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Alabama political power broker Jere Beasley announced in a conference call to the media this afternoon that he will chair Democratic Congressman Artur Davis’ campaign for governor. Regarding the potential candidacy of Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb, the prominent trial lawyer said that she should fulfill her commitment as Chief Justice and called Artur Davis “the ideal candidate for the job.”
The best battles are the ones you don’t have to fight, and this endorsement at this time may be considered a preemptive strike aimed to discourage Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb from entering the Democratic primary race. Trial lawyers supported Cobb in a big way in her bid to become Chief Justice Sue Bell Cobb, and Beasley’s support for Davis (presumably accompanied by the support of other trial lawyers) gives Cobb one more thing to think about as she considers whether to step down as Chief Justice and run for governor.
Sebastian Kitchen of the Montgomery Advertiser has good context on this here.
Here is the afternoon release from the Davis campaign:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 15, 2009
Media Contact:
Anna Ruth Williams
FORMER LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR JERE BEASLEY TO CHAIR THE DAVIS FOR GOVERNOR CAMPAIGN
BIRMINGHAM – Former Alabama Lieutenant Governor Jere Beasley announced today that he will serve as Chairman of the Artur Davis for Governor Campaign.
“Throughout my involvement in Alabama politics over the years, I have witnessed Governors of all stripes; Republican and Democrats, liberal and conservative, but the best Governors had a definitive leadership quality. I see that in Artur Davis and that’s why I’m proud to Chair his campaign for Governor,” Beasley said. “I believe in Artur Davis’ ability to lead and bring people together to attract jobs and transform our state to unlock its full potential. He is the right man for the job, and I know that he can and will be Alabama’s next Governor.”
A veteran of Alabama politics, Beasley previously endorsed and supported Governors Bob Riley and Fob James, both Republicans. In addition, Beasley served as Lieutenant Governor from 1971 – 1979, under Governor George Wallace.
“I’m honored to have Jere Beasley’s support, and I’m deeply honored that he has agreed to play a major leadership role in my campaign,” Davis said. “He has been a public servant and is renowned as one of the leading attorneys in the country. He has battled in the courtroom for Alabamians who have no other voice. Most importantly, he is a man of deep faith and an active civic philanthropist in our state. As I fight to transform our state’s economy and to restore confidence in public purpose in Alabama, I will draw on the values which Jere Beasley reflects. ”
Jere Beasley is senior member of Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C. in Montgomery, Ala. He has been profiled in Time Magazine, Business Week, and many other noted publications. He is also featured in the 2003-2004 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, a traditional database of over 16,000 lawyers in 30 specialties, all of whom have been chosen as "the best" by their fellow attorneys. Beasley currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. In 2006, Jere was named "Citizen of the Year" by the March of Dimes. He is also an active supporter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Most recently, Jere was selected to Alabama Super Lawyers for 2008 and 2009. A father of three children and six grandchildren, Beasley and his wife attend St. James United Methodist Church in Montgomery.
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First card check and now this. Bye, bye support from the business community!
Well, that says it all, doesn’t it. The Trial Lawyers just took out a billboard that says, “SBC, NOT Running.” I wonder if she will take the hint.
cobb was never going to run – she just wanted her name floated for it. it’s ego.
as for the king of all trial lawyers endorsing…. this comes as no shock. as post one said, this was the final nail in artur as far as the biz community. they will not support him at all. none. first his love of unions and expanding their existence – and now this. i guess artur and bobby bright will both be taking checks from trial lawyers as they try to run as mock conservatives in this state.
It depends on who the GOP nominee is. Davis is certainly trying to shore up his support from traditional Alabama Democratic constituencies as he prepares for the primary. However, his roots with the Birmingham business community run deep and there will still be many Birmingham business leaders that support him. If the GOP nominee is anyone but Bradley Bryne, I suspect that Davis will still receive considerable support from the BCA. 2010, I’d be curious as to exactly how you can call Bobby Bright a “mock conservative.” What votes on legislative issues have suggested that to you? Because, as a Democrat, I have found his votes on Fair Pay, children’s healthcare, and the stimulus that has saved the jobs of people in my immediate family very disappointing. I fully expected him to vote according to his socially conservative principles and against any potential gun control bill, but I did not expect him to side with the GOP on every controversial fiscal issue. He is a conservative.
This pretty much kills Sparks’ candidacy as well.
Wonder when AEA will fall in line.
