the political obituary of Artur Davis… I guess.
Artur Davis, a man who was once considered a possible “First Black President”, has lost a Gubernatorial battle, and — counter to posts at the National Review — has called it a career.
His loss makes perfect sense. He made this Telegraph list of “Influential Conservatives” and “Liberals” as a liberal. But he was defining himself for the perceived Alabama electorate, and I have no idea why anyone would consider him a “liberal”. Artur Davis compiled a “Blue Dog Democrat” voting record in one of the most heavily Democratic districts — which Nate Silver at 538 calculated made him the “most useless” Democratic Congress member (in terms of enacting a Democratic platform). With polls showing that either Sparks or Davis getting creamed in the general election, the one message he was hanging onto — “Electability” — looked like a joke.
It may be that Artur Davis presented a more acute example of the Harold Ford Problem in forging some credibility with white conservative southern voters — Alabama is more so than Tennessee. And one more thing to add to Davis — this, the case of conservative Democratic “Legacy” voters as against the current party.
In the meantime, the media crack team of political analysts give us very cookie-cutter analysis, which trips up quite quickly.
As in Utah, Pennsylvania, Florida and other states, these voters are demanding party fealty, making the political center look slippery, at least for now. While energizing spring campaigns, their passions may cause headaches for both parties in November, when independent and moderate voters will be far more plentiful. […]
Democratic voters in West Virginia rejected 14-term Rep. Alan Mollohan, although ethical problems muddied the picture there. And in Arkansas they have forced two-term Sen. Blanche Lincoln into a tough runoff primary next week after she angered union activists over health care and other issues.
Also, they voted against a candidate who voted for Obama’s Health Care plan in favor of someone to the right of the Democrat’s most conservative member, the Tea Party backed Walt Minnick, which completely throws the whole thesis of this article overboard.