Also, Davis was too clever by a half in turning his back on Alabama's most recent Democratic governor, Don Siegelman, after Siegelman was framedby the Bush Justice Department on corruption charges in 2006.
Last summer, I received a tip from a reliable source that Davis, with encouragement from party leaders in Washington, worked out a deal to keep Bush-appointed U.S. attorney Leura Canary running the Middle District office that prosecuted Siegelman. In return, Davis received support for his campaign from her husband Bill Canary, CEO of the Business Council of Alabama (BCA).
Davis denied the tale, which was broken in two articles in the Wayne Madsen Report. It never reached mainstream media.
But enough people in Alabama get the picture via web-based news or word-of-mouth so that I predicted at the time that Davis would never win the governorship.
After my more recent article last week I received as feedback a tip from another trusted, well-connected, white Alabama Democrat entitled, "10 reasons Artur didn't make it, based on voters' perceptions." Here are the reasons, slightly reduced for space, along with my advisory to you that I've not personally confirmed each claim:
1. He's arrogant and took black voters for granted.
2. He abandoned Siegelman and quit the House Judiciary Committee. Siegelman is still a hero to black voters.
3. He took money, $4,500, from BCA Leader Billy Canary. Lobbyists have said for two years that Artur would let Leura stay in office until she could get her federal retirement in exchange for a BCA endorsement. Now, Leura is launching new indictments aimed at Democratic officeholders in seats where Republicans may be able to take over. Most Democrats see this as Artur's fault.
4. Late in the campaign, he was accused of keeping the Middle District U.S. Attorney's seat open for himself.
5. He didn't campaign much and sent a flock of young white kids to the Jefferson-Jackson Day event instead of showing up.
6. His rejection of the Health Care bill and its reconciliation companion were shocking to his base.
I'm going to skip my tipster's details about "reasons" No. 7 and 9, which involve widespread rumors (at least among party insiders) of Davis romantic activities outside of marriage, plus his supposed special deference for two major Alabama companies.
The larger point is that allegations once considered off-limits are increasingly aired during times like ours when so many voters are financially hurt or angry.
Particularly shocking to me is that Davis would sell out Bush-era political prosecution victims who are now financially devastated, if not rotting in prison for no good reason. I've reseached some of these cases, which are appalling.Among other things, the victims are removed from public life and the chance to advocate their views. So, it's payback that something similar is happening to Davis.
This is not just Siegelman, his co-defendants and their families. I've received advanced notice of a forthcoming study of more than 1,000 official corruption targets during the Bush administration will show that 46 percent of them nationwide were African-Americans.
So by any reasonable standard of proportionality, discussions about Davis don't make him a big victim.
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