Posted on 08/09/2004 6:31:20 PM PDT by wagglebee
Republican Alan Keyes ripped into Democratic rival Barack Obama's views on abortion Monday, calling them "the slaveholder's position," as the U.S. Senate race roared back to life in Illinois.
Up at dawn for a whirlwind round of broadcast interviews, the conservative former diplomat started his first full day of campaigning as the GOP candidate by saying Obama, a state senator from Chicago, had violated the principle that all men are created equal by voting against a bill that would have outlawed a form of late-term abortion.
Keyes said legalizing abortion deprives the unborn of their equal rights.
"I would still be picking cotton if the country's moral principles had not been shaped by the Declaration of Independence," Keyes said. He said Obama "has broken and rejected those principles-- he has taken the slaveholder's position."
The remarks underscore the uniqueness of this Senate race in which both candidates, one an outspoken conservative and the other a favorite of party liberals, are black.
Obama, who has been basking in national celebrity since delivering the keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention, suggested Keyes is outside the moderate mainstream of state Republicans.
He said he voted against the late-term abortion ban in Springfield because it contained no exception to protect the life of the mother. He noted that Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and federal appeals Judge Richard Posner, both appointed by President Ronald Reagan, had voted to strike down laws banning late-term abortions.
Asked specifically about the phrase "slaveholder's position," Obama said Keyes "should look to members of his own party to see if that's appropriate if he's going to use that kind of language."
Keyes, who is from Maryland and lost two Senate races in that state, on Sunday accepted the GOP nomination to replace primary winner Jack Ryan, who dropped out of the race in June over embarrassing sex club allegations.
Illinois conservatives, who have long taken a back seat to business-oriented party moderates, engineered the selection of Keyes as the replacement candidate.
Monday afternoon, he was officially listed by the State Board of Elections as the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate. The Keyes campaign confirmed that the Calumet City address listed, in Chicago's southern suburbs, is Keyes' new Illinois home.
Obama said he didn't question the sincerity of those who are deeply concerned about abortion, but he said he believed there are many other issues on the minds of voters.
"As I travel around this state, I don't get asked about gay marriage, I don't get asked about abortion," Obama said. "I get asked, 'How can I find a job that allows me to support my family.' I get asked, 'How can I pay those medical bills without going into bankruptcy."
He said that if Keyes uses the Senate campaign only as a platform "to espouse his socially conservative views, then I think the voters of Illinois are going to be disappointed and they will respond appropriately."
One issue of importance for Illinois right now is delays caused by congestion at O'Hare International Airport. Mayor Richard M. Daley has been pushing for expansion of O'Hare, backed by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., but opposed by Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, R-Ill., whose announced retirement launched the scramble for his seat.
Asked about O'Hare on WBEZ radio Monday, Keyes said he had not yet developed any position on the issue of expansion.
"The problem must be addressed," Keyes said. He promised to "try to reach a conclusion that is in the best interests of the economic future of the state and the quality of life" of those who live in the area. "The one thing I won't be bound by is any existing set of political obligations."
In the same interview, he defended his belief that gay marriage is wrong, brushing aside a suggestion from an interviewer that sexual preference might be biologically determined.
"We as human beings cannot assert that our sexual desires cannot be controlled," Keyes said. He said such a claim would "consign us to the real of instinctual animal nature-- and we are not there."
The race between Keyes and Obama sets up the first U.S. Senate election with two black candidates representing the major parties and almost assures Illinois will produce only the fifth black U.S. Senator in history.
Obama said Monday that there would be "a sufficient number of debates" between himself and Keyes-- both men are Harvard-educated, polished debaters-- but not the seven such clashes he had promised Ryan.
"That was the home-state special," Obama cracked. He declined to set a specific number, adding that staffers in the two campaigns would iron on the details later.
Let's just say that wherever Dr. Keyes lives in Maryland, Calumet City is the polar opposite.
Clinton was invited, by Daniel Moynahan the sitting senator. Keyes claimed that Mrs. Clinton's actions of moving to a state and pretending to represent the people violated his federalist beliefs. But he justifies his actions because Obama is (gasp) a flaming liberal and he has to save Illinois from him. Well, Obama isn't any more liberal than Clinton is. Didn't New York deserve saving?
Did you read Lincoln's words? - Tom
I am surprised at that. Maybe Keyes missed reading the Lincoln Douglas debates. That's highly unlikely though.,p. If you said the things today that Lincoln said about blacks you would be hounded out of office. -Tom
Okay, so you don't see a difference. I do. I can't vote for Keyes or I would. If you can vote in Illinois, vote for Obama and glory in your view of politics.
Well that would be foolhardy for anyone to say while in office. Lincoln spoke as a statesman who recognized the reality of government-sanctioned slavery. At the same time, at least Lincoln condemned it as a moral wrong. Whatever else he said, Lincoln always maintained that slavery was inconsistent with the founding principles of the nation, as they are defined in the Declaration of Independence. It is in this very same manner that Keyes condemns abortion as a moral wrong--completely inconsistent with the liberty we crave and cherish. We ignore the threat at our own peril.
It is impossible, without much forethought and some sort of rational justification, to take people out of their times and contexts in order to compare their words to our time and our context.
True, but the voter fraud in Washington State isn't as bad as it is in Illinois - and of course HERE, the voter fraud helped her. I doubt it will help Keyes.
Exactly. We are starting to sound like Democrats and if you want a Democrat, vote for one. You can't outspend a Democrat and we shouldn't try.
Once again, the Democrats have been doing this for decades. It seems you folks can only find your voice when a Republican does it. Lead, follow or get out of the way.
Woo Hoo!!! This is gonna be good!
"That was the home-state special," Obama cracked. He declined to set a specific number, adding that staffers in the two campaigns would iron on the details later.
Sounds to me that Obama is running scared on the debate issue already.....
I wonder if that many people in IL would watch or even understand constitutional principles promoted by Keyes in debate. The state seems forever on the "big government" at all costs bandwagon.
Yeah, they've been doing it for decades. And we've been criticizing them about it for decades. And suddenly it's OK for us to imitate them?
If the other teams gives themselves 10 points for a touchdown and you only give yourself 6, don't be surprised when you find yourself losing all the time.
So there is no tactic that the Democrats can stoop to that is too low for us to imitate?
That depends on whether you want to win. I prefer to win. Even if it means we use the same tactics the Democrats have used time and time again.
You, OTOH, may not mind having Kerry as a president as long as we play "by the rules" because Kerry is NOT going to play "by the rules". I'd rather have Bush.
Holy bleep! Obama should just keep his mouth shut for the next three months.
Keyes is going to obliterate Obama with thunderous rhetoric.
That's why Obama is avoiding him already.
The media has to wage a "Passion of Christ"-style propaganda campaign against Keyes since they occupy the moral low ground. Unfortunately for them, they will provide the only thing that Keyes lacks, publicity. Just spell the name right.
Damned if they do, and damned if they don't. I'm saddened...
Nice rhetorical flourish. But what, exactly, is the difference between the men who set down those principles in the Declaration, and put their names to it, and slaveholders?
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