Posted on 08/07/2004 6:29:11 AM PDT by MikeJ75
CARBONDALE -- Alan Keyes, a Maryland resident, has agreed to run against state Sen. Barack Obama, but will not announce his intentions until Sunday, a senior GOP official said Friday.
Obama and Keyes are polar opposites on the political spectrum. They are connected as being two black Harvard alumni. Beyond that, the two men vying for the U.S. Senate seat of retiring Sen. Peter Fitzgerald are very different.
For one, they do not even live in the same state.
Obama, a state senator of Illinois resides on the south side of Chicago. Keyes, a former presidential hopeful and talk show host, is a resident of Maryland.
The Constitution requires only that a candidate for the U.S. Senate be a resident of the state in which he is running on Election Day.
Keyes himself denounced parachuting into another state to run for office during a March 2000 interview on Fox News.
"I deeply resent the destruction of federalism represented by Hillary Clinton's willingness to go into a state she doesn't even live in and pretend to represent the people there," Keyes said. "So I certainly wouldn't imitate it."
Parachuting in for a campaign was an issue that struck many in Carbondale.
Carbondale Councilman Steven Haynes said while Keyes is a good candidate, his out-of-state status makes him a questionable pick to represent Illinois.
"In general I think that he is a good candidate, a good individual and a good role model for African-Americans and all people in general," Haynes said. "As far as it concerns the U.S. Senate race, I think we had some very good and qualified home-grown candidates. I think we could have chosen someone who had themselves grounded in the state of Illinois, who knew the concerns of the residents of this state and would be able to help us in that respect."
Haynes said the focus of both candidates should not be the center of the campaign.
"I think the focus has been placed more upon the race card than it is on the substance of both individuals and what they bring to the table," Haynes said. "African-Americans are just like anybody else -- we have several different principles that we believe in."
Kevin Clark, a community organizer for Attucks Community Service Inc., said he believes Keyes was selected because top-level Republicans in Illinois are not willing to risk a defeat.
"They were looking for someone they could sacrifice," Clark said. "If Keyes loses, none of the Illinois Republicans lose anything. What is he going to do if he loses? Move back to Maryland? If he does, it will signal that he wasn't serious in the first place.
"Most people vote because there is a bond with the candidate. You don't just show up and say, 'Here I am!'"
Clark said he was not sure of Keyes motivation for running, but he said a run in a high-profile Senate race would keep Keyes in the forefront of public attention.
"I hope that people in Illinois realize that it is not so much about being a Republican or a Democrat -- it is about the best person to do the job," Clark said. "How can someone from the outside do a better job than someone here from the state."
Clark said he sees motivation of the Republican Party to split the black vote, which is predominately Democratic.
"Yes, both are African-Americans, but once people look beyond that it will be about the issues," Clark said.
If Keyes accepts, Illinois will find itself in a historic race between two major-party African-Americans vying to capture the
The winner of the election will be the fifth black U.S. senator in history.
Delores Albritton said while looking at the records of Obama, a populist-leaning liberal, and Keyes, a hard-core conservative, that Obama will do better among blacks.
"Besides that, it seems like Keyes just popped out of nowhere," Albritton said.
Keyes will be entering the race with less than 90 days until the general election. Obama has been campaigning in Illinois for 18 months. In March, Obama won the state primary in a six man field with 54 percent of votes cast.
Inside Arnett's Barber Shop in Carbondale, politics was not the hot topic of conversation. It is hard to describe a candidate who is still a mystery to many Illinois voters.
Darnell Sawyer, an SIUC student, said Keyes reminds him of a former candidate.
"To me he's just like Al Sharpton -- he's just a talker," Sawyer said.
Moshe Anderson of Carbondale said he based his opinions on what he had learned through his life experiences.
"What I've been taught is that the Republicans stand for the rich, the Democrats stand behind the poor and the other parties don't even matter," Anderson said. "It is a mess -- the two groups don't cover everybody."
Anderson suggested an interview with his political adviser -- his mother, Shaekeyah Yehuda.
Over a cell phone, Yehuda's opinion of the senate race came through loud and clear.
"I think is politically motivated. Why else would you bring in someone from another state? It's crazy," Yehuda said. " Obama is a strong, clean-cut candidate. He is a breath of fresh air."
She said she has seen Obama and knows people who are familiar with his family. Yehuda knows what church he attends on the south side of Chicago, and she knows which beauty salon his wife frequents. She said people know him because he is close to them, not in another state.
