The Fighting Little Judge
The Life and Times of George C. Wallace
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The candidate scanned the faces—most were either smiling or scowling, with only a few bland expressions. Wallace viewed the crowd with a philosophical wariness—“Hell, I don’t mind the kids. They’re just young and full of spit and vinegar. They ain’t the ones I fear. The ones that scare me are the ones you don’t notice. I can just see a little guy out there that nobody’s paying any attention to. He reaches into his pocket, and out comes the little gun, like that Sirhan guy who got Kennedy.”
A young man with a tight smile and neatly trimmed, prematurely thinning blond hair, stood in the front row of the crowd, wearing a patriotic red, white, and blue shirt, with a Wallace campaign button pinned on the front. The man occasionally clapped, and never once took his eyes off the candidate. Earlier in the day, he had attended the Wallace rally in
“Could you get George to come down and shake hands with me?” he asked a policeman, who was part of the security detail at the
The police officer shrugged his shoulders in a non-committal fashion. After delivering his speech to some three thousand strong, the candidate had been hustled to his waiting car, choosing not to mingle with the crowd, many of whom had been verbally abusive and thrown objects at the podium.
Disappointed but determined, the young man hopped into his faded blue American Motors Rambler and drove to
The candidate waited for his cue and then strutted to the podium. Though tired, Wallace was energized by the crowd's applause, and launched into a fifty-minute oratory, with the standard crowd-pleasing references. He mocked “the pointy headed liberal professors, who can't even park their bicycles straight.” His denunciations of the evils of “big government” and “long-haired, radical protesters” drew loud applause from most of the crowd.
The young man on the front row smiled and clapped, as though he was the biggest Wallace supporter in the state of
Wallace had difficulty hiding his fatigue, and today’s demagoguery did not meet his usual standard of excellence. Hoarse, he had to stop several times to sip from a glass of water.
The candidate eventually made it to his closing remarks, “I want to apologize to you for being here a little late, and apologize for my voice. But, it's been a long, strenuous campaign. If you want to shake up the left-wingers in the Democratic Party and you want to give them the Saint Vitus Dance, the best way to do it is to vote for George Wallace tomorrow. Thank you very much.”
After acknowledging the applause, Wallace started down the steps toward the crowd. He removed his suit coat and handed it to an aide, and began to move in the direction of the people crowded behind a rope barrier...
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About the Book
For over a quarter of a century, in unprecedented fashion, George C. Wallace dominated the political scene in the state of
A master of inflammatory rhetoric and racial innuendo, the feisty Alabamian correctly sensed that his States’ Rights message would appeal to voters outside of
At the zenith of Wallace's political career, a deranged stalker gunned him down. Condemned to life in a wheelchair and riddled with pain, his national political career ended in a hail of bullets. In Alabama, Wallace's popularity was undiminished, and he was twice more elected Governor.
George Wallace is best remembered for his ardent opposition to the Civil Rights movement. In 1962, the newly elected Governor vowed to maintain “segregation forever.” His defiant stance against the forces of social change led to his deification by fellow segregationists and vilification by Civil Rights advocates.
A repentant George Wallace eventually sought the forgiveness and support of black voters. Ironically, during his last gubernatorial campaign, he won the overwhelming majority of
About the Author
Jeffrey K. Smith is a physician and a writer. A native of Enterprise, Alabama, he received his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Alabama. After completing his residency at the William S. Hall Psychiatric Institute, Dr, Smith entered into private practice in Greenville, South Carolina.
Smith has written three murder mystery novels ("Sudden Despair;" "Two Down, Two To Go;" and "A Phantom Killer"), in addition to a non-fiction book, "Rendezvous in Dallas: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy."
Dr. Smith resides in Greer, South Carolina, along with his wife, Anne, and their two sons, Andy and Ben.
To learn more about books written by Jeffrey K. Smith, please visit www.newfrontierpublications.com