Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Former democrat congressman Artur Davis cuts ties with democrat party, an African American rising star who had been compared with Obama

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5/29/12, "Artur Davis openly flirts with GOP bid," Politico, Alex Isenstadt

"Former Alabama Rep. Artur Davis announced Tuesday that he’s cutting ties with the Democratic Party, and said that he’s considering a future bid for Congress as a Republican.

Davis, who for a time had been considered a rising star in the Democratic Party,
wrote a message on his website confirming that he is switching parties.
“[I]f I were to leave the sidelines, it would be as a member of the Republican Party that is fighting the drift in this country in a way that comes closest to my way of thinking: wearing a Democratic label no longer matches what I know about my country and its possibilities,” Davis wrote.

The former congressman said he was thinking about waging a comeback bid in Virginia, where he currently lives. Since leaving office in 2011, Davis has been working at a Washington law firm.

The announcement marks a dramatic turnabout for Davis, a Harvard-educated lawyer
who had once been mentioned as a potential attorney general after Democrats won the White House in 2008. The ambitious Davis, who is black, routinely drew comparisons to Barack Obama.
But after Davis suffered a stinging defeat in the Democratic primary for Alabama governor in 2010, he turned sharply against his party. Much to the chagrin of party leaders, Davis refused to endorse the candidate who defeated him, Ron Sparks, and openly criticized his foe.

After leaving office, Davis accelerated his break from the Democratic Party. He donated to several Republican gubernatorial candidates and criticized Obama’s policies.
In his message on Tuesday, Davis wrote: “On the specifics, I have regularly criticized an agenda that would punish businesses and job creators with more taxes just as they are trying to thrive again. I have taken issue with an administration that has lapsed into a bloc by bloc appeal to group grievances when the country is already too fractured: frankly, the symbolism of Barack Obama winning has not given us the substance of a united country.”

The former congressman is considering challenging Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly, a two-term incumbent who represents Northern Virginia. Running against Connolly, however, might be uphill for Davis, particularly after the seat was redrawn to become more friendly to the Democratic incumbent.

Davis acknowledged the potential difficulty of another run for Congress. He did not specify when he might wage a campaign. Davis said he had also been encouraged by friends to run for state Legislature.

I by no means underestimate the difficulty of putting together a campaign again, especially in a community to which I have no long-standing ties,” he wrote. “I have a mountain of details to learn about this northern slice of Virginia and its aspirations, and given the many times I have advised would-be candidates to have a platform and a reason for serving, as opposed to a desire to hold an office, that learning curve is one I would take seriously.”"

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