Posted on 04/13/2008 8:26:43 PM PDT by Kurt Evans
Former Republican presidential candidate Alan Keyes has chosen April 15 to make a major announcement of his intentions, following indications he has broken with the GOP.
A life-long Republican who has increasingly cited the party's failure to match conservative rhetoric with actual performance in the political arena, Keyes said he will reveal his reasons for departing the GOP at a press conference scheduled for 8:30 pm ET, at the Best Western Genetti Inn in Hazleton, PA.
The event will be video-streamed live at Keyes' website, www.AlanKeyes.com.
Keyes added that he is looking to the Constitution Party as a possible home for his future efforts in politics, including a potential run for president in the 2008 general election.
"No other 'third party' is as well-established as the Constitution Party," said Keyes. "They've been around since 1992, and have built a significant grassroots presence among patriotic, Constitution-minded citizens — with a registered membership of over 350,000. Conservatives have a home in the CP that they can find nowhere else, given the decline in the Republican Party's credibility as a voice and vehicle for conservatism."
Regarding his potential third-party candidacy for president in the fall, Keyes said, "I believe people deserve a choice. They certainly deserve a conservative choice — something neither John McCain, Hillary Clinton, nor Barack Obama can offer voters. All they can offer is empty promises based on liberal track records."
Symbolic of Keyes' break with the Republican Party is a caricature of the GOP logo — upside down — on the front page of his website.
The Constitution Party will hold its nominating convention April 23-26 in Kansas City.
According to Dan Smeriglio, a Keyes supporter who is helping to arrange the event, the former Reagan administration diplomat chose to make his announcement in Hazleton because of the town's strong stance on illegal immigration.
"I understand a good portion of his speech next week will center on illegal immigration," Smeriglio said. Smeriglio and a group he represents, Voice of the People USA, have been vocal in opposing illegal immigration since Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta introduced the Illegal Immigration Relief Act in 2006 — thrusting Hazleton into national prominence in the movement to stem illegal immigration.
Keyes — who has a Ph.D. in government from Harvard and wrote his dissertation on constitutional theory — served as Reagan's Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations, as well as Ambassador to the United Nations Economic and Social Council, where he represented U.S. interests in the UN General Assembly.
conservatives have no place anymore. McCain will or would happily sign the fairness doctrine as President among numerous other things to give it to conservatives, which he hates
If I had a dollar for everyone who cared, I’d be broke...
He is a good man, far too principled for politics.
He's now for certain a dis-appointment to McCain.
Who are some of the folks in the Constitutional party?
The joke is, Keyes is perhaps the most formidable opponent Obama has beaten in an election, so BO's been basically untested.
At least he has a place in history as a political trivia question:
Who ran for U.S. Senate against Barack Obama and received only 27% of the vote?
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Not sure lately, I’ll have to check them out.
The “GOP” is a joke. Take some time to rethink what America is supposed to stand for.
I just did some research based on the party website.
I didn’t see any name that I recognized.
By the way, as a die hard Ron Paul supporter, I suspect I’ll be thrown out of here - or at least ridiculed - and if that’s the case, call this my swan song.
I’ve found better places.
These days? They kinda remind me of acorns or cashews.
They used to be okay, but since they chose Michael Peroutka as their nominee, along with all of the soap opera stuff since, they haven't been worth much.
Of course, Alan Keyes--having his daughter come out as a lesbian, etc.--would fit right in with the estrangement of Michael Peroutka with his stepdaughters.
A heart-felt change or is he just going there because oh, by the way, they need to choose a candidate? Sorry, Alan, but methinks it’s the latter.
I was planning on voting for Ron Paul. No one else impresses me.
Peg Luksik got more than 10% of the vote as candidate for Pennsylvania Governor in both 1994 and 1998.
The highest presidential score? Peroutka got 0.12% of the vote for president in 2004.
If he couldn’t beat Hussein Obama before, what makes him think he could do it now? All he would do is pull a few votes away from McCain that could help Obama get elected president.
I’ve always like Keyes but I won’t anymore if he pulls one vote away from McCain.
I don’t blame Alan for breaking with the party one damn bit.
The Republican party is totally worthless at this time, except for one small saving grace. It may keep a Democrat out of the White House. Conservatives should be plotting ways to overthrow the liberals and take over the party, not make meaningless gestures such as leaving it.
Don’t worry, once the Amnesty Act of 2009 gets signed there will be many GOP people jumping ship. At that point, it will be too late.
Hey,Cyborg,off subject but I saw your byline and want to give you a great big shoutout of good health for evermore.
Riverman,six year melanoma survivor.
