Regular readers know Friday, November 13, 2009 was indeed unlucky for me because it was the beginning of the end of my posting privileges at the Informed. Involved. Progressive. democratic blog of record, Left in Alabama, supposedly because of the content of my comments and other posts. EYE still think it was because of my non support of a gubernatorial candidate (which EYE ended up being right about). So from now until November 13, 2014, EYE will re post links to the posts EYE (pun intended) believe led to my being banned from Left in Alabama and let you decide.
Blast from the Past Re-Post #1: Cynthia Tucker Looks at the Alabama Governors Race
Artur Davis has to walk the fine line in this campaign: convince the big middle of the electorate to judge him on the issues -- he's a fairly moderate reformer with broad appeal -- without turning off voters who may have followed Joe Reed's advice in the past. He needs to convince those voters to judge him on the issues instead of listening to Reed's advice.Be sure and read the comments (please excuse the typos and grammatical errors).
There's a generational power struggle going on in Alabama that has nothing to do with race. It's all about whether the current gatekeepers and power brokers in the Democratic party can maintain their hold on the party -- and whether they get to exercise veto power over candidates. Davis stands largely outside the current party structure and a win for him will signal diminished influence for the folks currently running the show.
Gatekeepers like Reed and AEA Executive Secretary Paul Hubbert (both of whom are vice-chairs of the state party) probably don't have enough power to deny Davis the nomination outright, but they might have enough power to throw the general election to a Republican. The November election will be that close and the rift between Davis and Reed appears deep enough that such extreme action is imaginable -- check the examples of John Tyson or Patricia Todd if you don't believe it. While denying Davis the governorship because he didn't come, hat in hand, to ask permissions and make deals would probably feel good for a few nanoseconds, it's squarely in the category of "cutting off your nose to spite your face." The aftermath of such a strategy would certainly bring the Old Guard down in a wave of resentment.
I respect Cynthia Tucker as a a Nobel prize winning journalist and Alabama native, but she doesn't know what she's talking about. She is playing the old tried and true race baiting card from the bottom of the race deck of cards and saying what white folks say privately but can't say out loud.RedEye Reports what You decide.
