Posted on 02/11/2008 10:38:50 PM PST by Jim Robinson
Republican presidential candidate Alan Keyes commented last week on the exit of Mitt Romney from the race for president, and weighed in on leading contenders John McCain and Mike Huckabee.
Keyes' assessment? He wouldn't support any of them at the ballot box.
When asked by Seattle radio host Thor Tolo if he could have publicly supported the departed Romney, the former Reagan administration diplomat said,
"Well, no. I've made it very clear with respect to Rudy Giuliani, with respect to Mitt Romney, and others, that I'm not buying into this whole phony business that's been going on. I think that these candidates were reinventing themselves when what they said contradicted their records. The same is happening with John McCain. There's not a single constituency of true conservatives that doesn't have one of John McCain's knives stickin' out of our backs."
Regarding McCain and Huckabee, Keyes said he couldn't support either candidate without abandoning his conservative principles.
Thoughts on Romney
KGNW's Tolo introduced Keyes to his listeners by citing the former UN ambassador's recent statements about Romney's hand in instituting same-sex marriage in Massachusetts.
Keyes responded by recounting how Romney, "without any basis in the law," pushed through same-sex marriage in Massachusetts as governor in 2004, and "ordered the justices of the peace in Massachusetts to perform gay marriage, even though that order itself was both unconstitutional and illegal."
According to Keyes, Romney "had made a promise to the Log Cabin Republicans, and he was just determined, regardless, to keep it, and to make sure they were placated."
Keyes added that "even as [Romney] now tells us that he's always had these [recent] pro-life convictions," the former governor "was so interested . . . in fulfilling his ambition that he was willing to sign into law bills that paid for abortion and tell the people of Massachusetts that he was in favor of a woman's right to choose, and would defend that right, even as babies were dying."
Ultimately, Keyes said, "A lot of people saw through the Romney candidacy — the reality that it was not about principle, it was not about issues. It was about his ambition and his willingness to do whatever it took to promote that ambition."
Comments about McCain
Asked about Senator McCain, Keyes said,
"He [has] betrayed conservatism in the name of bipartisanship, but actually in the name of trying to serve his own presidential ambition. And that includes the McCain-Feingold bill, a direct assault on freedom of speech, on the ability of conservative grassroots organizations to raise money, on their ability to communicate with the electorate."
Continued Keyes, "[McCain] has made a determined effort to shut down true democratic self-government in this country, so that people can't organize, can't raise money, can't associate, and can't communicate about the records of their representatives. And that kind of assault is a deadly blow against the possibility of self-government and constitutionalism in America."
"And we're just supposed to forget about it now," Keyes said, "and listen to his words that his pollsters tell him he's got to say to please and placate people, but I don't think people are that stupid. I really don't," Keyes said.
"The same is true of the border security issue," Keyes remarked. "[McCain] fought tooth and nail against the Minutemen and others who wanted to see the barriers put up and border security assured. Instead, he promoted an amnesty bill that would have devastated the sovereignty of the American people and would have produced demographic changes that confirm the invasion that, in effect, has taken place on our nation's territory and soil."
Said Keyes, "And now he wants us to believe, 'Oh, I'm in favor of strong border security, because I know you people won't vote for me if you know the truth.' Are we that stupid? Have we really become that gullible as a people that we let these politicians change their words and will ignore their actual work and record in the process? I hope not, and don't think so."
In regard to judicial appointments, Keyes said of McCain, "Other conservatives fought hard to get good judicial nominees set up there, and this guy, looking to refurbish or build up his reputation for bipartisanship, torpedoed their efforts to get good conservative justices through and joined hands with the Teddy Kennedys of the world to defeat the effort."
"This is not soon to be forgotten, by people who understand what it takes, the sacrifices that have been involved in trying to elect good solid conservative majorities in the Senate and the House, only to see them betrayed because of the actions of people like John McCain," Keyes said.
"So, I find it entirely implausible that good hearted and good conscienced conservatives are suddenly going to forget that whole record, which in point of fact means that [McCain's] been moving in a direction indistinguishable from Hillary Clinton. The only difference will be the label," Keyes suggested.
Remarks about Huckabee
The interview turned to Keyes' thoughts on former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee. Keyes commented:
"Both Huckabee and McCain stood in their careers for the amnesty approach. Mike Huckabee wanted to extend college scholarships and other benefits to illegal aliens. He even would compensate for slavery somehow in the way we treated illegal immigrants, rather than understanding and committing ourselves to what has, in fact, been a generous immigration policy. But no policy makes any sense if you're not enforcing border security, which our elites have betrayed us on, and if you're not enforcing the laws you then put on the books. It's all worthless — it's all just words — if it's not properly enforced by a commitment to defend the sovereignty of the American people."