I voted for Alan Keyes in the Texas Primary as a credible alternative to McCain or Huckabee or Paul even though I knew that McCain would still take the state. I would have voted for Keyes again in the fall as a Republican.
But he only managed to muster a couple thousand votes in Texas (and I’m happy to have been among them) and he could not sustain a viable third party run.
I do not wish to see either Obama or Clinton become President so I will be voting for the majority opposition party to them as the only credible challenge to their election in the fall.
It does no good to seat Clinton with only 39% of the vote, she will still proclaim it is a “mandate” and run over all opposition once in power.
While there are several things about Paul I like, I can’t get over points like his “competing currency” theory to support him.
I also want to mention that I liked his performance in the debate.
Ultimately I would’ve liked Duncan Hunter as the party presidential nominee.
Unsatisfied that McCain is the nominee? Thank a Democrat crossover voter.
I don’t think he’s principled. I think he’s making a living off running for office.
And for all he cares, the devil with what the results of his actions are; he’ll make his living and that’s what’s most important to him.
Is he just trying to get another shot at Obama after he sold his soul to get on the ballot in Illinois??
Alan, I respected your intellect. But I grow weary of your publicity stunts and your lack of actual assistance in getting anything you talk about done in real life. You’ve not been actually DOING anything that I’ve heard of to help conservatives in the last decade. If you have, somehow you’ve managed not to get any publicity for it.
I won’t ridicule you, but I’ll provide an anecdote. The day before the Iowa Caucuses, Ron Paul was on a local talk show in Iowa, and I managed to get through on the phone.
First, I applauded him for his great defense of the Constitution. Then, I asked him a foreign policy question that went something like this:
Dr. Paul, knowing the goals of the mullahs and Ahmadinejad, if North Korea sent a ship with nuclear tipped missiles to Iran, would you board and seize or sink the ship?
ANSWER: Why would we do that?
That answer told me everything I needed to know about that man as the commander in chief. I know what Reagan would do. I know what Bush would do.
Poor Alan, he’s looking for another Party in which he might run for President.
I like his philosophy and his politcs but he comes across so “mean-spirited”; it turns people off.
However, he should stay out of running for politics and focus on commenting on politics. For whatever reason, he is not able to get enough votes - far better that he should use his considerable writing and speaking skills in encouraging his listeners to act against liberalism, than bother with another losing campaign.
I agree. Running and losing by huge margins is going to make him look nuttier and nuttier.
The GOP must be sure that we don’t let the RNC presume to speak for us—if it doesn’t, and it doesn’t.
That doesn’t mean we should leave the GOP, it means we need to throw over the RNC and take the reins back.
Looking for ideas.
Before September.
If the Constitution Party nominates Alan Keyes, I’ll be voting for him in November.
Why?
Because he’s far and away the best man for the job.
The others don’t even know what America is.
I’ll never cast a ballot for John Judas McCain.
I heard that he recently gave a rousing speech at a pro-life Pregnancy Resource Center fund-raiser up in Minnesota. Apparently he kept to his word having committed to the speech before announcing (another) run for US President. The article said he never mentioned his candidacy so as to not distract from the pro-life event.
Praise God for PRC's the nation over. PRC directors and staff are unsung American heroes...
I can’t wait to hear which party he will turn on next.
He gave an amazing gun rights speech on Monday at the state capitol in Harrisburg, PA. The link to the video is here:
http://www.alankeyes.com/emails.php?id=11
Saturday, he gave another stem-winder to the FairTax Rally that was held in Nashville, followed by a great sermon at Cornerstone Church. I don’t have a link to those speeches yet, though I know they were recorded.
The Republican Party turned on him and his principles, not the other way around.
They’ve Whigged out. Face it.
It’s too late, my friend.
Then why was he seeking the Republican nomination until recently?. He's just a sore loser. Good riddance!
Good riddance!
Another wonderful McCain campaign slogan.
might make a good Arthur Murray dance instructor though
Keyes was brought in to cover for the loss of Jack Ryan, who was done in by the Chicago tribune , for propositioning his own wife for sex.
Keyes seems to think that he has not done enough to help Obama.
He IS a good man. A great speaker. Principled, Conservative, Classy.
Being in NY, most election years I would actually have voted for him given that the Demodog for president wins by more than 10% of the vote. However, given the latest Marist poll showing that McCain and the Demodog are nearly even in NYState, it is actually possible this year (at this time) that my single vote could be the difference between McCain and the Demodog winning.
Under no circumstances if it is even close will I risk making such a stupid choice.
I still like hearing the man speak, though, and I will always wish him well.
Thanks!
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