Arthur Davis, Conservative Democrat (Moderate) - image: CNN
From CNN Arthur Davis, the former Obama 2008 Campaign Co-Chair and the Democrat who seconded Obama’s nomination at the Democrat Convention in 2008, has left the Democrat Party and will now campaign for Mitt Romney. CNN (and oddly to date, only CNN) reports that the Democrat Party has swung too far to the left, and that, as a result, Southern Conservative Democrats are less welcome. Davis switched political parties in May of this year (CNN). In addition, Davis is one of a number of Conservative (or, in reality moderate) Democrats who have in recent months have noted they were either supporting or voting for a Republican. This is happening with some frequency in the Massachusetts Senate Race between Scott Brown and Progressive Democrat, Harvard Professor, Elizabeth Warren. Brown’s running ads across Massachusetts featuring high profile state Democrats who are supporting Brown’s reelection.(Scott Brown Campaign Site – Videos)
Although some in the media recently noted the choice by Romney of Paul Ryan as his running mate, has turned the campaign to one of ideological choices, those choices have already been made and Davis is a perfect example. The new sport of extreme mud-slinging on the part of the Obama campaign, and specifically those recently made by Joe Biden, the Vice President and Obama’s running mate, are making those who are in the middle, and more moderate (Conservative) Democrats more than a bit leery of the Obama Campaign. (A definition of a Conservative Democrat is one who is fiscally conservative, maybe pro-life, and is strong on labor and civil rights issues.) Again, from CNN, a report on Arthur Davis and his take on Joe Biden’s recent remarks using a “metaphor” of putting “ya’ll back in chains” (with heavy Southern accent for emphasis) in reference to Mitt Romney at a campaign event, as racial viciousness. The fact that Davis is not alone in understanding that the mantra from the left painting the GOP in general as a bunch of “angry old white men” is no more than hypocritical hyperbole. They apparently excludes the “angry old white man” who is in the number 2 position at the White House and was chosen to be in that position by Barack Obama. The statement was racist, remains racist, and Biden has a history of such remarks – see, again of all places, About.com who calls Biden’s remarks “political humor”, but includes these racist gems:
You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent.... I'm not joking." --Joe Biden, in a private remark to an Indian-American man caught on C-SPAN, June, 2006
And
"I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man." –Joe Biden, referring to Barack Obama at the beginning of the 2008 Democratic primary campaign, Jan. 31, 2007
Davis is right to take umbrage at Biden’s remarks as well as the left of center wing that runs his former political party. What is disturbing, in the extreme, is the fact that Biden’s remarks are regarded by the general media as either excusable and or a “joke”. Of course, most of the media, academia and labor bosses (There is a degree is labor relations at UMASS for wanna-be Union bosses) believe that this is just fine, ignoring Joe Biden, as well as that fact that they’ve got high profile Democrats, those who may be more moderate, jumping ship. If these high profile Democrats are jumping ship, what are the odds that there are millions of rank and file, who may be less than enthused about the march to the left, doing the same?
It is the ridiculous notion that political parties “own” specific ethnic, minority and or religious groups – such as all African-American, Women, Catholics and Jews belong to the Democrat Party, while the Republican Party has those angry old white men, NASCAR fans and right-wing Christian Evangelicals. The aforementioned sounds ridiculous, yet the mantra persist. No one political party owns a vote in this nation and Republican or Democrat, individuals make choices on the person when the policies of a particular elected official seem a bit extreme, or generally not working. In this case, whole “groups” switch their votes to a different party (“groups” for emphasis and media speak) however, the reality is that the individual is voting for the person/party on an individual basis, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity or religious affiliation.
A prime example is the “Jewish Vote”, which has been much discussed in the past month given Mitt Romney’s 4th trip to Israel, as well as his choice of Paul Ryan as V.P.. The Daily Beast (owned by Newsweek), headlined: “Romney Lost the American Jewish Vote by Picking Paul Ryan”. However, that narrative might not fly. An article from David Suissa, the President of Tribe Media, which owns the Los Angeles Jewish Journal, suggested that Paul Ryan is courageous, and will stand up and speak the truth about issues that affect all American’s, regardless of party – an excerpt appears below (Read the entire article: here.)
“Have any of you all met Paul Ryan? I’m telling you this guy is amazing. He is honest; he is straightforward; he is sincere; and the budget he came forward with is just like Paul Ryan. It is a sensible, straightforward, honest, serious budget.”
These words are not from a Tea Party accountant, but from Erskine Bowles, the Democratic co-chair of Obama’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility, praising Ryan and his budget plan during a lecture at the University of North Carolina last September.
…In any event, we can’t ignore other Jewish values, like living within our means and confronting difficult truths. You can disagree with Paul Ryan’s budget and ideology, but you can’t deny that this man has the courage to confront difficult truths.
That’s why I have some mud left for commentators who always grumble that politicians are serial panderers who tell us only what we want to hear, but then, when they finally meet a politician with the courage to tell us the truth, all they can say is: Dumb political move!
…Paul Ryan, the man Erskine Bowles calls honest, straightforward and sincere, is sticking his neck out and forcing America to confront its chronic illness.
(Jewish Journal of Los Angeles, 8-14-12)
Both David Suissa and Arthur Davis have individual points of view that reflect realistic values - they believe in the decency of treating those individual public servants who honestly want to put their neck on the line for the nation with respect, and letting those who are “protected” and go to new lows in order to further a political agenda or career, that they are not above board. It is one thing to politely agree to disagree, there should be heated debates, on issues alone, in order to reach the American people, rather than appeal to a “base” of a party that is extreme. To those in the middle or moderates in both major political parties, they know the difference between outrageous mudslinging and an opponent having had enough, fights back a bit. Compare and contrast policy, or ideas, or past political records – fine, but leave the slanderous, racial and ridiculous remarks out of the conversation as well as the news. If one disagrees or agrees with a political party, or individual candidate, then it belongs in an editorial, rather than: sports, lifestyle, main news, the weather, etc. The general public gets this, so do those in certain “groups”.
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