Keyes noted, "Neither Huckabee nor McCain cared anything about this commitment until they read some polls that told them how angry people are over the betrayal of American sovereignty that has taken place in the last 15 years and more. We are angry. We're angry at the prospect that they have allowed a demographic invasion that shifts control of this country out of the hands of its people for the sake of a greedy elite that's serving their own selfish purposes. People aren't stupid. They understand what's happened. And they want it stopped, and so do I."
Asked to outline his differences with Huckabee, Keyes said,
"People started getting in touch with me some months ago, and saying that our big hope is Mike Huckabee, the governor of Arkansas, he's pro-life. And then I started looking at his record, and it turns out that he's a liberal on everything else — expanding the size of government in Arkansas; raising the taxes in Arkansas by a net of a half a billion dollars; expanding, as I said, this amnesty mentality, rather than defending our borders and our sovereignty; defending the big government takeover that actually was represented by a lot of the Bush policies on education, rather than championing school choice and the kinds of things that will put control back in the hands of parents and local communities, where it belongs on education."
Keyes elaborated, "These are the approaches of what they call the 'big government conservatives.' That's a term somebody invented, in order to cover up the reality that these people are liberals. And though [Huckabee] is good in his record on pro-life, do I have to sell-out every other element of conservatism? Do I have to adopt approaches that are, in fact, inconsistent with the concept of liberty I defend by defending the innocent life of the child — a concept that sees us as responsible before God, and therefore there's a necessity for responsibility, moral character, all of which big government approaches destroy."
"Socialism and liberty are incompatible, and I think Mike Huckabee simply in his career doesn't realize it," Keyes said.
Keyes ended by commenting on Huckabee's faith in the political arena — which Keyes says Huckabee isn't consistent about:
"It's all well and good to try, when you're campaigning, to get votes on the basis of exemplification of faith, but you've got to apply that to your policy decisions. You've got to think them all through on the basis of their consistency with the godly premises of our foundation as expressed in our Declaration."
Said Keyes, "And I don't think big government approaches do that. I think that socialism and liberalism contradict the implications of that doctrine of godly authority that's presented in the Declaration, because it goes hand in hand with individual responsibility, individual obligation, individual and family empowerment, and respect for the kind of self-government that leaves critical judgment — especially about faith and education and the raising of children — in the hands of the family, not in the hands of the government bureaucrats."
"And so the whole idea of big government conservatism that [Huckabee's] career has represented makes my head ache, it's such a contradiction in terms. It doesn't make any sense. And this is not the only choice we've got, because we can stand firm in the kind of conservatism that Ronald Reagan represented," Keyes said.
Note about Keyes
On the presidential primary ballot in at least 27 states, Keyes holds a Ph.D. in government from Harvard and wrote his dissertation on American constitutional theory. In addition to his ambassadorship to the UN, he served as President Reagan's Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations.
What are we to do, Jim? No third party can win this late in the game.
I’d vote for Keyes. The rest can take a hike.
And Keyes is an expert on people who can’t win votes.
The best expert out there when it comes to not winning votes.
You can pick a Liberal or a Socialist to vote for. I pick the Liberal. Or you can stay home do nothing and watch this country go Communist real fast.
If the Republicans could have just persuaded Mike Ditka to run for Senate, this Obama nonsense wouldn’t have happened.
He is a black conservative. A pariah in media terms. He’s got two strikes against him before he even opens his mouth.
Or if the the RINO wing of the IL Combine hadn’t run Pete Fitzgerald out of office. They didn’t want ethical Conservative reformers, they wanted Obama. They got him.
No matter who you are, you have to admit, Alan tells it like it is. That’s real... unlike the messianic Alfred E. Neuman with platitudes on the other side.
I also like Keys. I would have liked to hear his comments about Fred Thompson.
Thje Harold Stassen of his time. “If not nominated, I’ll run anyway”
I don't think the victim pose applies here. Keyes is very intelligent, but he comes off as a bit wacko when he gets going. There's something about his delivery that's very off-putting.
Unfortunately, it is the first time any of the four of them have taken an absolutely unassailable conservative position.
Wow,He just sold out.”And though [Huckabee] is good in his record on pro-life, do I have to sell-out every other element of conservatism?”
Good point. That is your opinion. McCain comes off like a whacko as well but look where he’s at. I think Keyes is a bit of a victim. I don’t like to even bring up the concept but I feel it is true in this case. This is not say he would be a realistic contender if the issues were eliminated. It is simply an observation from Baltimore on this black candidate.
I pretty much see the candidates just like he does here.
Correction: ...the nail on the head...
Best read of the day.
Alan Keyes said that he wanted fathers who get behind on their alimony/support sent to Singapore to be caned. “...a trip to Singapore to learn how to administer a civil beating.” One could support Hillary and have a better chance of getting that kind of policy.
Interesting. Keyes has Sec of State written all over him, but he’s got a bit too much integrity I think for the position.
If only Keyes had character, eh, Robinson?
He would have cussed out several senators on his first day in office.
