Abdul-Hakim Shabazz Leaving Illinois
ArchPundit
Unknown if downstate Republicans will confuse his exit with that of Alan Keyes.
September 2004
What the hell were those speeches?
If you are going to attack, you have to dress it up as nice. I thought Arnold’s speech was good and probably effective in its rhetoric. Miller and Cheney scared the bejezeesus about of me and not about terrorism, but them.
Then Again
Zell Miller’s performance on Hardball is pretty damn close to as crazy as Keyes.
You’ll have to choose the Miller Interview. Larry Gatlin later was pretty classy heckling back at the crowd too.
And for goodness sakes–what does the MX,the B-1, the Apache or the biggest boondoggle and safety hazard to our troops, the Harrier have to do with keeping America safe now? Or even then?
The MX is now useless. The B-1 was useless within a few years of being operational, the Apache is an unreliable attack helicopter.
UPDATED: Removed bit about the Harrier–Xan points out I was confused with the Osprey. It was late.
But apparently the Harrier wasn’t much better–thanks Ralph
UPDATE 2: Actually, this reminds me that the Osprey was supposed to replace the Harrier–thus the votes to kill the Harrier were to usher in the next generation of jets.
Cross Guys Seeking to Put the Keyes Thing in Perspective
And failing because they still haven’t found anyone as crazy
I Can’t Stop
Channel 2 has Judy’s reaction and it is priceless (video)
Channel 5 has the quotes:
“We should look [homosexuality] right in the eye,” Keyes said. “It is a self-centered, selfish, self-oriented pursuit of pleasure. If my own daughter were a homosexual or a lesbian, I would love my daughter but I would tell my daughter that she was in sin.”
Former Gov. Jim Thompson was very harsh in his criticism of Keyes, Kay reported.
“I think the people of Illinois would find those kinds of remarks offensive and I think it’s an offense to the political process that we have to suffer a candidate on our ticket who says things like that,” Thompson said. “So it is not something that I as a voter would put up with, and I don’t think the people of Illinois will put up with it, either.”
Republican Illinois Congresswoman Judy Biggert, an abortion-rights Republican, was equally offended.
“I think it is shameful — I really do,” she said. “I think he should apologize. This is destroying everything that we’ve been building.”
Former Gov. Jim Edgar chairs the president’s re-election campaign in Illinois.
“It is an unfortunate thing. I think it takes away from the real issues in this campaign.”
Illinois Party Chairman Judy Baar Topinka minced no words.
“You don’t attack other people’s children,” she said. “I can’t stand behind that kind of an idiotic comment — that is exactly what it is, idiotic. If somebody went after my son, you know I would go for the jugular. You just don’t do that.”
Damn….Cross Comments on Keyes
I had a great gag set up where I linked to a Google News Search with “alan keyes” and “tom cross” and noted that none of them have Cross commenting on Keyes. Today, Cross got caught and the Trib has his comments.
State Rep. Tom Cross, the House Republican leader, joked with reporters about the length of Keyes’ lease on his apartment in Calumet City.
“My suspicion is we will see and hear from candidate Keyes for the next 60 days, and after that he’ll probably be out of Illinois,” Cross said.
Whomever has been keeping Cross away from this deserves a raise.
Channel 5 has his more serious comments
“When you start to talk about an individual, especially someone’s daughter, and personalize it, you’re going into territory that a lot of people find offensive,” he said. “Stating your position is one thing — personalizing it is probably not the right way to handle it. It’s not something I would have done.”
Thompson’s Voting for the Best Candidate
Edgar has always been pretty smooth and not much shakes him.
But CBS 2 has a video of him reacting to Thompson’s reaction that is just hysterical.
Need to be using Internet Explorer for it to work.
Keyes thinks the press should apologize.
I’d transcribe what Edgar said, but it’s really that there is virtually nothing to transcribe….
Leader Looper Fun
From the inbox–I can’t keep up with all of the threads over there:
“…although it seems to be lost on many of my fellow conservatives, he is making us all look nuts. You can be pro-life without comparing women who get one to terrorists. You can be pro-Second Amendment without sounding like you want to have everyone walking through the streets armed with machine guns. You can be anti-gay marriage without referring to the Vice President’s daughter as a “selfish hedonist.” And you can hope to empower black Americans without calling for reparations, regardless of the form you want them to be in.
More
“…I have never, in my life, used the phrase “right-wing extremist” to describe anyone. I have always found it to be a cute little tool used by the left to try to paint mainstream conservatives like President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Jeb Bush, Bill Frist, Jack Ryan, etc. as out of the mainstream. However, if they ever do want a true definition of an intolerant, right-wing extremist, Alan Keyes is that man.”
The e-mailer pretty much nails it:
This thread is a great expression of why it’s conservatives who should be hopping mad at Keyes. Agree with conservatives or not, they have genuine aspirations that deserve an honest, clearheaded assessment by voters. For liberals, Keyes is a joke and, as you said, a gift. For Republicans, he’s an outrage and a disservice.
The Other Side of the Story
Over at the Leader, they offer up the other side of the story on Keyes most recent outbursts.
Except, I can’t find any facts in dispute. Anyone? What exactly is the other side of the story?