Every once in awhile, you have these conversations with public figures that you really wish you had recorded. Former Rep. Artur Davis has long been rumored to have political aspirations in Virginia — as a state senator, as a representative, or even as a potential challenger to U.S. Senator Mark Warner in 2014. That clearly has to do with Davis’ intelligence and vision, because there are no other words that encapsulate his style and tone. From a pro-education conservative perspective that reinforces parents’ rights to a warmingly self-confident description of what it means to be a conservative, this is required reading for anyone looking to reassert conservative ethics in the public square.
Q: So let’s cut to the chase. Are you considering a run for public office in Virginia?
(laughs) I’ve been encouraged to look at public office in Virginia by Republicans for the last year and a half. Obviously, I’m not a candidate and have no interest in running against Congressman Wolf. Would only run if he chose not to run again in 2014 and 2016. Have people encourage me to run for State Senate, Representative, or other office. It’s about trying to raise the money and find support, whether there might be an opportunity in that race, or whether there might be a vulnerable Democrat. I do spend some of my time talking to people in the Republican Party of Virginia, trying to get their advice and input, and I think anyone looking at public office would take those opportunities.
Q: As a former Democrat, what do you find similar and different to how the Democratic and Republican parties work?
They’re certainly good at internal infighting (laughter). And like most parties, when they lose elections they are very quick to turn on themselves. I see Democrats in 2005 going through the same exercise Republicans are going through now. The Democrats felt the same way after Bush and could not understand how he could have won both elections, not just one. A lot of Republicans don’t understand how Obama could have done likewise. A lot of us look at the economy and other issues and wonder how this guy won. That creates a lot of discussion from within.
I will say that I am always struck that the establishment media as painting the Republican Party as a place where you have to hold a certain set of views and are dismissed if you don’t see things that way. I can only speak for one person’s experience, but having been in both parties, I have found so much more debate within the Republican Party than what I saw in the Democratic Party over the last few years. I know the media paints a very different picture. Name me one Democrat who believes Obamacare ought to be repealed? Who is opposed to same sex marriage? Who believes that illegal immigrants ought not to receive citizenship?
Within the Democratic Party, you do have to believe a certain way in order to be taken seriously. The last remaining conservative Democrat right now is probably Joe Manchin of West Virginia. In the 1990s, about one-third would have been considered to be conservative. Today, about three-fourths of the Democratic Party is hard left. Obama would be considered a moderate in the Democratic Party today. So I looked at that environment and said it was a place I could not be comfortable any longer. Not every Republican agrees the way I do, but I look around and believe that the Republican Party is a comfortable home for me.
Q: Talk about the shift from the conservative Democrat to the progressive era. Is the response from the Republicans to become “more conservative” or is there a better way?
We have to make it clear that conservatism isn’t about just a few things – repealing Obamacare, low taxes, and small government. The biggest challenge we have right now as Republicans is developing a compelling message. Our obligation as conservatives is to make sure that our views don’t apply to those who are in a certain tax bracket. We have to make it clear that conservatism works.
I remember a time when Republicans were very self-confident that conservatism would be able to tackle every solution. If you asked Jack Kemp that question, he would have answered that conservatism would be able to address the problems of poverty and disadvantage. Today, many conservatives don’t discuss those as issues we can tackle, that it’s pandering. I see that as a lack of self confidence, that our views aren’t robust enough to tackle these problems, and it’s our task as conservatives to point that out.
Q: If you could describe how in the next five to ten years, how would that self confidence translate into public policy?
I think conservatives have to talk about some of the real problems facing our society. Men and women who work with their hands don’t have dramatically more purchasing power than what we had 10-15 years ago. That’s a challenge, because it says that our economy isn’t giving people a chance. Liberals concern themselves about how people at the bottom are comfortable staying at the bottom.
We have to make the case as conservatives that we are more interested in bringing people up, that regardless as to what federal taxes are doing to this country, but that those people are often paying high state taxes, city taxes, sales taxes, and they have to send their children to college. There are people in this country that are doing everything the ought to be doing , who are playing by the rules and saving and not spending, and are still struggling to make it. Conservatives have to understand that this economy isn’t perfect, and when I’ve seen conservatives at their best, we talk about upward mobility, and talks passionately about upward mobility. And if we do that, by the way, all of these problems we face with Latinos, minorities, women, we’ll take big steps towards solving these challenges if we become a party that talks about upward mobility and why our principles translate into upward mobility.
We make a mistake when we defend the status quo. But there’s a lot of folks out there who don’t think things are fine the way we are, and we can speak to Americans when we start talking about upward mobility as it impacts education, health care, K-12 education… if we talk about how conservatives can tackle these problems, we’ll build a coalition that can take back the White House and control the Congress.
Q: Talk about minority outreach – why do Republicans struggle?
Because we don’t do a good job about why our policies help them – simple as that. I go back to the message about upward mobility and giving people an opportunity to excel. We haven’t done a very good job. To the contrary, we patronize them. It’s patronizing to think that if we buy a few ads on radio or newspaper, that folks will think “it’s OK to vote for them.”
It’s patronizing to think that African-Americans will vote for us because of something that happened 150 years ago. African-Americans want to hear us talk about issues that matter to them. Every African-American I know wants to talk about the quality of their school, then we want to hear about everything else. When we tell them we don’t care about those things, we tell them “your concerns aren’t ours.” And we don’t want a history lesson – no one cares that Jackie Robinson supported Richard Nixon. We have to make the case about who we are today and why our policies affect them. I think we sometimes forget that African-Americans, Latinos, and Asians are middle class and working class and share those values.
