Let me just say right now that I am very happy that what is "sane and stable" in the political spectrum is not defined by the majority as "human beings worthy of rights" was during the slavery debate and currently is in the abortion debate.
What the polls, if they can be trusted, indicate is a classic case of groupthink. The same can be said of many people who post on these threads to bash Keyes or other posters without any sense of decorum or reason. In fact, the groupthink here probably contributes to the groupthink there. Groupthink tends to grow more powerful feeding on itself.
Whatever informed or uninformed speculation I can offer about the ills of either the campaign or the detractors of the campaign, I can pretty near guarantee that if I talked about Bush and Bush's campaign like many people here talk about Keyes and Keyes' campaign on these threads, I would be banned for life.
And before you say it, I am NOT saying that anything Keyes says or does is above criticism. I have taken issue with several of his positions and offered my arguments against those positions in a rational manner. That, I think, is the proper way to handle disagreement with a Republican candidate--especially during an election season.
What most seem to be doing, however, in their "criticism" of Keyes, is offer the conclusion (he's a nutjob) without supporting arguments (A+B+C=). It comes across, then, as petty and even viscious.
If you have the time to come to FR and post, why not instead of bashing a good conservative, use that time praising someone you think is more worthy? Do not contribute to the groupthink, and if a candidate is going to lose, rest well knowing that you did nothing to contribute to that negative outcome.
'Groupthink', or the mob mentality, may be one legitimate way to look at this.
But I think a clearer picture is to be had if you just realize that the people of Illinois have been deceived about who these two men really are, and what they truly believe.
The good people of Illinois think Obama is a moderate, when nothing could be further from the truth. He is a radical leftwinger. Any objective look at his record makes this abundantly clear.
And Alan Keyes is not the radical right-winger he has been portrayed as...he is a seasoned stateman with a vast storehouse of knowledge of world and national affairs who would be a tremendous servant of this state in the Senate. He is respected by world leaders, by men and women of good will in the Congress, and by millions of great folks around the country.
This deception has been foisted by the media, and can only be remedied by us taking the truth directly to the voters, bypassing them completely.
That is what we are in the process of doing.