However, she is unfamiliar with Keyes.
"I don't know anything about him. To tell you the truth, I've never heard of the man," Yehuda said. "That is why I don't think the man is qualified to represent the state of Illinois -- he doesn't know anything about us."
But he cannot win this election. The Democrats will play over and over his criticism on Fox News of Hillary Clinton for parachuting into New York. And they will accuse him of hypocrisy. Keyes needs to come up with a convincing explanation of how what he is doing is different from what Clinton did.
Do two wrongs make a right?
Ah yes I knew there was something strange... Keyes' political forays never quite seem to be straight up.
I agree. if Obama was a weak candidate, Keyes would have a good shot. However, Obama is not a weak candidate.
No but two(2) Wright's make a plane.... Sorry, I couldn't help myself.
I've been a Keyes supporter for years. I had a picture of him in my office for more than three(3) years. Unfortunately I think you are correct, they will hammer him on his NY statements.
I wish he would have moved to California instead.
What is wrong with Keyes running. Is he breaking the law?(No). Is he 1000% better than Obama?(yes).
The carpetbagger issue will die down and if Obama refuses to debate he looks likes a coward and I think most people know that Alan Keyes is a much debater and will clean Obama clock.
Gee, wonder what life experiences taught that lesson?
Post-Internet, "All politics is national."
I will send Keyes money for his campaign, and I don't live in Illinois.
I will not be alone.
BTW, Keyes will bring out issues to Illinois voters that would have not been talked of if Obama had his unopposed coronation.
Yes. Would you say this change of opinion of his is a "flip" or a "flop"?
All Keyes has to say is he just following the Robert Kennedy model.
Now do you agree with Alan Keyes most of the time or do you agree with Obama on the issues.
"What's your problem? I'm just following in the footsteps of Bobby Kennedy and Hillary Clinton."
Yep. That'll fire up the GOP base.
Yep. That'll fire up the GOP base
Wrong NS, it didn't matter that Robert Kennedy was not from NY, what matters is the issues.
Now who do you agree with on the majority of the issues, Alan Keyes or Obama.
I agree with Keyes overwhelmingly on the issues, and I wish he would run for something he could win in a state in which he lived. But I don't want an imported East Coaster who's going to come here, get his butt handed to him on a plate, and then leave the state and the state party in worse shape than when he arrived. And I'll lay money that that's exactly what's going to happen.
Unlike some of the Keyes boosters, I don't set aside my principles when it's politically expedient. That a dem trick, and I want no part of it.
That does leave it open for that question. I think the Dane response might be good at defeating the attack.
I'm not much for carpet baggers. We have one of our own in NY. Their should be a two(2) year residency requirement. If you never lived the pain how can you represent it?
LOL! Priceless.
And giving Obama an unopposed cornonation is a better deal for you?
Huh, I guess you think that Obama shouldn't be challenged on an intellecual political level.
As I stated on other threads on this subject:
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."
Alan Keyes is a 21st Century man who holds deeply to the philosophy of Washington, the Adamses, Madison, Jefferson, and all the other geniuses who made the 'miracle of America' come into being. Not only does his Harvard education in constitutional government qualify him for expounding on that philosophy, but he has a Creator-endowed intellect and ability to articulate principles that few others possess. More power to the Illinois GOP for its courage in putting him opposite Obama in the debate arena!!
On some of the so-called "social issues" of the day, Keyes ability to frame those issues will strike a chord with African Americans, as well as other socially conservative groups.
And, if "Divine Providence" played a part in the founding of this "Beacon of Liberty" (America), perhaps he's still alive and well and has found a purpose for Alan Keyes in reframing those ideas for Illinois and America in 2004!
Bobby Kennedy and Hillary Clinton had the smarts to do their carpet-bagging in strongly Democratic states. Keyes has decided to do the same, but happens to be in the wrong party for it.
Now who do you agree with on the majority of the issues, Alan Keyes or Obama.
It isn't Keyes' positions that I disagree with. It's his lack of principles.
On the contrary. I think that running not only fails to challenge Obama, but essentially cedes the next two important elections to the dems as well (Governor and Senator in 2006). Keyes will come, get beat, and the state party will be in even worse shape. Keyes will leave, the national party will see even less local talent on which to pin their hopes (and their dollars), and we'll be guaranteed dem domination until 2010.
Bringing in Keyes is a bad short term fix to a problem that requires a longer view.
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