Staff Report
From the Office of Artur Davis
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Today, former Congressman Artur Davis was the featured speaker at a fundraiser for the Alabama Republican Party at the Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz law firm in Birmingham. Davis served in Congress as a Democrat for Alabama’s 7th Congressional District from 2003 to 2007 and ran for Governor of Alabama in the Democratic primary in 2010. After leaving Congress, Davis moved to Virginia to practice law and began to speak out against the economic policies of President Obama and other Democratic leaders. Earlier this year, he announced his decision to switch to the Republican Party as it was more in line with his political philosophy, as opposed to the Democratic Party. “Wearing a Democratic label no longer matches what I know about my country and its possibilities,” Davis told a Northern Virginia Tea Party in Falls Church in July.
“There is not much left of the Alabama Democratic Party as a statewide force, and the reasons for its demise are clear-cut: a lack of vision about how to grow jobs and recruit industry, a dedication to its special interests and not the public interest, and a steady embrace of a national social and economic agenda that most Alabamians strongly reject,” stated Davis in Birmingham this evening. “The Republican majority has proved its character by running the money-changers out of the temple of power and managing the state’s resources wisely. I am honored to lend a hand to my old friends in the Alabama Republican Party, who have earned their right to shape Alabama’s future.”
Davis has become an outspoken supporter for voter ID laws in order to curtail voter fraud, as well as a strong surrogate for Republican Presidential candidate, Governor Mitt Romney. He was a featured speaker at the recent RNC Convention in Tampa at which he detailed his reasons for losing faith in the presidency of his former mentor, Barack Obama, and why he is now supporting Romney for President.
“To those Democrats and independents whose minds are open to argument: listen closely to the Democratic Party … and ask yourself if you ever hear your voice in the clamor. Ask yourself if these Democrats still speak for you,” Davis stated in his speech in Tampa. He went on to say that families are now wondering, “how this Administration could wreck a recovery for three years and counting.”
Chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, Bill Armistead, introduced Davis at this evening’s reception, welcoming Davis into the Republican Party. “As Artur stated in Tampa, America is indeed a land of second chances and we are very pleased that he feels at home with us. This is certainly where he belongs and we are grateful for the constant support he has shown for Governor Romney during the last few months.”
Armistead went on to say, “Despite the criticism and pressure I’m sure that Artur has faced, he has continued to share the truth about the dangers of Obama’s economic and social policies, especially when it comes to Obamacare.”
“It is my hope that those conservatives who continue to vote Democrat will heed Artur’s words and realize that today’s Democratic Party is not the same as your granddaddy’s Democratic Party. It’s time for all conservatives to come home to the only conservative party in our state, the Alabama Republican Party, and to vote straight ticket Republican from the courthouse to the White House,” concluded Armistead.
