2 Black Candidates Vie to Challenge Obama

Guardian ^ | August 4, 2004 | MAURA KELLY LANNAN

[ancient_geezer]

2 Black Candidates Vie to Challenge Obama

Wednesday August 4, 2004 7:16 PM

AP Photo NY132

By MAURA KELLY LANNAN

Associated Press Writer

CHICAGO (AP) - After weeks of searching for a U.S. Senate candidate, Illinois Republicans have narrowed their choice to two black politicians, a development that all but assures Illinois will produce the fifth black U.S. senator in history.

State party chairwoman Judy Baar Topinka said Republican leaders would interview Alan Keyes, a two-time presidential candidate, and Andrea Grubb Barthwell, a former deputy drug czar in the Bush administration, on Wednesday and then choose one to take on Barack Obama, a black state senator from Chicago and Democratic rising star.

Their choice would set up the first U.S. Senate election with two black candidates representing the major parties. Only four blacks have ever served in the U.S. Senate - and only two since Reconstruction: Edward W. Brooke of Massachusetts and Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois.

GOP leaders picked Keyes and Barthwell after a daylong meeting Tuesday where they met with an eclectic group of more than a dozen potential candidates and settled on the ones they thought could best articulate the issues.

Republicans, who have struggled to find a replacement candidate since Jack Ryan dropped out over embarrassing sex-club allegations in his divorce records, said race wasn't their motivating factor in choosing Keyes and Barthwell.

``These two were selected because of their strengths, not because of their color,'' said state Sen. Dave Syverson, a member of the Republican State Central Committee. ``Voters are smarter than that. That clearly wasn't the intent.''

Neither candidate has deep political ties in Illinois. Keyes has never lived in the state and ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate twice from his home state of Maryland. He sought the presidential nomination in 1996 and 2000, and worked in the State Department for several years.

Under state law, Keyes would only have to take up residence by Election Day.

Barthwell, a physician from suburban Chicago, was deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy from 2002 until last month, when she quit to explore the Senate run.

Syverson said Keyes did not want to talk to reporters Tuesday night, and he could not immediately be reached for comment.

Barthwell said she did not think the committee made her a finalist because she is black.

``I don't think that this committee is playing any kind of race card here,'' she said. ``I think they have looked at the candidates and the strengths they can bring to it and how they position themselves on the issues.''

The candidates have sharply different political views.

Keyes opposes abortion and gay rights, wants to replace the income tax with a national sales tax, and calls affirmative action a ``government patronage program.'' Barthwell, a medical doctor, has a history of supporting Democratic politicians and has publicly opposed marijuana for medical uses in her role as deputy drug czar, but her positions on other key issues are largely unknown.

Republicans have suffered a string of disappointments since Ryan dropped his Senate bid. Party leaders repeatedly tried and failed to enlist a big-name candidate to run for the seat of retiring GOP Sen. Peter Fitzgerald - former governors, state senators and Chicago Bears great Mike Ditka have all declined.

Whoever is chosen now will have just three months to raise cash and campaign against Obama, who has captured national media attention, raised more than $10 million, and gave the keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention.

[ancient_geezer]

I discussed the importance of abolishing the income tax because of its tendency to form a habit of servility in the souls of a people that accepts it.

Servility of soul is bad not only in itself, it is also an open door through which will soon walk the abuses of ambitious government power.

Leaders who find themselves with governmental power over a servile people will be quick to conclude that such a people exist to serve them.

Alan Keyes 1999

[ancient_geezer]

A Taxreform bump for you all.

If you would like to be added to this ping list let me know.

John Linder in the House & Saxby Chambliss Senate, offer a comprehensive bill to kill all income and payroll taxes outright, and provide a IRS free replacement in the form of a retail sales tax:

H.R.25, S.1493
A bill to promote freedom, fairness, and economic opportunity by repealing the income tax and other taxes, abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, and enacting a national retail sales tax to be administered primarily by the States.

Refer for additional information: http://www.fairtax.org & http://www.salestax.org

[RockinRight]

Would Keyes support this?

[RockinRight]

PLEEEEEEEESE let it be Dr. Keyes! I don't think he can beat Obama, though, not because he isn't a better candidate, but this is Illinois we're talking about here...

[GiveEmDubya]

You're right, Keyes probably wouldn't be able to win in Illinois, but the Keyes/Obama debates would be must see TV.

