After years of being head of the state’s minority party, the chairman of the Alabama Republican Party was finding it difficult to conceal his satisfaction over the events of the last few days.

The state Democratic Party is currently hearing LaTosha Brown’s contest of the results of the June 25 runoff in the state House of Representatives District 67 race. Brown lost the Democratic Party runoff to Yusuf Salaam by 138 votes.

When the hearing convened Monday in Dallas County, a number of Selma residents were surprised to find themselves subpoenaed to testify before the five-member panel about how they voted. The panel, composed of members of the State Democratic Executive Committee, is authorized by state law to function with quasi-judicial powers – including the power to subpoena witnesses.

That came as a rude awakening to some voters.

Asked whether he was aware of the controversy surrounding the hearing, Marty Connors responded by telephone, “You mean that kangaroo court?”

Already an estimated 150 Selma residents who voted in that primary have been subpoenaed, and there are indications that number could go as high as 600 when the hearing resumes April 12.

“I would change the word ‘subpoenaed’ to ‘harassed,'” corrected Connors. “You’d have to go to Rumania or Afghanistan to see this kind of government in action.”

Connors said he had received numerous calls from irate voters since the hearing convened. “I tell them just relax, take a deep breath,” he said. “I make it a rule never to interfere with the enemy while he’s self-destructing.”

A key element of the hearing involves whether or not there was a substantial number of people who voted Republican in the June 4 primary and then “crossed over” to vote Democratic in the June 25 runoff.

State Democratic Party bylaws prohibit crossover voting.

Connors had his own take on what was happening. “What you have is one group of Democrats trying to disenfranchise another group of Democrats,” he said. “They’re trying to blame it on Republicans crossing over, but anybody can see what’s really going on. It’s laughable.”

Connors said he viewed the hearing as part of a larger shift in state politics.

“What you’re seeing is the slow death of an old regime. You saw a little more of it when (U.S. Rep. Earl) Hilliard was defeated. This is just one more step in the process. Power-crats don’t give up easily,” he said.

Connors’ counterpart, Alabama Democratic Party Chairman Redding Pitt, was somewhat more circumspect in his comments. Asked if he anticipated any negative fallout to come from the hearing, Pitt said, “This is a purely judicial matter. For many people this is political, for me it’s judicial. And I don’t comment on judicial matters.”