Used to be, down in Alabama, they'd say we were five years behind.

In fashion.

And attitudes.

And taste.

Not anymore. We're pacesetters and standard bearers, influencers and predictors. We're not behind. We're five minutes ahead. Especially in politics.

Think about it. A chief executive, under fire and facing investigation, fires his top law enforcement officer.

The chief executive turns around and demonizes said law enforcement official, calling him everything but nice.

Sound familiar? Sure.

Is it Trump? Or is it Robert Bentley?

Is it former FBI Director James Comey, or former Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Secretary Spencer Collier?

It's both.

Both these situations began with investigations. Nationally, the probe surrounded Trump's ties to the Russians, and in Alabama, it began with the investigation of then-House Speaker Mike Hubbard.

Trump wanted to know what Comey knew, and Bentley knew Collier knew too much.

Trump's appointees are accused of interfering in the investigation, and Bentley's staff meddled in the Hubbard affair to the point that it bothered Collier.

Clockwise from top left: Robert Bentley, Donald Trump, James Comey and Spencer Collier

Trump and his staff began to question Comey's loyalty, and Bentley and his staff - particularly his former aide and crush Rebekah Mason -- began to question Collier's loyalty.

Trump, according to the New York Times, demanded that Comey and his staff pledge his loyalty. Bentley demanded that his staff sign non-disclosure agreements.

Trump, shocking almost everyone, fired Comey after the FBI director made embarrassing statements in hearings. Bentley fired Collier the same day Collier revealed to the world he had seen evidence of an improper relationship between Bentley and Mason.

Trump, after firing Comey, smeared him on Twitter, saying he had lost confidence of the FBI staff and the division was in turmoil.

Bentley's office, in the wake of Collier's allegations, claimed the Secretary was downright unhinged. They did everything they could to discredit him, but it simply didn't pan out.

Collier understands the comparisons. To a point.

"I do" see the similarities, he said Friday. "But at least he (Comey) received a letter. I read it on Twitter."

Then again that's another point. Comey did get a letter but he wasn't in the office when it was delivered. Instead, he found out about his own firing from TV.

Classy.

That, I suppose, is as far as the comparisons go.

We know what happened with Bentley. The firing of Collier ramped up scrutiny and got the attention of lawmakers and prosecutors. One thing led to another and a year later Bentley was packing his bags at the Governor's mansion, pleading guilty to a couple of misdemeanors and walking away from office with his life and his legacy in tatters.

What happens to Trump, well who knows. Maybe nothing. Maybe he hires Rudy Guiliani or Dog the Bounty Hunter to be the new FBI director and all is well with the world.

It could happen. Because that kind of thing happens these days. But the firing a top law enforcement officer in the middle of an investigation is one of those things that does not often end well.

Trust erodes and questions remain. And professional investigators in places like the FBI take their jobs seriously.

You don't have to look to Alabama for answers. It's not that the state is five years behind or five minutes ahead, it's that all America is 43 years removed from the night Richard Nixon fired special prosecutor Archibald Cox in the incident that became known as the Saturday Night Massacre.

Good people did the right thing after that. It was the beginning of Nixon's end.

It looks like both of them could have learned a thing or two from Tricky Dick.