Posted on 08/04/2004 6:13:51 PM PDT by tame
It's official! Yahoo!
Like that's the only similarity you've noticed?
The moderate Bush crowd will probably abandon Keyes, much like the GOP did in '96 when he was forcibly removed from the debate hall during the primary.
Are you talking about Keyes? He's never been elected to anything, so he certainly has no record to run on.
Obama, OTOH, was a state legislator in Illinois. So, he has a record in Illinois to run on.
Osama doesn't need to run any other ads but that Keyes quote and the word "hypocrisy".
But let's not get carried away with trying to depict it other than what it is -- opportunism.
The good thing about threads like this is they bring out the sleepers who lurk on FR.
Brining Cheney into it was ridiculous, I do agree, after all he was once the Congressman from Wyoming and maintained a residence.
Go Alan Go. It will take a miracle but then again those do happen.
"Is the GOP going to fund him or hang him out to dry?"
I will fund him... not that my $50 will buy a tv ad, though...
Stop!
Yes, He's apparently running for a U.S. Senate seat there (unless he bows out).
Whether or not the GOP puts money behind him, conservative activists should. The GOP's funding decisions are based on a different calculus than the conservative base. FReepers should support him in any way we can. This election was never considered a likely GOP win, but with Keyes, it is certainly a great opportunity to diffuse the race card and score significant moral points for the conservative cause. It will also help to increase Bush's numbers in Illnois by energizing the conservative base.
Plus, its a great excuse for an autumn FReep trip to Chicago! Perhaps we can get Judge Moore, Vernon Robinson and other social conservative firebrands to make the trip as well.
...and hey, the good ambassador just might pull it off!
Re your #17:
"Is the GOP going to fund him or hang him out to dry?"
About a year ago Ed Gillespie alluded to the Manchester Union Leader (NH) that Ronald Regan was an embarassment to the new, progressive Republican Party.
And conservative Republicans had better just darned well get used to it, or go vote for Democrats from now on.
By extension, I think it is probably safe to assume that ANY pro-life Pro-Constitution minimal- government Conservative is quietly considered to be an embarassment and a piriah to the "new and improved" Republican Party as much as Regan was - although you wouldn't know that from the recent Regan Funeral, would you?
Of course Gillespie renounced his sentiments of general contempt for REGAN and his conservative ideaology on the LIMBAUGH show a few days after the Union Leader interview went public (here on the FR in the main, it seems) and the GOP came under a barrage of conservative outrage...
But I think that his track record over the past 3 years speaks a lot more clearly than his rhetoric.
It seems that only PC RINOs get much support from the RNC these days, and I expect that if Dr. KEYES gets any support to speak of at all it will come from the proverbial grass-roots little-people, not only in IL but from all over the Country. If Conservative Pubbies rely on Washington to support him, he will indeed, I opine, be "hung out to dry" on no uncertain terms.
I expect that President BUSH will avoid Allan like the plague, and I will be surprised if he even mentions him publicly. If KEYES beat out a darling RINO for the pubbie nomination, I would not be surprised if the RNC covertly does whatever it can to assure an OBAMA victory. I really do - that's about how much I trust Ed G. and the RNC lately.
Were I gainfully employed and in a position to finacially support any political cause, my money would go directly to IL and the KEYES campaign in stead of the RNC, who I stopped giving to even back when I was working... about the time Gillespie, in New Hampshire, disasociated the Republican Party from Ronaldus Magnus - one of the greatest Leaders of the Free World IMHO - as the beloved old "Gipper" lay on his deathbed in California.
And I will henceforth, in all probablility, have about as much respect for Ed Gillespie as I do for Bill Klinton. And that's that.
So it will indeed be a miracle if Dr. K. prevails over the Dem's darling in IL... but most of us know who to approach for miracles, don't we? (And It sure as h@!! ain't Ed Gillespie, is it?!)
But either way, It's gonna be interesting.
Kudos to Dr. KEYES for stepping up to the plate again!
Ah, but they did elect Fitzgerald, Hastert, and Hyde--all good men.
I think Keyes will attract a lot of the good, decent Illinois residents who have been disillusioned for the past decade and a half. Remember, in 1992, more Illinoisians voted against Clinton than for him, yet he won their state. Since that time, voting turnout has declined below the national average.
A win in Illinois will be difficult, but not impossible. The state has corruption in many places, to be sure, but I think the heart of Illinois is a decent heart.
The difference is that Cheney was running to represent the nation as the Vice President. Whereas, a Senator represents a specific state and it is reasonable to have the expectation that he/she has an intimate relationship with that state.
Are you talking about Obama>? Because he wasn't the establishment candidate. He clawed his way up to a pretty stunning primary victory, in large part due to his perfomance in the debates. Do not underestimate Obama's skills and appeal.
To: beezdotcom
The "carpetbagger" label will stick, precisely because he is a Republican. I'm not saying he can't win, but throwing him into the mix also raises the political cost of a loss. Somebody needs to work that equation out to the nth degree and see if it still makes sense.
1. No, carpetbagger label won't stick because that was applied to whites moving into the South post-Civil War and since Hillary! ran and won in New York, the Democrats can't call such a move carpetbagging without being hypocrites, especially racist hypocrites. Keyes is a black guy with more relevant experience moving into a race where the Chicago black vote will be pivotal. Constitutionally he's only required to live in the location he's elected to represent.
2. "Raises the political cost of a loss"? Ha ha ha. No,
a. it gets the Republican message out to black voters through an effective messenger;
b. it causes the Democrats to have to use up money campaigning against him that they would otherwise be able to use elsewhere;
c. campaigning against him means they have to acknowledge him.
All of these things, even if he doesn't win, are far, far better than just doing nothing at all.
3. Running calculations out to the nth degree is what causes so much trouble in politics anyway. It's the politics of timidity--we're not going to venture anything until we've accurately predicted that things will go exactly the way we've hoped they would. As Russell Ziskey, Harold Ramis's character in Stripes, said, "When I was a kid, my father told me, 'Never hit anyone in anger, unless you're absolutely sure you can get away with it.'"
I set up and managed a series of events for Dr. Keyes in inner city Detroit in 2000.
The response was great. Alan had a great rapport with the community leaders there.
After the events, 7000 people showed up on 3 days notice for an arena rally.
No one should underestimate Alan's abilities to reach blacks in the inner city.
They know he has moral force and respect him.
He doesn't even live here. He's never lived here. Why would any Illinois citizen vote for him? He might get some North-side votes if he lauds the Orioles.
Good, vote for him, he is a communist poser. Wasn't even born in this country, his allegiance lies somewhere other than America, trust me on this one.
All Free Republic lovers of liberty should be thrilled when an articulate person steeped in an understanding of America's Constitutional republic and the philosophy expressed in the Declaration of Independence gets a chance to be heard by hundreds of thousands of people.
Let's not quibble about the win/lose question right now. Hadn't the election already been virtually conceded to Obama when Ryan dropped out? If so, let's just be glad that a controversial, outspoken advocate for liberty has a chance to be heard. Who knows, some future young leader may be influenced by the reasoned arguments Keyes will use to rebut the Liberal Left politics of the Democrats.
Every voice for the Founders' philosophy is needed right now. Keyes, by education and by talent and devotion to the Constitution, needs to be heard. Let him have the pulpit! Give him the vote. Fresh air and sunshine are needed--and the young rising star of the Liberal Left may learn some new debating skills, and a thing or two about America's founding philosophy too.
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