Show of hands.

How many of us have heard at least one Democrat say something to the tune of “I won’t vote for Artur Davis if he votes against health care.”

For months, people connected to the Davis camp have maintained that number is small and there has not been a major backlash to his stance.

For his part, Congressman Davis has repeatedly dismissed criticism that the vote is influenced by his campaign for governor.

In an interview Thursday, the Democrat told FOX6 News reporter Jonathan Hardison “if you look at my record over the last 7 years in Congress, I’ve consistently been one of the most moderate Democratic members of Congress. That criticism has been going in some circles for 7 years. It’s not new for me to be someone who says that I think for myself, I make independent judgements and sometimes that puts me in the political center and not on the left or right.”

Apparently the White House understands (or at least realizes the situation surrounding) the position. Jeff Zeleny’s NYTimes report Sunday pointed out “few Democrats have been offered dispensations, including Representative Artur Davis of Alabama, who is no longer being pressed to vote for the bill because he is running for governor and the health care measure is not popular in Alabama.”

Still, it has people talking.

L.C. Culpepper, an 83-year-old neighborhood association president in Birmingham, says his congressman’s stance puzzles him.

“I have been supportive of what he has done in Congress,” but Culpepper says the people he knows “don’t understand why he’s opposing the president’s plan. We don’t know why?”

Culpepper raised the issue with state representative Merika Coleman (D-Midfield) during a neighborhood meeting.

Rep. Coleman, who has not indicated publicly who she supports in the governor’s race, says Culpepper is not the first person to approach her about it.

“The response has been he needs to come tell us,” Coleman says.

No surprise, candidates are using the congressman’s opposition for their own talking points.

Jefferson county commissioner Sheila Smoot held a news conference this morning to call for Davis and fellow Democrat, Rep. Bobby Bright to “vote yes on health care.” She’s seeking the 7th district congressional seat  Davis is giving up for the governor’s race.

Of course, his Democratic rival for governor has maintained a constant drumbeat of criticism for the congressman’s opposition.

An email from the Ron Sparks campaign asks today:

If you consider yourself a Democrat, ask yourself some questions. Why would I support someone who doesn’t

support health care reform even though he represents a district which desperately needs it?

Political science professor Natalie Davis of Birmingham Southern College says there is a “catch-22″ for Sparks.

“If he pushes too hard, that will be a problem for Sparks in the fall if he were to be the nominee,” Davis points out in this interview on FOX6 News Good Day Alabama.

“Of course, he (Rep. Davis)  was the first congressman outside of Illinois to come out for Obama. He was an Obama supporter. You just have to wonder about political loyalty in this case.”

The professor says the congressman’s opposition has been the question of political observers she talks with around the country.

Rep. Davis appears consistent in his opposition and reaction to the criticism that built with his first “no” vote on a health care bill in November.

Then, Davis told me on Good Day Alabama “I would love to vote for a health care reform bill. What I want to see is a bill that opens up coverage and contains cost. If we fail on either one of those fronts, we’re worse off then than we are today.”

In Thursday’s interview with Jonathon Hardison,  he expressed his latest doubts.

“”Even the strongest supporters of this bill, even the Congressional Budget Office, an independent entity, says that this bill would not cause the price of insurance or insurance premiums to go down. The argument is whether it would cause them to go up or if they would stay the same.”

The argument among many political observers in Alabama may continue to be vote on principle or vote of political convenience?

Read more of Rick Journey’s blogs here.

Filed under: Elections