Former Democrat Artur Davis rallies with Virginia tea partyPublished: Monday, July 09, 2012, 10:04 PM Updated: Monday, July 09, 2012, 10:14 PMMary Orndorff Troyan -- Washington Bureau FALLS CHURCH, Va. - The Northern Virginia Tea Party embraced former Alabama Democrat Artur Davis tonight after he gave a fiery defense of conservative Republican policies and rallied the crowd to defeat his one-time political ally, President Barack Obama.Davis' sermon-like speech, invoking both the 1980 Reagan revolution and Rosa Parks, earned a standing ovation and chants of "U.S.A." from more than 100 gathered at a restaurant in a suburb just outside Washington, D.C.Davis' conversion to the Republican Party is only a few weeks old, but he showered the tea partiers with accolades and admiration."My kinfolk from the South in the civil rights movement changed the country, but not even the civil rights movement figured out how to win elections and turn a country around as quickly as you did," said Davis.It was one of several public appearances for Davis since he announced he was disappointed in Obama's tenure, was leaving the Democratic Party, and was considering running for office in Virginia as a Republican. Some of the events have been to publicly endorse Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, but tonight's appearance was more about whipping up enthusiasm for defeating Obama."The man who talked about no red states, no blue states, but the United States has governed in a divisive way," Davis said.Davis served four terms in the U.S. House as a Democrat from Birmingham. For those eight years, he was a partisan who helped recruit other Democrats to run for office and was among the first to endorse Obama's candidacy. He was a consistent critic of the policies promoted on the other side of the aisle, especially Republican-led budget cuts to domestic programs and what he believed was a politically motivated U.S. Justice Department under former President George W. Bush that singled out former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman for prosecution.His voting record was liberal compared to Alabama's Republicans, but it was centrist compared to most other Democrats in Congress. He shocked his constituents by voting against Obama's health care plan, and soon afterward he lost the race for the Democratic nomination for governor of Alabama.Tonight's speech was a full break from his former career. Only four years ago he spoke from the podium at the Democratic National Convention in Denver."So many people on the side that I used to work with, they look at the tea party and they see people out of touch with this country," Davis said. "You're not what's wrong with this country. You are what is right about this country, and don't let anybody tell you otherwise."An audience member asked how him to explain his recent party switch."I'm the kind of conservative who believes what we have done in the last 47 years since 1965 has not worked," Davis said.He even fielded a question about whether martial law would be declared to block the fall elections. He answered by explaining that more people in the country identify themselves as conservatives than liberals, and that they should "act like" the majority that they are.Davis arrived a few minutes early and worked the crowd like a candidate. Many already knew his story and thanked him."The way I feel about it is if people from the other ship are jumping ship, I'm going to throw them a rope, not a hand grenade," said Ron Wilcox, one of the event organizers.
Davis switched a while back. Even when he was a demo, I always thought he was articulate and a decent democrat. I think the same of Joe Manchin now in West Virginia. The old school moderate demos are far and few.
He may be a black man, but he's articulate
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