Don’t be so sure they haven’t already, Walt.
And the race sets up how it always does…AEA/Trial Lawyers (Davis) vs. Business Community (Byrne).
Since Jere says Artur is “the ideal candidate” I would wonder what it means if Beasley money ends up going to Roy Moore . . . .
William why do you always frame this race as Artur vs. Bradley . ..that isn’t even its most likely path . . . . .
What is the most likely path for the race, Anon? I know you were just waiting for that question.
Of course the B’ham business community sucks up to Artur. He is the incumbent. There is no deep affection for the man. He is aligned with the liberal interests in this state and Jere’s involvment proves it. That pplaces the business guys on the other side of the ballot–unless it’s Roy Moore.
ahhhh post 9….glad the james camp is back on here trying to boost his chances.
I’m not surprised Beasley is supporting Davis, but why would Davis make Beasley his campaign chair? Davis is setting up Sparks as the conservative alternative for rural Alabama Democrats.
This move is not politically savvy for Davis, who wants to be seen as a moderate to conservative
Democrat. Beasley has been the face of Alabama’s “Tort Hell” for years, and his forces in the statewide judicial races have been thoroughly repudiated by the Alabama electorate time and again for the past 15 years. Does Davis really want to be known as Beasley’s pawn? I guess so.
This is really confusing. Davis has been saying all along that he was running as an “outsider” in terms of the Montgomery crowd. How is that even remotely true if he has Jere Beasley as his campaign chairman? Somebody will have to explain that one to me.
I don’t see how Davis can still claim to be the outsider candidate when he hires someone like Beasley. Maybe he’s just hoping that we wont notice that he’s talking out of both sides of his mouth
Jim – your mention of tort hell shows you are a typical Republican shill. There is no “conservative alternative for rural Alabama Democrats.” There aren’t enough rural Dems to swing the race.
Baudrillard, believe we’ll see more cat and mouse games between Davis and AEA for a while yet. Both are shrewd enough to get a good price before inevitably falling in line.
My imagination, or do #15 and #16 sound almost verbatim like a Sparks press release on another blog? For what its worth, I grade this move an A-. Shows he has a major Democratic player on his side, which reassures donors and local activists and guarantes that one Dem donor base will be with him. Must also show Cobb that trial lawyers are not bluffing about opposing her is she runs. Downside, does make him look less pro-business, but if Bradley Byrne wins out, the business community is not in play anyway.
I would agree that #15 and #16 look alike, and while #14 doesnt parrot the same message, the poster has the same simpathies. Also, notice the 3 names, Jim, Jesse, and Joshua. Those are strange names to be posting under (normally names are “anonymous” or something personal or descriptive).
I’ve never seen any of those names post before…
i agree the 3 posts you guys mention all sing from the same song book….but, they do make a valid point that artur has been running around talking about what an outsider he is. with beasley around, he is hardly playing as an outsider with that move.
Of the several places this endorsement is covered, I glad to say most folks on this site are very fair minded. Thanks for the refreshing contrast!
I’m currently employed by Beasley Allen as their webmaster. Having worked for Mr. Beasley over the last several years, I’ve really grown to respect him. He’s definitely one of the top people in Alabama.
Congrats to Mr. Beasley and his position in Artur’s campaign.
2010 – there is something to be said that “outsider is being supported by the ultimate insider” but I think that it is fair to say that Artur will be endorsed by alot of Democrats in the primary (eventually he will be endorsed by virtually all the Democrats if he wins the nomination). Many might be “insiders” but isnt the endorsement process really an insider game anyway? I mean there is only one Chuck Norris (clearly an outsider) and he is already on the other side of this thing.
Are there any “outsiders” that Democrats should be seeking the endorsement of?
Well – Davis already got the endorsement of Peggy Wallace Kennedy. Fairly outsiderish. Definitely symbolic and head-turning.
since when is wallace kennedy in any way significant? geez…………….
too bad about alice martin, eh 2010….
ummmmm, CC, please tell me how Alice Martin is in any way related to the discussion above?
but to reply….of course she (Martin) is leaving as US Atty for her district. Obama will appoint new ones. That is how the system works big guy…..
Say It Ain’t So Artur…..