There’s Nothing Conservative Or Principled About Helping A Democrat Beat John McCain In November
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1967241/posts
Using the Delphi Technique to Achieve Consensus [or How the Left builds consensus]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1749948/posts
Selling Morality to an Amoral Public
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1939946/posts
Maybe he is actually another victim of the Bush/Rove machine.
I don't think Huckabee's record is so much an issue here as the necessity of stopping McCain.
Everytime I see McCain on the tube I think, "What are other people seeing that I'm not?"
I appreciate his service and some of his stands, but to me he comes off as an ancient, cranky old fart who's this close to a screaming fit.
Great zinger.
Truth is, I doubt Alan Keyes would vote for Fred Thompson either.
McCain’s got issues. I hope to not see them in their fruition.
Alan Keyes: Good candidate on paper. Horrible candidate in 3-D.
So is Dr. Keyes going to stay home or is her going to write his name in?
We love you Alan but your comments are way to late in the game.
sigh.
On the other hand consider the alternatives, A cranky old bundle of raging hormones Hillary, or the Obamination Alternative. A professional protester as president:
Hussein Obama's stats :
Hometown: Chicago
Previous Occupation: Community organizer, Chicago, 1983-88
Lecturer of constitutional law at University of Chicago Law School, 1993-2004
Previous Office: Illinois State Senate, 1996-2004; U.S. Senate, 2004-date
Education: BA, Columbia University, 1983; JD, Harvard Law School, 1991
Birth: Aug 4, 1961, Honolulu, Hawaii
Spouse: Married Michelle Robinson, October 1992
Religion: United Church of Christ
none of the three looks good
Again our family loves Alan always will.
However I have to ask is it principle or pride, Alan.
I don’t know about Bush/Rove, it was the problem that any reformer faces in IL. If you’re not part of the Combine, you’re a part of the problem. They will set up or destroy any and all who aren’t a part of the machine. Fitzgerald didn’t ask for their permission to run, and when he beat their RINO, they tried to destroy him for the general by calling him an “right-wing extremist.” When he beat the corrupt Carol Moseley-Braun, the machine utilized Ray LaHood (the Congressional IL Combine RINO enforcer-thug) to destroy and run down Fitzgerald at every turn. He did an excellent job, and their threats and sabotage led Fitzgerald to say “screw this” and he retired after just one term. I mean if your own party is going to undermine you at every turn (and there’s no way he could switch to the rodents, because they’re 10 times worse), where does that leave a reformer to go ?
And for another example of that from the left, when businessman Dan Walker, a reformist liberal Democrat, beat the Combine candidate in the Gubernatorial primary (future Senator Paul Simon) way back in 1972, and after he upset the incumbent RINO Governor Dick Ogilvie (who was responsible for the state income tax) in the general, the rodent Combine faction declared war on him and ran him out of office after a single term.
McCain's a wacko, but he's MY wacko. ;)
Unfortunately, like it or not, a vote for Alan Keyes truly won’t make any kind of impact on November 4 on any of the final major political party Presidential candidates. Also, anything can happen and probably will happen in the world of politics between now and November 4, so people’s thoughts can also change between now and November 4. I’m more concerned about seriously getting as many conservative voters as possible to go vote on November 4 for truly conservative candidates at every political level. It’s extremely important to truly prevent a leftist domination all over the U.S. and for the long-term. Such a situation will truly create long-term socialism throughout the U.S.!
Keyes has some good points, but then, so does Ron Paul. Listen to either one of them for 10 minutes, and in the first five you will be convinced they are brilliant. Yet, before the 10 minutes is up they will have convinced you otherwise and have you thinking they may be a little nutty.
You know things like getting back to the gold standard and blame America rhetoric from Paul. Then Keyes will go off the rails with a “don’t tax descendants of slaves for a generation”. Keyes has never been in a position where he had to make any across the board policy decisions. He has never had to cast a vote on the issues that can be held up for scrutiny by the electorate. I agree with his analysis of the candidates for the most part. Yet, it is easy to ‘talk’ when you have not had to ‘do’.
He’s absolutely right. I won’t vote for any of them, either. Mr. Wayne Allyn Root has my vote. I don’t agree with him on everything, but he’s closer to me than any of these knuckleheads.
There is nothing good about it and I’m not going to run around blaming people for making their choices. But I will never cast a vote for any of those three. I will go to the polls and vote on the rest of the ballot. His record shows exactly what he will do though. I won’t give that even a hint of support.
He’s right. The three Amigos are not the stuff of conservatism.
Keyes popped that whole reparations balloon though and he didn’t even get elected. Hasn’t been a word about since he made his suggestion.
Well of course Keyes is going to degrade everyone. Isn’t he running for president yet again? Without winning a single delegate...again? Criticizing others without having actually held elective office himself? Ah, so sweet, the luxury of an ivory tower.
Look at the founding fathers' words, and then look at Keyes, and one can't come to that conclusion, as convenient as it is to Keyes.
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