Posted on 01/03/2008 7:58:26 PM PST by Brian Sears
Linda Temme of Le Mars said she was looking for a Republican candidate for president that would not be afraid to speak the truth. She has apparently found her man in Alan Keyes. "I think he is wonderful," smiled Temme as she grabbed some of Keyes' literature on her way out the door after hearing the former U.S. Ambassador speak on Tuesday night at the Plymouth County Historical Museum in Le Mars.
Keyes, a resident of Maryland and frequent candidate for office, spoke to a crowd of about 20 during an hour and a half campaign event that included passionate rhetoric about the moral decay of the country, health care, foreign policy, education, taxes and immigration.
Keyes, who is no stranger to the Iowa political terrain having taken third in the 2000 Iowa Republican Caucuses, hopes to gin up some last minute support before Thursday night's vote. He wants Iowans to know that he's got a different style than President Bush, the man he hopes to replace.
"I was really the only one in 2000 that expressed that George W. Bush was not up to the job of being president," said Keyes. "We have seen failures on frontiers that we could have never expected," he continued.
One of those failures, according to Keyes, was that there was not a strong enough focus on the threat of terrorism.
"We need to get to them before they get to us," said Keyes of terrorists. Our objection is survival and if you want to survive, we have a hard task ahead of us -- when are we going to stop our whining?"
Though he says that the country must stay vigilant and on the offensive against terrorists, he disagrees with the notion that freedom and democracy can be imposed on people, especially in the Middle East.
"I happen to disagree that you can give freedom to people at the end of the gun," said Keyes passionately.
But while Keyes notes that terrorism is likely to be a major issue for decades to come, his first act as the nation's commander would be to sign an executive order that protects the rights of the unborn in the womb. Keyes says that abortion is morally decaying the country.
"I've spent my whole political career trying to rid us of abortion," said Keyes. "We disregard the unalienable right to life of our posterity in our womb."
Though Keyes is concerned for the welfare of those still that are unborn, he's also concerned about the health care system in America. He contends that the current system has all the wrong priorities. Keyes would like to give consumers much more control of their own health care needs and said he'd arm them with medical vouchers and medical savings accounts and add incentives that are focused on preventing disease instead of just reacting to it after it happens.
"We have a sickness care system that is geared to take care of you when you get sick," bemoaned Keyes. "Do we really have a health care system?"
Similarly, when it comes to education, Keyes believes that there ought to be more competition and that more choices should be available to parents and students alike.
"The money we spend on education should follow the choice of the parents," said Keyes.
Keyes contends that the country should abandon the current tax code that is focused on the income tax and instead replace it with a national consumption tax, often dubbed the "fair tax."
"If you wanted to live frugally, you could give yourself a tax cut any time you wanted," said Keyes with a grin. "Do you know what that would do to the savings rate in our country?"
Keyes talked of the concerns over immigration and said it poses a serious threat and noted that the 'rule of law' needs to be re-established in the country. He says he has been to the border and has seen the problems first hand.
"There's not tens or twenties crossing the border but hundreds rising up to cross our borders," said Keyes. "I could have told years ago that this was a problem, a crisis."
Ultimately, Keyes said that there should be a shake up in the leadership of the Republican Party especially the leaders in Congress.
"Democrats did not win the Congress -- the Republicans lost it," he said. "We've abandoned our moral principle. We need leadership with character," he pleaded.
Keyes also found himself a friend in Tim Rice of Cherokee. Rice said there is a very good chance he'll caucus for Keyes on Thursday night.
"He's someone who does not waver to appease people -- not afraid to speak the truth," said Rice. "It's very refreshing."
You mean Keyes hasn’t ascended to Heaven yet?
Keyes is running? News to me.
‘complete conservative’
Completely irrelevant is more like it.
‘complete conservative’
Completely irrelevant is more like it.
You know, I like Allen Keyes. He’s a sweet guy. But a politician he is not. You can’t run all by yourself, and he manages to offend absolutely all the pros and completely isolate himself.
He should have stuck to commenting and editorializing, which he can do very well.
Any campaign should welcome what he has to say. One thing he is not is a time wasting orator.
yitbos
One could also say a complete idiot. I cannot take seriously anyone who runs for president as a novelty.
Actually, that's precisely what he is.
Keyes in LeMars (home of Blue Bunny Ice Cream) is a hoot. Turn off the one street light in that town and he would be invisible in lily white Plymouth county! The lack of black voters in Iowa just shows the disdain the voters there have for Hill.
It sure would be neat if you could articulate some semblance of rational criticism for Alan. His policy positions are flawless and he would make a great president but America just isn’t ready for him yet. Watch him absolutely demolish Obama in the Illinois senate debate, granted that should be an easy task but have you ever tried to nail Jell-O to a wall?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZxiVnuFFoI&feature=related
It sure would be neat if you could articulate some semblance of rational criticism for Alan. His policy positions are flawless and he would make a great president but America just isn’t ready for him yet. Watch Alan absolutely demolish Obama in the Illinois senate debates, granted that should be an easy task but have you ever tried to nail Jell-O to a wall?
I've heard him described as "passionate".
His short-lived pMSNBC show was poorly produced in that he had guests.
He'd do better following Limbaugh's style.
One talk radio host said he had Keyes on an election or two ago, and the whole time, he had an underlying feeling that Keyes was going to leap across the table at him, even though it was a friendly interview.
“It sure would be neat if you could articulate some semblance of rational criticism for Alan.”
He’s combative, mean and sounds like Kermit the Frog on crack.
He’s combative, mean and sounds like Kermit the Frog on crack.
He's a smug, self-righteous zealot with his holier than thou brand of politics... labels his opponents as "evil" and "traitors" etc. Whenever he appears with the other candidates in a debate he's always the side show and the freak.
I see the quality of intellectual debate hasn’t risen much. Sad. Once upon a time we could actually be rational on FR, even in disagreement.
When a candidate looks angry it turns off certain voters. It's a cultural thing.
Keyes used to have a radio show before his 2000 Presidential bid (although I had to do the internet-simulcast thing since it wasn’t carried in Lansing). The show was great — it was a Limbaugh-type show with an occasional guest/interviewee. I first learned of Focus on the Family through the radio show.
Unfortunately, Keyes has to run for office every four years and get creamed.
MD, who still has a “Keyes ‘96” button...
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