What’s in the name?

Our name is taken from a casual geographical reference to those suburban communities in Jefferson County where the vast majority of our members reside. 

Red Mountain, the most prominent physical landmark in the area, lies in the very center of our central city, our county, and even for the most part, our great state.  Occasionally, a vague concern is expressed that our name somehow conveys a certain exclusivity or is elitist.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  We are Democrats, after all!  Our name is a reflection, not of any sign of status or geographical restriction on membership, but rather of the fact that there are thousands of Democrats living, working, and raising their families here where most of us live - “Over The Mountain”.  We simply wished to disabuse those that didn’t know better of the notion that our communities were thoroughly “red”.  While most of our group hails from the suburbs of Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook, and Hoover, we proudly claim members from all over Jefferson and Shelby Counties.  Plainly-speaking, we’re looking for donkeys, not jackasses!

All this is to say that it is entirely appropriate for individual Democrats to organize according to their interests or by geographical proximity.  This is typically how we select our houses of worship and the schools our children attend, even the stores where we shop.  While we proudly acknowledge common ground with local chapters of the Stonewall Democrats, Jewish Democrats, the recently-formed Shelby County and Tuscaloosa Democrats, and Labor and Gender groups as well, we humbly suggest that it is the role of the national and state Democratic parties to unite us as one broad coalition to form the majority that we are in this country…

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