Chicago Report Falls
ArchPundit
The Chicago Report is even getting in on the act regarding the Senate race
As I told OneMan a while ago–just enjoy the trainwreck–it’s rare that you get to watch one this close up.
Illinois Senate
Something about knowing the mind of God and madness
The Good Ambassador informs us who Jesus would vote for and suggests that spanking is something more than a basketball reference. (note Requires Internet Explorer)
Inconceivable. Quick someone get Mike Conklin of the Trib to do an immitation of Wallace Shawn
Via Austin Mayor
Yo Mamma
“Oh, Mr. Delay Guardia,” says Judge Lyttle. “Really! You see, that is my point. You tell a man he’s engaged in wrongdoing and he says, ‘Yeah, you’re right.” Everyone recognizes that’s facetious. We all are familiar with that. Now, in my neighborhood, had Mr. Sabich come from those parts, he would have said, ‘Yo’ momma.'”
There is broad laughter in the courtroom. Larren has scored again. He sits on the bench, laughing himself.
“But you know, in Mr. Sabich’s part of town, I would think people say, ‘Yeah, you’re right,’ and what they mean is ‘You are wrong.'” Pausing. “To be polite.”
More laughter.
Spanking
So I think we all had one thing in mind when we heard the Good Ambassador was upset over spanking. It’s harder to be more of a selfish hedonist than when Spanking the Monkey. But no, he was referring to a comment by Barack,
“I don’t want to just win, I want to give this guy who is running against me a spanking,” Keyes quoted Obama as saying.
The conservative from Maryland said Obama then said that he wanted to give Keyes a spanking because he exemplified the “kind of scorched-earth, slash-and-burn negative campaign that has become the custom in Washington and it is the reason why we can’t get anything done.”
Now, most folks would take this as a basketball reference. But, not the Good Ambassador–it’s a slavery reference:
Keyes, whose rhetoric concerning gay marriage and abortion has stunned Illinois Republican Party leaders, said Obama’s use of the word spanking was “colorful language” and is “the language of the master who, when he is displeased with the slave, gives him a whipping.”
If he had made such comments, Keyes speculated that the media would accuse him of “some horrible crime against the dignity of my opponent.”
“I am sure if I had used this language about my opponent, one of you would have followed up with that kind of question, suggesting that I was showing the utmost insensitivity to the racial heritage of America and to the indignities that black Americans have suffered during the course of that heritage,” Keyes said.
No, but you might have been fitted with a straightjacket. Then again, you might still be. Though you might have asked what great moral principle in the Declaration spanking is related to or perhaps a cheeky joke about Spanking the Monkey.
McLean Cubed
Who is running the Keyes effort in McLean County?
On one side you had the moderates and on the other you had Alan Keyes and Co. Keyes comments on homosexuality were widely condemned by some top party brass. To any observer who watched what happened in McLean County a few years ago, the ideological split that is tearing at the party’s fabric is nothing new.
You might recall former Illinois Christian Coalition chief John Parrott’s rise to power as county GOP chairman. The Bloomington businessman’s conservative brand of politics wasn’t well liked by what became known as the “old guard” Republicans in McLean County.
Eventually, Parrott was ousted in a power play and things seem to have returned to normal.
So normal, in fact, that Parrott is now heading Keyes’ election efforts in McLean County.
Keyes the Diplomat
Condemning homosexuality in general but refusing to condemn an individual gay person because of partisan or personal sensitivities would be craven hypocrisy.
Perhaps inadvertently, Keyes’ candor reminds us of another truth that can be spoken: When you rail against homosexuals, you’re not railing against faceless beings whose sole attribute is that they “use the organs intended for procreation for purposes of pleasure,” as Keyes is known to say disapprovingly.
You’re railing against real people–daughters, sons, friends, colleagues, neighbors–who are really hurt by scornful rhetoric that trivializes their relationships.
Unyielding, in-your-face application of one’s moral certainty works well in academia, in the pulpit and, often, on talk radio and in newspaper columns–where provocation is a tool in the quest for insight, and invoking the judgment of God against your foes is just another gambit.
The first section is excellent too–so read it all, but I’m trying to be a good fair use boy today.
