August 2004

The Keyes Mistake

ArchPundit August 19, 2004 7 Comments

The larger problem the Illinois GOP is not facing is that Keyes hurts them downballot. While he might turnout some hardcore conservatives, he’s absolutely toxic to moderate Republicans. While voters who always turnout will show up at the polls, with the top of the ticket hobbled in Illinois with an unpopular President in the State of Illinois and now a loon in the Senate race, many occasional voters who lean Republican won’t show up. First they won’t be able to stomach the man and voting for Obama may not be in the cards for them. Second, people like to vote for a winner and it will be abundantly clear that he will be tanking by the day of the election, perhaps in a historic sized defeat.

Madigan sums it up nicely

House Speaker Michael Madigan, the Illinois Democratic chairman, said the Keyes campaign will be “a big benefit to Democrats because every time he opens his mouth, he says something that will drive people away from him and to the Democrats.”

Less Than Two Weeks and The Act is Wearing Thin

ArchPundit August 19, 2004 1 Comment

Eric Krol’s story suggests where the campaign is headed–into satire as the press tires of a loon:

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Alan Keyes used his first major public speech Wednesday to say gay people are sinners, those who would allow women to have abortions in cases of rape or incest lack integrity and his opponent is like a socialist for supporting big government.

In other words, just another day on the campaign trail for Keyes, whom the state GOP brought in from Maryland 10 days ago to take on Democratic Senate nominee Barack Obama of Hyde Park.

You’ll notice some are trying to blame the media treatment of Keyes on some sort of magical effect the Obama folks have on the media. This ignores the more logical conclusion that the press tires of loons pretty quickly. That people expect Keyes to be taken seriously is a cynical joke on the people of Illinois. He isn’t doing anything different than he has done in all of his public pronouncements in four other campaigns and in his role as a commentator. He makes obnoxious and offensive pronouncements and then calls anyone who disagrees with him stupid, evil or a name caller while he is claiming to have taken the high road. The only difficult part to figure out about Alan Keyes is whether he is aware of his act or if he is so self-deluded that he thinks he is a serious person.

Cheeky Sun-Times Editorial

ArchPundit August 19, 2004 3 Comments

On the smelly toad:

That’s not going to win Keyes a lot of friends around here, even if it is a genuine attempt to clear the air. Outsiders need to understand that only Chicagoans can make derogatory remarks about the mayor. We know he’s not perfect. But when we look around the country we don’t see any outsider doing any better. Even the prestigious, but far away, British magazine the Economist recently called Daley America’s best mayor.

The Republicans seem to think we need some kind of outside trusteeship here. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald couldn’t find a lawyer he considered competent (or honest?) enough in our whole state to make U.S. attorney.

If they keep this up, it’s going to hurt our self-esteem.

You could get a complex.

Raising the question, is Alan Keyes suggesting the Mayor is a smelly toad?

Roeser Swallowing Hard

ArchPundit August 19, 2004 2 Comments

From the Sun-Times a hysterical account of Keyes and Jack Roeser ‘discussing’ reparations:

On Wednesday, Keyes ridiculed the fuss over his position, saying it is simply a tax break, something “Republicans and my conservative brethren” don’t object to when applied to a “wealthy corporation.”

Conservative activist Jack Roeser met with Keyes for what Roeser called “a long argument and an intense one” over the issue before the speech. A Barrington businessman, Roeser said he still is not sold on Keyes’ reparations proposal, but still plans to support him anyway. “I will tell my friends that this is a good man, and we should support him.”

Zorn Compares the Federal Version of BAIPA to the State Version

ArchPundit August 19, 2004 0 Comment

Not surprisingly, they are different in key respects.

Now, that Alan’s raison d’etre is gone, will he be sticking around? Or is it not about principle?

Zorn archives the Stanek-Zorn exchange for posterity

The General Is Unhappy

ArchPundit August 19, 2004 0 Comment

With Rauschenberger and Syverson

Good God, what where you thinking when you dialed his number!

We need to convince him to pull out of the race. He’s obviously not going to do it on his own, so we’re going to need to create a scandal. It has to be big and that means sex–the media eats that stuff up.

No time for private investigators. You have to do it yourselves–you broke it; you fix it. I’m thinking of a three way at a Cubs game. As for staging, the photos would look best with Sen. Syverson taking him from behind and Sen. Rauschenberger going down on him, but I guess that part is really up to you.

Once he’s out of the race, we convince Ted Nugent to run.

We’re depending on you to turn this thing around. Don’t disappoint us.

go read the whole thing….and the comments…