If you ever listened to the Lynyrd Skynyrd song “Sweet Home Alabama,” there’s a line that may come readily to mind whether you know what it means or not. It’s where the band sings, “In Birmingham they love the governor.”
The governor in question was segregationist Democrat George Wallace, who truly was a commanding presence in Alabama politics at the time. Band members have said that line about Wallace was there to point out the obvious, that Wallace was loved by many in the state, but also to draw a distinction between Wallace and Alabama’s larger southern culture. The point was that Wallace’s Alabama and actual Alabama culture were not one and the same.
Wallace served four terms as governor of the state, not all consecutive. His run began in 1963 and ended in 1987. He also ran for U.S. president four times.
He was most famous for his resistance to integration of black people into his state’s institutions, from schools to the workforce to everyday life. In 1963, he physically blocked the integration of the University of Alabama by standing in a school doorway. He instantly became a symbol of resistance to integration. He was known for this pledge: “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.”
In the process, he made himself the poster child for stereotypical racism of the day, but that’s not how he saw it.
In 1972, Wallace was shot during a presidential campaign rally in Maryland. While he survived, he was paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of his life. Historians say that this experience humbled him, and with the passing of time and the changing of the world around him, by the late 1970s he had renounced segregationism and sought forgiveness from the black community. Whether this was sincere or not is another article for another day.
The key points to consider are that Wallace was a Democrat, and that he wrapped himself in the state flag as his rationale for resisting federally mandated civil rights policies.
It’s 2026 in Minnesota, and another Democratic governor, Tim Walz, is resisting federal law, wrapping himself in his newly redesigned state flag, which looks an awful lot like the Somali national flag. He does not recognize federal authority over immigration enforcement or his state’s obligation to protect federal law enforcement officers and operations.
Wallace defied the federal government to preserve a segregationist culture. Walz defies the federal government in the name of transforming his state’s culture to one dominated by non-English-speaking non-citizens, who largely live off of entitlement programs paid for by the American taxpayer.
Both Wallace and Walz have used the same defense of their positions. Ironically, both defied the federal government in ways to make it easier to step on the rights of constitutionally protected U.S. citizens. In Wallace’s case, it was black citizens. In Walz’s case, it’s all legal citizens.
Both governors believed that the federal government had no right to dictate how they ran their states. They asserted state autonomy over federal policy. Wallace said he had the right to block federal desegregation orders. Walz said he has the right to decline participation in federal immigration enforcement. The thing is, where is the line between not participating in immigration enforcement, and doing your duty to protect the public?
When U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conduct operations in any state, and they come under attack or interference from the public or others, shouldn’t they have the right to local law enforcement protection? This is the same expectation any citizen or visitor should expect from local law enforcement, right?
Walz doesn’t see it that way. There have been numerous times in recent months when local law enforcement stood down and did not respond to calls when ICE agents’ safety was placed at risk.
🚨 BREAKING: I’ve obtained a picture of one of the Minneapolis PD computers last night giving the stand down order.
“They are being told to stay away and let the crowd do whatever they want. The cops on the beat are just as frustrated.”
Will MPD leadership do the same tonight? pic.twitter.com/YIkILsU1nl
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) January 10, 2026
When Wallace stood up to the federal government in this way, he rallied his supporters at a visceral, emotional level, and a decade of violence ensued. In recent times, Walz has stood up to the federal government, and not only did violence ensue, but he encouraged it through inflammatory rhetoric and his refusal to use his own power and authority to maintain law and order. Instead, he chose chaos – the kind of chaos that has led to two people being killed in his state already.
Tim Walz just a few days ago was climbing on the gate of his mansion urging protesters to keep causing “trouble” and fighting ICE.
An armed man just attacked agents and got killed.
See how that works? Minnesota officials are fueling this.
pic.twitter.com/vUYnwZAhhe— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 24, 2026
You could say that Wallace got into trouble mainly because he defied adherence to the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which granted citizenship and all related rights to people born or naturalized in the U.S., which included former slaves. Walz, for his part, did not outright prevent federal law enforcement from doing their jobs, but he did put their operations and safety at risk by not making necessary resources available. And by allowing a rogue network of civilians to conduct organized stalking and interference with federal agents.
In both cases, you have two Democrat governors openly and actively undermining the federal government. If left unchecked, this can lead to a national crisis marked by the complete undermining of federal authority.
One governor has gone down in history as a segregationist and a racist in spite of his late-in-life attempts to rehabilitate his reputation. The latter is still in the governor’s mansion, putting the public’s safety at risk simply by doing everything he can to sabotage federal law enforcement activities. Walz is not who he thinks he is. He’s a bargain basement George Wallace, circa 1963, trying to bring the country down to his level, which is pretty low.
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