Lots of theories going around about how Davis lost by such a large margin to Ron Sparks on Tuesday, and why Robert Bentley did as well as he did, perhaps landing in a runoff with GOP leader Bradley Byrne.
I'll cite one factor for each result...a factor I quoted to folks numerous times in the days leading up to the election:
1) Artur Davis' vote against President Obama's Health Care Reform legislation was such an obvious ploy for white conservative votes that it was impossible to interpret any other way. It turned off liberal black and white voters, who could then vote for Sparks without any guilt. For all his spinning, Davis' vote said he cared more about getting elected than about his own Alabama constituents. And, of course, it didn't buy him any conservative white support anyway!
2) On the GOP side, Robert Bentley's candor and his promise not to take a salary connected with voters. Even if the salary promise was mostly symbolic, voters seemed to appreciate it as an honest statement in an election when there was plenty of truth stretching.
Sunday afternoon at 5:30 on CBS-8 in Montgomery, On The Record features the chairs of the Alabama Democratic and Republican parties about the election results, crossover voting, the tea party influence and more. Join us!
[Note: The Washington Post's answer to the question "who had the worst week in Washington" is....Artur Davis.]
[ALSO: CNN's Roland Martin says Davis' refusal to go on black media was part of the "arrogance" that led to his defeat.}
My apologies, Tim, for my unintended negligence in commenting on your posts. Life happens, as "they" say!
ReplyDeleteHaving read some of the more germane commentary from the more astute pundits, and reading Davis' hitherto and significantly unpublished remarks about the future of his own political career, I shall endeavour to comment.
Davis' campaign, though he was qualified every other way, didn't compel voters - or those whom otherwise might have voted - for several reasons, not the least of which was his non-committal attitude toward reform of our process of state governance. Constitutional reform lingers, as does term limitations for our state representatives and senators. And those are but two issues facing the people.
The people could not get behind Davis' campaign, of course, for several reasons. The pundits cite his lack of support for "ObsmaCare" as a significant loss-leader, but I disagree. In do doing, Davis postured himself as a rebel, a candidate aligned with the majority of Alabamians' opinion on the matter.
Davis' failure to obtain traction was due in large part to his blithe ignorance, and failure to address issues that have resounded with Alabamians for quite some time: taxes, employment, and reform of state governance.