We were so ready to support a moderate Democrat, a pro business solid Democrat, a level headed man with sound judgement to lead us finally out of our past. The business community was out there, just waiting. And you blew it. You blew it for us, you blew it for yourself, and most of all, you blew it for Alabama. With the once in a generation chance of bringing us all together, you choked. You traded a mandate for the opportunity to be the house negro for the trial lawyers. The one group who has done more to harm our state than anyone since the crowd that kept your people away from the polls so many years ago. It’s sad, so sad, because it didn’t have to be that way, shouldn’t have been that way.
I’m sorry, we’re all sorry. You could have made a difference. But you have made it the same. And our beloved Alabama will be the worse for it.
Say It Ain’t So Artur…..
We were so ready to support a moderate Democrat, a pro business solid Democrat, a level headed black man with sound judgement to lead us finally out of our past. The business community was out there, just waiting. And you blew it. You blew it for us, you blew it for yourself, and most of all, you blew it for Alabama. With the once in a lifetime chance of bringing us all together, you choked. You traded a mandate for the opportunity to be the house negro for the trial lawyers. The one group who has done more to harm our state than anyone since the crowd that kept your people away from the polls so many years ago. It’s sad, so sad, because it didn’t have to be that way, shouldn’t have been that way.
You could have made a difference. But you have made the same.
I am a new poster, and a conservative Dem/Liberal Republican. I just want someone good and not tied to special interests. I was excited about this candidacy, but this upset me so much, this is my first post on a website ever. Just to clarify.
Some of the reactions to Beasley miss one little tidbit: he backed Riley four years ago. I think this move says less about Davis’ political views and more about the fact that he knows he needs some Democratic money source to offset the negative ads that are coming his way. AEA and the gambling interests are with Cobb, ALFA is with Sparks and while not everyoneknows it, the BCA actually has more ties to Cobb than Davis. I’m with you, 30, I wish none of these contenders had ties to special interests but the truth is they all do, and Davis would be very naive to think that he could raise money without one of those interests.
Davis would have had plenty of money due to the fact that he is a sitting Congressman and due to the sources of money outside of the state of Alabama who are chomping at the bit to help elect the first black governor of Alabama (the poster child for racism – past and present).
The truth is that Davis is NOT a moderate. He is smart. He is a good speaker. But he is not a moderate. Please tell me how co-sponsoring the card check bill is moderate or pro-business. It is neither and that is just one example off the top of my head.
I agree 32. In no way is davis a moderate. His voting record says otherwise. His supporters want you to think he is a moderate in oh so many ways….but, that is flat out false.
William, I agree that the check-card bill is not one that business interests in Alabama favor. And, as a pro-growth moderate, I am not a fan of the bill, either. I do, however, caution against painting a portrait of any candidate based on a single bill.
I am not naive enought to believe that Davis won’t be charicatured as a socialist liberal, but I only ask that we try and back up our labels with sufficient support. Davis, unlike many of his Dem collegues in the House, has a record of being a pro-business moderate, and I’m just not sure that one bill changes that seven year record.
efca is a game changer, it is the equiv of partial birth abortions in the pro-choice, pro-life debate. If you support it you are not a moderate
A wedge issue?
there is no way any significant business interests will be with artur. I think he knows that so what the hell….bring on the trial lawyers to back him…
I have heard business people describe the card-check bill as Armageddon so I think it’s pretty important. PLUS – as I said – that bill is not the only example of the fact that Artur is not a moderate. He may be considered a moderate in DC, but here in Alabama, he’s a liberal.
it’s not armageddon. it just lets people join a union by signing a card whether than having an election. there’s a cottage industry around scaring workers to death over unions and it won’t go away just bc of card check. there may be more unions b/c the process won’t favor management scare tactics. but the biz argument that unions will pressure people is nonsense. what is the union going to do, fire people?
Look, we may have to agree to disagree on this issue, but to say that making each employee’s vote in a pro-union vs. anti-union fight public knowledge is “just letting people join a union by signing a card” is being dishonest.
The card check bill will outlaw secret ballots. Wonder if you’d be okay with that in other elections? Doubt it.
Secret ballots give the employee the most ability to withstand pressure from either side of the union issue and should be preserved for to protect the employee (you’d think that the UNIONS would be FOR that – they would be if they weren’t just out for themselves).
William, I actually agree with you on that issue. I just disagree that Davis’s stance on that one issue makes him definitively a liberal. I think the definition of a moderate is one who moderates between positions. Davis has taken some sconservative stances on other issues, but I don’t that makes him a conservative. His mixed stances makes him a moderate as best I can tell.