Romney makes RNC safe for former Democrats
The Independent Journal Review reports,
Former Alabama Democratic Representative Artur Davis, who also co-chaired Obama’s 2008 campaign and seconded his nomination at the convention, has basically done a full turnaround; he now officially supports Romney and will be a speaker at the Republican National Convention.
Davis campaigned strongly for Obama in 2008, and even attempted to mimic the style and rhetoric of Obama’s campaign in his own bid for governor of Alabama in 2010.
He lost by a landslide in the primary.
Then he quit the Democrat party. But it’s not clear whether he quit mainly over substance or style.
At the 2008 DNC, Davis said Obama’s nomination “takes us closer to becoming what we know American can be.” But now, the Independent Journal Review reports, “Davis can no longer handle the Obama campaign he says is based on ‘anger’ and ‘hate.’”
But the only clear change in Davis is his rhetoric. Despite livening TEA party crowds with a smooth “y’all” and some religious references, he still self-identifies as a “center-right politician,” according to the Washington Post.
Speaking of Romney’s VP pick Paul Ryan, Davis told CNN he feels comfortable with him, not because of his TEA party image, but, “I felt comfortable with him when I was a Democrat. . . . He knows how to work with Democrats.”
Davis seems not to realize what his comments say about alleged TEA-party star Ryan. If Davis—even when he was a pro-Obama fanatic—felt comfortable working with Ryan, then perhaps Ryan’s ultra-conservative image is not all that deserved.
And yet, the RNC is making him a “headliner” at its convention later this month.
Indeed, if the RNC sees fit to headline its convention with an ambiguous, pseudo-conservative moderate (am I speaking of Davis now, or Romney?), it certainly is not going to help itself “energize its base.” Rather, it seems like a slap in the face to genuine conservatives.
An this move certainly does not help to refute the claim that’s there’s hardly any difference at all between the parties and their two candidates. If there is, it’s certainly more in style and rhetoric than in substance. We can thank Mr. Davis for making that much clear.