Some conservative leaders say Keyes campaign is unfocused

The State ^ | 10-3-04 | CHRISTOPHER WILLS

[SJackson]

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - When Alan Keyes was given the Republican Senate nomination, Illinois conservatives expected that - win or lose - he would be a powerful spokesman to challenge his opponent's liberal record and reach out to voters on a wide range of conservative issues.

But with a month to the election, some leading conservatives are grumbling that Keyes is frittering away the opportunity.

They say he is wrong to focus almost exclusively on abortion and gay marriage in his public appearances. They complain that he lets the campaign wander into damaging side issues, particularly his comment that Vice President Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter is "a selfish hedonist."

And they say he does little to spotlight specific votes or policies that might turn voters away from the front-runner, Democrat Barack Obama.

"I think he had a great opportunity to make it clear there was a huge distinction between him and Mr. Obama, not just on social issues but on tax and budget issues," said tax attorney John Cox, who briefly ran for the GOP Senate nomination.

Keyes clearly excites some Illinoisans, and his emphasis on religion and morality may bring new people to the voting booth on Nov. 2.

"I'm impressed with him as a human being, not because of his stand on the issues," Tom Bowman of Vienna said at a Keyes rally last week. "I like the fact he's conservative, commonsense, pro-life. He represents all the stuff I believe in."

But even some Keyes fans acknowledge voters have been slow to embrace Keyes' lecturing style of speaking and his strong accusations - that Obama supports infanticide, for instance, or that he is a socialist who rejects basic American freedoms.

"It's not your typical neighborly, folksy Midwestern campaign. It can be off-putting at first blush," said Joe Wiegand, executive director of the Family Taxpayers Network, a group that helped organize a weekend Keyes fund-raiser with some of the state's most outspoken conservative activists. "I've personally become more comfortable with it, and I think other Illinoisans have as well."

The polls, however, suggest Keyes has a long way to go.

He trailed Obama by 51 percentage points in a Chicago Tribune poll conducted in mid-September. Only 44 percent of Republican voters said they intended to support Keyes.

Keyes said the people who think he is not talking about jobs, education and similar issues must not be paying attention. He said he has discussed them "persuasively and in detail."

Keyes also makes the argument that it is a mistake to think of morality as separate from other issues.

"The relationship between moral priorities and economics is clear to Americans at the common-sense level," he said. "They know, for instance, that if you're dealing with problems of welfare and poverty, the chief contributing factor to the inability to get out of poverty is the breakdown of the family structure. That breakdown is related to moral causes."

Keyes, a conservative commentator from Maryland, entered the Senate race in August after the original Republican nominee dropped out. Republican leaders tried for weeks to find a replacement from Illinois but ended up offering the nomination to Keyes.

Supporters praised Keyes as an experienced spokesman for conservative issues, someone who would be able to keep Obama on his toes.

Keyes has repeatedly criticized Obama for voting against legislation that required medical care for any baby that survives an abortion. He also accuses Obama of supporting gay marriage, despite Obama's statements to the contrary. He has taken a few swings at Obama's support of gun control.

But Keyes rarely devotes significant time to other issues that are important to many conservatives.

The Iraq war and American efforts to track down terrorists have not been a prominent part of his speeches. Discussion of education and school vouchers has been limited. He doesn't devote much time to government spending or cutting taxes and has rarely dissected Obama's eight-year record as a state senator.

To the irritation of his supporters, Keyes has been willing to discuss some issues that turned into distractions for his campaign.

The chief example was his statement that homosexuals engage in "selfish hedonism" so "of course" the vice president's daughter is a selfish hedonist. Many Republican leaders were outraged at what they considered a personal attack on a politician's family. Keyes has also raised eyebrows by saying state legislatures, rather than voters, should choose U.S. senators and that Jesus would never vote for Obama.

Some Keyes supporters see a gradual change in his style - movement toward a discussion of Illinois-specific issues. They hope that continues, especially when Keyes and Obama face off in three debates.

"If he can turn those debates into an eloquent discussion of what he believes in and the future of Illinois," said state Sen. Steve Rauschenberger, R-Elgin, "he may still recover in a lot of people's opinions."

[SJackson]

That you can't answer these questions is pretty telling...I think the reason is you've already decided Obama will be your next Senator.

Ahh. The FR-Alan Keyes thought police arrives. Consider the possibility that I may not have noted your questions, and frankly given the in your face, bigoted approach of the Keyes supporters and campaign on this site, I just might not care. I not accusing you of that.

My first post on Keyes is here. I’ve noted on multiple threads I’ve noted that I will NOT vote for Obama, NOR will I vote for Keyes. I’ll either punch the R hole on the ballot, leave it blank, voter for the Libertarian, or write in Oberweis, since he got the most votes in the primary, Ryan excluded.

Since his arrival I’ve become convinced that at best he’s a thoroughly incompetent politician. He cares far more about moral pontification than presenting the issues voters care about in a coherent fashion. Democrats may be sinners (hope all those Chicago Catholics weren’t listening), gays and adulterers may be hedonists, but the fact is as a Senator from Illinois he’d have to represent all those folks. And aside from being unelectable, he won’t be able to do the job. Based on his campaign he’d be a public embarrassment to Republican legislators. And he can't represent people he and his supporters demean on an ongoing basis.

Worst case, he’s pure ego, milking this opportunity for publicity for all it’s worth.

Debasing Alan in my judgement is the campaign his campaign has run on FR. I recognize lots of folk hate Muslims, and the guy had a Muslim dad and step-Dad, providing an opening for the hate obsessed. I see the Keye’s campaigns efforts to portray Obama as a “stealth Muslim” as pure bigotry, not a political issue. Same goes for the contention that he’s United Church of Christ, thus not a “real” Christian. In a political campaign, particularly one the pretends to be running on moral issues, that smells of rot. Those folk have no business governing this nation. Alan may not be aware of the tactics, but they come from the campaign, and that’s a near disqualifer.

I’m aware that bigotry, whether religious, racial, or base on sexual conduct can win votes. But it’s proponents have to realize it can lose votes too. That’s why it’s usually focused “underground”, where they presume fellow travelers can be motivated. Consider me one of those Alan’s lost.