What is Ron Sparks Doing?

The contentiousness of the Democratic nomination for governor in Alabama is already at a fever pitch and we haven’t made it to the beginning of election year yet.  The latest salvos from both campaigns came within the last 24 hours, but to get the real flavor of where we are, you should start with the gubernatorial forum in Auburn two weeks ago:

Notice the rancor between the two Democratic candidates there?  And since then, the Democrats have also sparred over the healthcare reform bill.  With Davis accusing Sparks of taking one position on the public option in front of the Business Council of Alabama, and another after the vote on HR 3962, which Davis voted against.

But things really blew up on Veteran’s Day.  Ron Sparks (a veteran himself) decided to send out a communication on that day, based on a New York Observer article, that attempted to argue that “if we want a Democratic governor, we can’t nominate Artur Davis.”  I had two issues with the e-mail.  First, the timing of the message was just wrong.  In fact, I had received an email earlier in the day from the Davis campaign asking us to pray for our troops, and Bradley Byrne chose the day to announce a proposal for a new homestead exemption for returning troops, a pure political attack message just seemed way off point.  Second, after reading the full piece, I was disappointed in the selective quoting of the article to make a point that was quite different from the point of the reporter.

Apparently, the Davis camp had similar issues, as they responded,

Wednesday was Veterans Day, a time for Americans to come together and honor the sacrifices of the men and women in uniform, no matter their race, religion, color, or creed.

But for Ron Sparks’ campaign, Veterans Day was another occasion for launching an ugly political attack. And once again, he is showing that he is anything but a progressive voice for Alabama’s future.

After months of thinly veiled statements about “electability,” Ron Sparks’ campaign manager finally told Democrats what his candidate has been hinting at for months: “what we have known for a long time here in Alabama [is] If we want a Democratic Governor, we can’t nominate Artur Davis,” he said.

Let’s see if we can get this straight: Sparks is trailing Davis by a mile, while Davis leads every Republican contender in polling as fresh as last week. Indeed, a nationally respected poll a few months ago showed Sparks running behind the leading Republicans by as much as double digits. Yet the Sparks campaign insists that Artur Davis is the one who can’t win in Alabama.

Yeah…there are still many in the Alabama Democratic party who don’t believe Alabama is ready for an African-American governor and will tell you all about why in private, but they have yet to find a way to make that argument in the open.  It’s clear the Sparks campaign was trying to use this article, which was arguing that ANY Democrat will have a hard time winning the governor’s race in Alabama, to make the argument that Davis is somehow additionally challenged.  Unfortunately, polling doesn’t bear Sparks out.  There has been no reputable poll issued that shows Sparks running better than Davis against any of the possible Republican candidates.  If one comes out, believe me Sparks will trumpet it beyond belief.  So, absent that evidence he is grasping at straws to find something, anything to back up his argument.

This brings me to my ultimate question, what is Ron Sparks doing?  Every action his campaign takes just raises eyebrows amongst people who know how to run a campaign, on both sides of the aisle.  There doesn’t seem to be a plan for victory.  Why?  Because this wasn’t the race he wanted to run in the first place.  Remember, Sparks thought he was going to be running for lieutenant governor, until Jim Folsom Jr. messed up his plans by running for re-election and he had to literally pivot on a dime and announce a run for governor.  I think all of the issues folks see with his campaign can be traced back to that start.  You can blame campaign staff (and I’ve certainly heard that said), or lack of money (heard that too) but ultimately, the candidate sets the tone and the tone of his campaign is just off, and if he doesn’t recognize it soon, he will get bulldozed by the Davis campaign in short order.

Related posts:

1. And Sparks Gets His First Foothold I’m still a Davis supporter, but Ron Sparks is...
2. Davis Camp Responds to Sparks Announcement The other candidate in the Democratic race for governor...
3. Sparks Inching Closer to Dropping Out of Governor’s Race? Politico.com posted a story last night that is either...
4. Ron Sparks Strategy = Keep Inventing New Lines of Attack The latest campaign material to hit my inbox from...
5. Ron Sparks to Hold Press Conference in Huntsville Tomorrow Ron Sparks has announced that tomorrow he will hold a 10am press...

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