Posted on 08/08/2004 6:26:50 PM PDT by Jeff Blogworthy
Republicans in Illinois have been scrambling to the fill the void left by U.S. Senate Nominee Jack Ryan. The Republican resigned amid a sex-scandal controversy, but now Republicans have chosen a new candidate.
Nearly six weeks of looking for a replacement U.S. Senate candidate came to an end on Sunday afternoon.
Former presidential candidate and current Maryland resident Alan Keyes has thrown his hat into the Illinois Senate Race where his biggest opponent will be Democrat Barack Obama.
“In a perfect setting this would have not unfolded obviously. Is he the right guy? We’re going to know that November,” says Senator Dan Rutherford.
U.S. Republican Representative Dan Brady says while Keyes has criticized other candidates for running in states where they don't live, these circumstances are different. And that Keyes will have to try to appeal to voters.
“Not just republicans, but to try to resonate with independent voters. I think one on one, it will be very interesting,” says Brady.
And though Keyes is not a state resident yet, officials with the Republican State Committee say it's just a minor detail.
“He will establish a residency in Illinois, which is not hard to do. He just signs a lease somewhere and moves to Illinois,” says Mary Alice Erickson from the Republican State Committee.
And Senator Dan Rutherford says Keyes is more in tune with local issues than others might give him credit for.
“I don't think that on the national scope Illinois issues aren’t too different from those of Maryland or California,” says Senator Dan Rutherford.
“This will no doubt be an uphill battle for Alan Keyes,” says Brady.
So for now, Keyes will focus on campaigning aggressively in Illinois and making up for lost time.
This is the first U.S. senate election with two African American candidates representing the major parties.
So no matter who wins, Illinois will definitely elect it's fifth black senator come November 2nd.
Does he have a chance?
YES!!!!
That said, Keyes will blow the dabate wide open, and will force Obama to expose himself for the liberal he is. It won't help Keyes win, but what it will do is take the "shine" off of Obama on a National Level.
Obama's appearance at the DNC has made him a rising star, and has painted him as a "moderate" in the national press -- Keyes will force Obama to move himself to the left and hopefully Republican's can use that against Obama in the future when he runs for National Office.
Beats me, I don't know Illinois politics, but I am willing to bet he is the best possible chance Republicans have. It would be great to see a principled man like Keyes in office.
From some of the information about Obama that Hastert discussed this morning it would seem that Obama is a CRIMINAL CODDLING LEFTIST.
Do you honestly think that, after the primary and his speech at the DNC, they don't know that by now?
"That said, Keyes will blow the dabate wide open, and will force Obama to expose himself for the liberal he is. It won't help Keyes win, but what it will do is take the "shine" off of Obama on a National Level.
Obama's appearance at the DNC has made him a rising star, and has painted him as a "moderate" in the national press -- Keyes will force Obama to move himself to the left and hopefully Republican's can use that against Obama in the future when he runs for National Office."
With that said, I think if the Illinois Republican Party thought about the future of Obama, then that was really smart.
Yes he is, and that is why Keyes was picked to go against him.
The reality is that no one short of a Popular Ill Icon (IE DItka) is going to beat Obama. It is probable that Obama will beat Keyes by a large margin.
But, Keyes will force Obama to expose his liberal views and liberal past, and that will weaken Obama on a national level in the future. If Keyes does that , then he will have done his job.
No.
We've talked about this on other threads, but I think this is a very bad idea. Keyes couldn't even win in his own state, and he'll not advance his cause by being the first(?) to lose a Senate run in two states. Why should anyone take him seriously after that?
That, and if we're going to be honest we can't use the "carbetbagger" tag against Hillary.
Sure, he'll get some press in the short term, but in the long term he only hurts his own ability to get the message out there.
Bad idea all around. The Illinois GOP is stocked with losers, top to bottom.
Have to give Keyes credit for doing his part for his country. It's going to get very ugly against him. I wish him well.
I am surprised Keyes agreed to run, considering the odds. But he did the same thing for Prez 2 times. He feels the messages he believes in are greater than personal defeat. We all have to given him credit, this takes courage.
Good point. I do loathe what the 17th amendment has done to the nature of our Republic.
For Keyes to have any chance, the Republicans have to find him a spot at the RNC.
Obama is not exactly a SHRINKING VIOLET himself!
He is the best candidate available. Having never heard him speak outside of brief tv sound bites I was very impressed with his performance today. He swiftly and surely outlined a hell of a fight for the lil socialist sweetie to have to face. Essentially declaring that the Liberal Democrat agenda is an implicit rejection of the principles of the Declaration of Independence.
These include rights denied by the RATS:
1) the right of self defense as quaranteed by the 2d;
2) the right of life now denied by partial birth abortion;
3) national defense without guilt;
4) the right to keep the fruits of your labor from excessive taxation.
He also alluded to the place of Illinois in the securing of Freedom through the principles of Abraham Lincoln; the sanctity of marriage and the role of the family in a good society. Its importance he illustrated with a bit of his own's family's history which took place in Maryland though he was an Army brat raised in many places which resulted from his dad's career. He spoke of the difficulty in going away from Maryland and said that the choice was not made easily or without prayer. But the needs of the Nation drove his ultimate decision and the need to resist the forces represented by Obama and the RATS.
It was an impressive piece of oratory in the grand style of the American Republic touching responsive chords within the hearts of most of the audience. I was glad I went and can see that given a fair shake by the media Dr. Keyes will be all Obama can handle and then some. Certainly no other candidate can move and enthus the audience as can Dr. Keyes.
He didn't promise a Victory but he promised Obama a BATTLE.
I didn't think that it was a wise move for Dr. Keyes to enter the race, but, now that he has, I'm unabashedly behind him. I doubt that he will win, but stranger things have happened. Don't give up hope.
Dr. Keyes is one of my favorite public figures. I think of him in a sense as the successor of Jesse Helms, who was a shining light of encouragment to all of us little guy conservatives during dark times. Senator Helms was one of few, sometimes the only one, who would pointedly say what needed to be said, and wouldn't sacrifice truth to the idol of political correctness.
I wish Dr. Keyes the best. And, win or lose, he's still a giant in American politics today.
Best wishes to you.
No. But the debates should interesting.
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