Keyes Protest by Log Cabin Republicans
The Log Cabin Republicans (gay Republicans) or a group of LCRs will be protesting the Keyes fundraiser on Thursday at Zela’s
While they obviously disagree on gay marriage, they’ll be primarily protesting Keyes’ language and behavior towards gays and lesbians. Knowing that there will likely be media in attendance, they will be holding up signs in an attempt to humanize their agenda, in terms most moderate voters across party lines would find sympathetic. They realize he is the GOP Senate nominee yet that does not mean a GOP organization should support him. They plan on protesting from approximately 6:00 pm until sufficient media attention arrives.
More information–drop me a line and I’ll put you in touch.
Keyes On Zola Ministries TV
Keyes makes an appearance on a Messianic Jewish TV program that appears on the net and one of my favorite networks for wingnuttery–the Trinity Broadcast Network (I really like the buying slaves thing from Rod Parsley on TBN–sort of ignores the creating the market problem).
The show can be accessed here
The ministry has some real interesting things to say about Catholics–which is interesting given Keyes was a guest and a rather devout Catholic.
How Bad In A Historical Sense?
Rich Miller in his weekly column covers the Syverson in his role in bringing Keyes to Illinois. It’s very funny:
At times like these, it’s human nature to look for someone to blame. It’s tough to blame Keyes because, well, Keyes is Keyes. He was, after all, totally consistent when he moved from saying all homosexuals are “selfish hedonists” to saying that Mary Cheney is a “selfish hedonist.”
Anyone with an Internet connection and a half hour to spare could have predicted this would happen and Keyes would turn out to be a complete embarrassment to the Republican Party and the state of Illinois.
I prefer to blame state Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford). Syverson is the treasurer of the Illinois Republican Party who actively recruited Keyes and then touted him to anyone who would listen.
I happen to like Dave Syverson. He is energetic and bright and his constituents are well-represented, but he really blew this one. He also wasn’t alone.
That’s funny stuff.
But on the front page of the Capitol Fax, he points out another issue–how low can Keyes go in terms of votes.
WORSE THAN ’86? (excerpt) [A] terrible fear is creeping through the [regular Republicans] these days that Keyes will do worse than Koehler this November [former Senator Alan Dixon beat Koehler like a Persian rug, winning 65 percent of the vote and all 102 counties in 1986]. The Cheney comment [by Alan Keyes–that Cheney’s lesbian daughter is a “selfish hedonist”] sent shivers down a lot of Republican spines because the more voters Keyes alienates, the more damage he could do to down-ballot candidates. And if he’ll do something like [make this comment about the VEEP’s daughter] are there any limits to his behavior?
Of course, 1986 didn’t kill the Republicans down ballot because the Democrats had the embarrassment of the 20th Century when 2 LaRouchies hijacked spots on the Democratic ticket thanks to an incompetent primary GOTV operations.
To give you a historical sense of bad defeats here is everyone who fell below 40 percent in US Senate races since 1920:
Year Party Name % of the vote/% of the two party vote
1920 D Waller 26.11/27.89
1924 D Sprague 34.99/35.37
1930 R McCormick 30.73/32.43
1972 D Pucinski 37.35/37.51
1974 R Burditt 37.22/37.46
1986 R Koehler 33.75/34.13
1990 R Martin 34.93/34.93
2002 R Durkin 38.02/38.66
I’m not sure Koehler’s numbers should be the concern–I’d be more worried about McCormick or Waller from 1920 and 1930 respectively. I’m pretty sure Keyes won’t break 30% at this point, but the beneficiary after about 65% of the vote may well be Jerry Kohn. Many Republicans may defect from the ticket, but not to Barack. The humorous watch may well be whether Obama can take on McKinley in 1920 and have the highest percent of support ever for a US Senate Candidate in Illinois
Total, McKinley got 67.48%
Of the two party vote he got 72.11%
From the looks of it, both numbers are reasonable given early polling and continuing eruptions from Keyes. And unfortunately for the Republicans, the Democrats don’t have any LaRouchies around–though Denny Hastert has been doing a decent imitation on news shows recently.
The other number to shoot for is the all time high number of votes for a US Senate Candidate in Illinois. The current highwater mark was 2,867,078 votes by Charles Percy in 1972 against Pucinski. The actual challenge for Obama is getting enough total people out to vote to break that number.
On Wednesday: The First Month-the Best of Alan Keyes
Coming to ArchPundit