Party for the President

ArchPundit September 2, 2004 4 Comments

Remember everyone, Alan Keyes is hosting a Party for the President tonight at the Chicago Hilton

It seems like a strange event for Keyes given his past work making sure to say,

I Am Not A Bush Republican

Because, you know that Bush guy is sort of a leftist

Instead of the promised attempt to rein in government domination of education, we have an education bill that ramps-up federal funding, increases federal control, and was cooperatively stripped of all elements of support for genuine school choice and local control.

By aggressively defending racial preferences before the Supreme Court, the administration has directly betrayed those of its supporters who naively trusted it to pursue the unifying goal of a color blind nation.

Unlike the urgency and vigor of President Reagan’s program to renew the morale and strength of our military, President Bush’s program so far seems content to consolidate the disastrous cutbacks of the Clinton years.

Even when a correct step is taken, the administration seems incapable of giving, or unwilling to give, a principled and satisfactory reason. Thus, the decision to withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol against supposed global warming caused by “greenhouse gases” was made for the sake of the economy ? as though a genuine threat of cataclysmic environmental destruction could be ignored for the sake of our pocketbook! Instead of clear and forceful assertions that the United States will not be intimidated by the latest junk-science propaganda of the hysterical, globalist, Luddite anti-liberty left, the administration says, in effect, “We can’t save the world ? it would cost too much.”

And more fun

I’ve been watching closely, and I have not seen a single serious Bush administration initiative that corresponds in reality to the agenda of liberty and of conservative principles. And meanwhile, the most successful policy of all seems to be the unrelenting GOP establishment campaign to suppress criticism of Bush administration policies by anyone trying to speak for the moral conservative voters who, by voting against Al Gore, allowed Mr. Bush to squeak into office despite losing the popular vote

Keyes Transcript

ArchPundit September 2, 2004 1 Comment

From the Herald

It’s rather bizarre. You get free media time and you talk about how the media engages in polemics and insert your own polemics inbetween.

What the reporters missed was asking him a straightfoward question about what his public policy positions were towards contraception. I’m fairly sure that answer–if anyone can get it out of him, might be as entertaining as what you get out of him when taunting him.

It’s the Ice Cream

ArchPundit September 2, 2004 8 Comments

Oberweis suggests homosexuality can be changed like his weight loss:

Not all Republicans were lambasting Keyes, however. Former Senate candidate Jim Oberweis of Aurora said Keyes could have thought through his remark, then suggested homosexuality can be changed like obesity, citing his own vast weight loss in the past year.

You know, I get the argument (disagree with it, but get it) that homosexuality is some sort of choice or aberrant behavior–but like weight loss?

Trib Has Fun With Keyes

ArchPundit September 2, 2004 No Comments

It’s just the SCLM at it again though….

Then again, is all of that the stuff of Alan Keyes’ candidacy? Or is his candidacy about Alan Keyes, himself?

Meanwhile, the Illinois Republican Party has managed to look steadily more foolish. Its convention delegates have been reduced to wondering why Keyes spends so much time studying his dance card of scheduled media interviews instead of chatting with them.

No surprise there. Every cuckolded spouse has to sort out feelings of resentment.

Until someone consults a divorce attorney, though, this marriage uneasily proceeds. With one likely outcome. As Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Tuesday about Republican prospects for retaining a majority in the Senate: “I think it’s clear we lose Illinois.”

The only surprise to me is that it took nearly a month for him to fully implode, but really, anyone who followed his performances in 1996 and 2000 had to know this would happen.

The Illinois GOP didn’t get Sam Brownback or Rick Santorum, they got a full on theatrical nutcase who thinks running a campaign is a teaching moment to condescend to the press.

As he moved to a new place to take reporters’ questions, his spokeswoman suggested he had taken enough questions. He disagreed, telling her, “This is a teaching moment.”

Even better, he was insulting to the delegates and IL GOP officials there:

After days of criticism that he had not addressed the Illinois delegates, Keyes finally made his speech Wednesday morning, hijacking the podium from DuPage County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom, who had only asked for a round of applause for Keyes. Realizing Keyes intended to speak, Schillerstrom admonished him, futilely, to “Please make it very brief.”

Building up to his trademark high-decibel fever pitch, Keyes shouted, “We shall deal with the challenge that is being mounted today to the family structure throughout our country: Gay marriage activists who are demanding that we should take marriage off the foundation of procreation, child rearing, responsibility to the future, that is the true heart of marriage and place it on a basis of selfishness, pleasure-seeking and self-fulfillment.”

The thing about meeting and spending time with the members of the Illinois Delegation is all of them go back to their communities where they can

A) Work hard for a guy who impressed them and gave them some inspiration

or

B) Determine that in the small amount of time he deigned to address them he told them what they should do and rudely hijacked the meeting he lost any potential support he might have gained.

And, of course, it’s now up to Barack Obama to defend the Vice President’s family

Keyes’ Democratic opponent, state Sen. Barack Obama, addressed the issue after a speech at the Illinois AFL-CIO convention in Rosemont. “I have strong disagreements with Vice President Cheney on a whole host of policy issues, but I respect the love he has for his daughter, and I think that it’s never appropriate to make the sort of comments that have been made,” Obama said. “I think it’s going to be up to the Republican Party to figure out whether they reflect an inclusive and generous spirit, or whether they want to reflect some of the bitterness we’ve been hearing lately.”

It’s a perfect response because it defends a Republican while attacking Keyes in a way that most voters will view as positive. That is some stategery that Keyes is showing.

DeClue Objection

ArchPundit September 2, 2004 2 Comments

Wow, way wrong–guy is a Republican who wanted to be the Senate nominee.

Here is the front page of the filing in .tif format.

DeClue is claiming racial discrimination against the State Central Committee and is upset they didn’t interview him for the position.

He’s a gadfly–nothing to see here folks, move along.

Chillinois smelled it from the earlier story

Abdul-Hakim Shabazz Leaving Illinois

ArchPundit September 2, 2004 1 Comment

Unknown if downstate Republicans will confuse his exit with that of Alan Keyes.

Cross Guys Seeking to Put the Keyes Thing in Perspective

ArchPundit September 2, 2004 1 Comment

And failing because they still haven’t found anyone as crazy

I Can’t Stop

ArchPundit September 2, 2004 2 Comments

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

ArchPundit September 2, 2004 2 Comments

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.”

Illinois GOP Lukewarm on Keyes

ArchPundit September 2, 2004 No Comments

Yesterdays article appears to be dated.