that you’d have thought Trump was hanging from a crane helping to erect the bridge with his bare hands.
You’d never know, for example, that it wasn’t his project.
It was President Joe Biden’s.
The funding for it – almost all of the $550 million it will cost – came as part of Biden’s infrastructure plan that was passed in 2021. The actual awarding of the $550 million grant was announced in 2024, while Biden was still president.
Every one of Alabama’s Republican congressional delegation, including Tuberville, voted against the infrastructure bill. Britt, who was elected a year later, said she also would have voted against it. Rep. Terri Sewell, Alabama’s only Democrat at the time, was the only one from the state to vote for it. (Which makes a pretty solid argument for electing more Democrats, it seems.)
All of that is not exactly uncommon in Congress, where politicians will vote against big, expensive legislation but will also ensure that certain projects benefitting their constituents get put into the bill. Both sides understand how this works.
The Biden administration, on numerous projects that were part of the infrastructure bill, worked with Republican lawmakers from Alabama to identify, approve and fund projects all over the state – a red state that didn’t vote for Biden – that were desperately needed. You’ve probably seen Alabama’s Republican lawmakers praising those projects over the past several years.
Those projects brought needed upgrades and thousands upon thousands of jobs and billions in revenue for the state.
Because that’s how government is supposed to work. Ignoring the red v. blue nonsense and putting the needs of the people first.
The Trump administration, to its credit, appears to have cut through some red tape, positioned the project within a new pilot program focused on Interstate projects and upgrades, and allowed for the project to get off the ground much faster than originally planned. (There are also vague mentions by Britt and Tuberville of cuts to some of the project’s original scope, which is a tad concerning.)
You see how easy that was, though?
I just gave the Trump administration credit for doing something good for the state. The world didn’t come crashing in on itself. I don’t have to turn in my lib’ card.
Not once in their op-ed, though, did Britt or Tuberville mention Joe Biden. Not even a mention of the “previous administration.” No reference at all to the project being funded years ago.
It’s all so stupid. And petty. And harmful.
This type of behavior is why so many Americans hate each other. It’s why each party is filled with people who genuinely believe that the people in the other party are threats to the country and evil people.
We have to stop it. Because it’s only serving to push people to the extremes.
It’s possible to disagree with people and still acknowledge that they’ve done some good things. For example, I disagree with much of what Britt believes, but she has been an absolute godsend for the state when it comes to securing funding for important projects. My thoughts on Tuberville have been made clear, but talk to some folks at HBCUs in the state and you’ll find that there’s another story to tell.
This is not hard, y’all. People are rarely ever all good or all bad. And this is something we’ve all known for most of our lives.
It’s time a whole bunch of us acted like it.
