Posted on 01/04/2008 8:29:29 PM PST by TBP
January 6, 2008
DES MOINES, Iowa — In the wake of allegations that Iowa Republican Party officials violated state law by refusing to release the number of votes cast for presidential candidate Alan Keyes in the Iowa caucuses, one Iowa caucus-goer says he saw a C-SPAN camera crew record party officials tabulating votes for Keyes.
Said the witness, “I personally saw 2 [votes for Keyes] out of about 100 being recorded in 2 districts in Carrol, Iowa. The C-SPAN camera crew was there, and they zoomed in to this particular ballot counting. They followed the head ‘counter’ as he went over and called in the results to the State office. He did give the Keyes votes and waited to be confirmed before proceeding, just as he did with all the other candidates. It is the Iowa State GOP that is withholding the election results.”
A state party spokesperson has claimed the party has no tally of votes for Keyes that can be released to his campaign, and told campaign leaders that party officials would get back to them “in a few days” with a total. Meanwhile, the votes received by all the other presidential candidates were released almost immediately after the caucuses.
The votes for all GOP candidates except Keyes were tallied electronically. Keyes’ name was left out of the electronic counting because — according to one party official — Keyes announced his candidacy “too late” to be included.
Keyes launched his presidential campaign on Sept. 14, nine days after Fred Thompson entered the race.
The Iowa caucus attendee who says he saw C-SPAN videotape evidence of votes for Keyes wrote the following at the Keyes website, AlanKeyes.com:
“Some people who post here . . . do not understand the seriousness of the blackballing that is going on. When the mainstream media does it, it is a shame — it shows that they are not real news people, but hacks, and they should be shamed at least. But when the political party itself blackballs a candidate, it is criminal! They not only violate the candidate, but also every single voter, every citizen! Most importantly, they trash our democracy!”
The poster continued, “I really thought a huge lesson was learned with the ‘chad incident’ [in Florida’s 2000 general election for president]. Apparently the ‘lesson’ wasn’t learned — votes can still be thrown away.”
“We need to all ‘howl to the rooftops,’” the writer said, “before more of these primary states’ GOP elitists think they can do the same. We need ‘fire in our bellies’ and maybe this is it. We stood by while our Grand ‘Ol Party was overrun by RINO’s, NeoCons, libertarians, ‘Big Tent’ idiots and [others], and now we reap what we have sowed ... Soviet styled elections!”
I’ve listened to a number of Keyes speeches and he makes good sense. Sometimes he does get strident and preachy but that is no reason to disavow the truth of what he says. He would do well as secretary of education.
Don’t pull the “black folk” excuse on me after I suffered through the Dems’ debate last night and after the results of the Iowa Dems caucus.
Dr. Keyes has those gems, and those gems, rather than his color, should have been his message. “Excuse me, let me finish,” would have sufficed when he was interrupted.
Right, like he was 'accidentally' prevented by force from engaging in the presidential debate years ago? Remember that?
I'm not a Keyes supporter this time around, but let's face it- the GOP establishment hates the guy and what he stands for.
Several presidential primary campaigns before, in Iowa in 1996 I believe, on the GOP side, they apparantly tinkered with some things and fooled around (and got caught).
The IOWA GOP officials refused too candidates' representatives, for Buchanan and Dornan (also anti-establishmentarian like Keyes this time) access to a tabulation room, but allowed access to reps from Dole and some other RINO centrist nitwit. This is the nature of the business with the GOP in many parts of the nation.
When they are threatened, they start up all kinds of things from the big bag of tricks.
JMHO... but, whether you care for him or not -- whether he has a chance to win or not -- every candidate's tally should be reported. If not, we are only a few steps and a bit of media intervention away from not having any choices left.
Yeah. Those seven votes have them shaking in their Guccis.
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