American political strategist James Carville ran Democratic campaigns in Pennsylvania in the 1980s. He described the state as mostly rural—with Philadelphia on one end and Pittsburgh on the other, and Alabama in between. The Carville quote is frequently said to have been made in 1986, but documentary evidence is lacking.
 
“In Pennsylvania, everything between Paoli (a Philadelphia suburb—ed.) and Pittsburgh is Alabama without black people,” Carville was quoted in a 1990 newspaper.  “Pennsylvania, between Paoli and Penn Hills (a Pittsburgh suburb—ed.), is just Alabama,” Carville was quoted in a 1991 newspaper. “Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with Alabama in between” was the quote in a 1993 newspaper.
 
               
Wikipedia: James Carville
Chester James Carville Jr. (born October 25, 1944) is an American political commentator and media personality who is a prominent figure in the Democratic Party. Carville gained national attention for his work as the lead strategist of the successful presidential campaign of then-Arkansas governor Bill Clinton. Carville was a co-host of CNN’s Crossfire until its final broadcast in June 2005. Since its cancellation, he has appeared on CNN’s news program The Situation Room. As of 2009, he hosts a weekly program on XM Radio titled 60/20 Sports with Luke Russert, son of Tim Russert who hosted NBC’s Meet The Press. He is married to Libertarian political consultant Mary Matalin. In 2009, he began teaching political science at Tulane University.
   
Wikiquote: James Carville
Between Paoli and Penn Hills, Pennsylvania is Alabama without the blacks. They didn’t film The Deer Hunter there for nothing—the state has the second-highest concentration of NRA members, behind Texas..
. 1986, while working on a gubernatorial race
       
29 October 1990, Philadelphia (PA) Daily News, “State’s tilt to right left Hafer in hole” by John M. Baer, pg. 6, col. 1:
Says one national political consultant: “In Pennsylvania, everything between Paoli and Pittsburgh is Alabama without black people.”
 
1 November 1991, Philadelphia (PA) Daily News, “Behind Wofford rise, a one-man machine” by Sandy Grady, pg. 5, col. 2:
“Yeah, Wofford’s themes would play nationally,” Carville says. “Pennsylvania, between Paoli and Penn Hills, is just Alabama. People are people. You gotta connect with ‘em.”
 
23 February 1992, Washington (DC) Post, “Endgame” by Cynthia Gorney:
Sociologists can suggest in their own language what has made Pennsylvania such a staunchly antiabortion state - a heavy rural population, conservative and deeply held religious faith, traditional animosity between the smaller mining or farming communities and the widely separated urban centers of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Political consultant James Carville, who helped with the 1986 election of Gov. Robert P. Casey, once described Pennsylvania as two big cities with Alabama in the middle.
 
9 April 1992, Philadelphia (PA) Daily News, “PA.,” pg. 29, col. 3:
One national political consultant calls this middle “Alabama without black people.”
 
7 March 1993, Philadelphia (PA) Inquirer, “Christian Coalition gears up in Penna.” by Steve Goldstein, pg. A8, col. 1:
Political strategist James Carville once describe Pennsylvania as “Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with Alabama in between.”
   
Google Groups: alt.society.generation-x
PA S.Ct. decision
Shannon Kokoska
6/10/94
(...)
James Carville once described Pennsylvania as Philadelphia to the east, Pittsburgh to the west and Alabama in between (or something like that).
 
13 April 1998, Philadelphia (PA) Inquirer, “Phila, lawyer to lead Pa. Bar,” pg. C3, col. 2:
James Carville, the Democratic consultant, once described the state as Philadelphia at one end, Pittsburgh at the other and Alabama in the middle. His point was that the two liberal-leaning big cities have little in common with the conservative farm belt.
 
Google Groups: isc.transport.road
Philadelphia Area Expys/Turnpike
Garrett Wollman
9/1/98
(...)
Who was it who described Pennsylvania as ``Pittsburgh at one end, Philadelphia at the other, and a whole lotta Alabama in the middle’‘?
 
Twitter
shaynus‏
@shaynus
“Pennsylvania is Pittsburgh on one end, Philadelphia on the other, and Alabama in between.” - James Carville
9:44 AM - 28 Oct 2008
 
Google Books
Beautiful Data:
The Stories Behind Elegant Data Solutions
Edited by Toby Segaran and Jeff Hammerbacher
Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Media, Inc.
2009
Pg. 330:
Example 5: Localized Partisanship in Pennsylvania In 1986, political strategist James Carville, who later ran Bill Clinton’s first presidential campaign, described Pennsylvania as Paoli and Penn Hills with Alabama in between. Paoli is a suburb of Philadelphia, and Penn Hills is a suburb of Pittsburgh, and so Carville was referring to the two urban centers of this long-standing “swing state” as Democratic strongholds, with the remaining rural areas of the state as Republican territory.
 
Twitter
Shhh…They’reWatchn‏
@silkikittn
Replying to @silkikittn @Xxfightforever @realDonaldTrump
Born and raised in PA. We’ve got Philadelphia on one end, Pittsburgh on the other end and Alabama in between.
1:59 AM - 24 Sep 2017
 
The Daily Progress (Charlottesville, VA)
Opinion/Commentary: Virginia faces the great demographic divide
Bob Gibson Nov 19, 2017
An old joke about Pennsylvania is that it consists of Philadelphia on one end and Pittsburgh on the other — with Alabama in between.