When we share the concerns of middle class and working class Americans, we have done our job. The worst mistake we make is when we think we need some special message to African-American or Latino communities.
Q: Going back to public education, do you think that there’s room for “pro-education” conservatives, and if so how do we get that message out?
We have to make it clear that we are the party that believes parents are the prime decision makers when it comes where their children should go to school – not judges, not courts. Parents ought to have that civil right to move their children from failing schools to better schools.
Second, we ought to say we value and honor teachers, and so much that we treat them like professionals – when they do well, they advance, and when they fail they are fired. And we have to make it clear that these things are things that we are passionate about, not because we want to stick a finger in the eye of the teachers union, but because we care about education.
When we talk about education, we can’t have the conversation in the abstract. Virginia has a strong public education system, but everyone knows that in major pockets of our state, there are schools that simply aren’t cutting it. And there are many parents that can’t afford to send their children to public schools. Many parents can’t afford private schools, so do we say your children get the best education they can afford?
Frankly, we need to be talking about vouchers. I would like to see Cuccinelli and McAuliffe talk about education reform. McAuliffe has effectively given the teachers union a blank slate, effectively letting them write the script. We should be letting the parents of Virginia be writing our education policy.
Q: Let’s social issues for a moment. How should Republican Party approach social issues without appearing dogmatic or divisive?
This is our challenge. I don’t think we ought to run from the principles that most Republicans hold. Most Republicans believe life begins at conception and that our laws ought to reflect that. Many believe marriage is between one man and one woman, and we shouldn’t run from those things. But there are many who disagree, and we have to respect those differences.
On abortion, many Republicans believe that there ought to be exceptions for the health of the mother, rape, and incest. Not every Republican agrees with that. But if they don’t share my opinions on abortion, that shouldn’t divide us. We have to be clear that what we believe doesn’t make us blind to what others believe. We also have to do a better job on abortion that the Democratic Party is more out of touch with the American people than ever. The Democratic Party line is that one could have abortion for any reason. The DNC even voted against a provision that was against gender-selective abortions. I think that maybe 10-12% of the American people hold that position. If you listen to the media, they would lead you to believe that the Democratic Party sits right in the middle of the issue, and frankly as Republicans, we have not done a good enough job of pointing that out.
I would disagree with the Supreme Court’s ruling on DOMA and Prop 8, but if you look closely there is a principled commitment to the rights of the states to define marriage. At the same time, we have to recognize that not everyone in this states looks on the issues of gay rights or marriage in the same way we do, and just because they disagree doesn’t mean that we don’t want their voice or their votes.
I think very few voters vote on this issue alone, but there’s no question that there are folks who have differing opinions on this issue. I would submit today that the Democratic Party does not respect the position of those who do not agree with gay marriage. Republicans shouldn’t mirror that, and while not giving up our principles, we should accept those who disagree.
Voters under 30 do not look at the question of marriage in the same way folks who are 40 or 50. We have to make it clear that they are welcome in the Republican Party even if we disagree on the particular issue. Talking about issues in a way that is not divisive or polarizing, that is not judgmental or seeks to condemn whole classes of people is important. If we are going to make a case about conservative social party, it’s not because we are against things but because we are for things that make our communities better and more cohesive, not because we are against certain groups of people. We can do that in a way that is inclusive, in a way that is tolerant, and in a way that is civil.
Q: So what is the ideological paperweight that keeps the conservative movement — social and fiscal — together. What helps unite us and forges that winning coalition at the end of the day?
At the end of the day, conservatives trust people, while liberals trust institutions. Liberals believe that individuals are weak, that they require strong institutions. That people are poor and will remain poor, and so we need to make sure they are comfortable down there. Conservatives believe that if you empower them, they will make good choices and take care of themselves most of the time. We believe in the power of people to rise above their circumstances.
Look at people who ignited the imagination of people – look at Ben Carson. On the verge of flunking out of school, read a grade behind his grade level, and becomes a world renown surgeon. People are ignited about the story of Marco Rubio about his father who was the guy who had to clean the tables of senators who now has a son who is a U.S. Senator. I think that those stories united us as Republicans; that we believe that people have the capacity to be strong. Liberals don’t believe that people can do it or can make it.
Q: So let me ask this – is there any interest in running for U.S. Senate in 2014?
Mark Warner is in a very commanding position. I am not going to run in a district where Obama got 62% of the vote. I can’t run against a guy who has the support of many Democrats, independents, and even moderate Republicans. The first thing I have to do is make sure I make the case that I have earned the right to run for office, that I am a Republican, and that I can add value – because there’s a lot of Republicans who have waited their turn and plan to run themselves. I don’t think that you’re ever entitled to run for anything, but if a campaign happens, I would have to make the case as to why what I offer the Republican Party trumps other candidates, and would do so in a positive and a constructive way and look forward to supporting candidates across Virginia.
Q: So beyond all this speculation, what do you want to focus on between now and then?
As I mentioned earlier, I am very passionate about education reform. I think that’s something we can do a better job of in Virginia. I believe very deeply that we have to strengthen education, and even though we have a very good public education system, we have pockets that are not performing, and we have to give parents the opportunities to improve education in our Commonwealth.
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If Artur Davis writes a book on his views on conservatism — buy it. This was a great conversation for thinking conservatives — for folks who want to be encouraged and positive about being a conservative, Davis is certainly that sort of rising star and leader. This interview was a privilege…