[ancient_geezer]

Would Keyes support this?

Without a doubt!

 

Keyes on Taxes & Government Spending:

• "The income tax in effect makes us vassals to the government – the politicians decide how much income we can keep. No mere “reform” of this slave tax, such as flattening the rate, can correct its fundamental denial of control over our own money. Only the abolition of the income tax itself will restore the basic American principle that our income is both our own money and our own private business - not the government's."

• "Replacing the income tax with a national sales tax would rejuvenate independence and responsibility in our citizens. True economic liberty and moral revival go hand in hand."

• "A national sales tax would also put the American citizen back in control of national fiscal policy. The best way to curtail government spending is to cut taxes, because they can’t spend what they don’t get. But with a sales tax, we could deny funds to a spendthrift government – and give ourselves a tax cut – whenever we make the private choice to alter our spending and saving habits."

Alan Keyes Interview with Des Moines Register:

• Conservative commentator Alan Keyes said Thursday one of the first things he would do as president would be to replace the federal income tax with a national sales tax.

• The Republican presidential candidate said he favors a national sales tax of about 23 percent that would also replace the payroll tax that pays for Social Security.

[No Blue States]

Knock knock? Whos there? Obama. Osama? No,Obama. Yomama? NO! OBAMA. Its locked, you need the Keyes to get in.

I would like to see Keyes get more exposure, by any means.

[ancient_geezer]

I'll go for Keyes any time for any office. We need a hundred more like him.

[justshutupandtakeit]

Just returned from the Union League Club where Dr Keyes was arriving. There was a nice crowd of Keyes supporters there, maybe 50, who let loose with a loud chant of "KEYES, KEYES, KEYES" when he was being interviewed. It will sound like there were a thousand people there when played on the news tonight.

It looked as though he was in danger of being crushed by the media as the reporters were surrounding him without a room to spare.

This could get interesting.

[Saint Athanasius]

Man,

that would be some awesome debates... Go Keyes Go!

[ancient_geezer]

There was a nice crowd of Keyes supporters there, maybe 50, who let loose with a loud chant of "KEYES, KEYES, KEYES" when he was being interviewed.

Could be tempted to move to Illinois. Almost that is.

Don't think I could do without my mountains.

[dmz]

Jeez, why no similar outrage over this blatant carpetbagging as we experienced over a particular senate seat in NY?

Just kidding.

[ancient_geezer]

"What's good for the goose ...", as I see it ;O)

[Hurricane Andrew]

Big mistake to pick Keyes here and put him in an unwinnable situation. He lives in MD for heaven's sake. Plenty of IL voters who under normal circumstances would have voted for him will take a pass. I think Hitlery is the only example of "Senate seat shopping" actually working, and that's only because it was NY.

[justshutupandtakeit]

Come to Chicago we have mountains of RATcrapheads here.

[justshutupandtakeit]

It would not be a mistake. This is the result of the RATmedia destruction of the bonafide candidate so all bets are off. By any means necessary.

Keyes would excite the conservative base like few other candidates and will stand toe to toe with the pretty new RAT the world has fallen in love with.

He understands the difficulty of this endeavor and there will not be ANY significant number of Republicans who won't vote for him because of the residency issue. As long as it is ok with the Constitution (and it is) it is fine with me.

If truth be told his opponent likely came to Illinois specifically to run in the RAT controlled Chicago machine. Not only is HE no native but the position he ran for was a STATE position. This role involves serving the entire Country since it is a US Senatorial position.

Desperate times demand desperate measures.

[justshutupandtakeit]

I will not vote for her under any circumstances, I'll vote Libertine first. The fact that she is very being considered shows the disastrous depths to which the Il GOP has fallen.

[ancient_geezer]

We have a unique solution to too many democrats in our area of the world.

 

"Judge Melville B. Gerry of Lake City, a Democrat, pronounced sentence upon Alferd E. Packer this way: "You voracious man-eating son of a bitch, there was seven Democrats in Hinsdale County and you ate five of them. God damn you! I sentence you to be hanged by the neck until you are dead, Dead, DEAD, as a warning against reducing the Democratic population of Hinsdale County. Packer, you Republican cannibal, I would sentence you to Hell but the statutes forbid it.""

[Tatze]

They should have considered Herman Cain, who just lost his bid to be the Republican Candidate for US Senate in Georgia. I am upset that he lost here, but would love to see him in the Senate, regardless of the State that puts him there.