The future once seemed limitless for Artur Davis.
Not so long ago, he was viewed as one of the Democratic Party?s rising stars, routinely evoking comparisons to Barack Obama. A smart, ambitious Harvard Law School graduate like Obama, Davis appeared to be on a trajectory to make history as Alabama?s first black governor. Some saw the youthful congressman as a future attorney general.
Continue ReadingToday, all that is gone.
Less than a year after leaving Congress after a failed bid for governor, he is persona non grata in his party, another K Street lawyer living in the northern Virginia suburbs.
The story of the talented, youthful politician-who-fell-to-earth is a familiar one, but Davis?s fate is singular.
Many of his former Democratic colleagues now view him as something of a traitor, and Davis himself has emerged as a vigorous critic of the party and President Barack Obama. He?s even taking to supporting GOP candidates. Friends and allies who helped guide his ascent say they no longer talk to the congressman ? and some Democrats believe he will leave the party altogether.
?I have been chairman for a year and no one in this office has been contacted by Artur or members of his staff. That tells me he?s left the party behind,? said Alabama Democratic Party Chairman Mark Kennedy, a former state Supreme Court justice and an influential player on the state?s political scene. ?I?m sure we won?t have a conversation at this point. I?d be very surprised if he calls me.?
For all his talent and promise, Davis always had something of a strained relationship with his party, dating back to his defeat of Rep. Earl Hilliard in a 2002 primary that left him on the outs with the Congressional Black Caucus, whose members publicly supported Hilliard and resented Davis for taking down their friend.
Those long-simmering tensions came to a boil in last year?s Alabama gubernatorial race, a contest in which Davis ? with an eye toward currying favor with the Republican voters who dominate the conservative state ? sought to bypass Alabama?s Democratic power structure to claim the nomination.
He refused to seek the support of the state?s two dominant black Democratic organizations, the Alabama Democratic Conference and the New South Coalition, and, in a poke in the eye of party faithful, was the only CBC member to vote against the president?s health care bill.
Joe Reed, the ADC chairman and an influential Alabama Democratic power broker, rallied support for Davis?s white primary opponent, then-Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks, who won in a stunning ? and, for Davis, humiliating ? landslide.
For Davis, the loss signaled a devastating rejection in a race he had long been expected to win. He offered a few complimentary words for Sparks in his election night concession speech, but later, rather than endorsing Sparks and uniting the party behind the nominee, Davis publicly declared that he didn?t think Sparks would win the general election and all but vanished from the governor?s contest.
Today, Davis says he has no regrets about his post-primary comments.
vince young vince young john carter trans siberian orchestra trans siberian orchestra little big town little big town
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.