Posted on 08/10/2004 12:27:10 PM PDT by BillyBoy
Plus, Obama can use Keyes as a foil to hide from his own far-left positions. Obama fancies himself as Prez or VP, and not being tagged as an extremist is important for him. Running Keyes is a GIFT to Obama.
Mike Ditka, Jim Thompson and Jim Edgar were the only men who could beat Obama, and they didn't run. The IL GOp would have been better off plucking some obscure local sheriff than importing Keyes.
And we've lost all leverage to ever criticize a Hillary move again, which could get ugly for us if she actually runs for prez in 08 since this move has taken away ammo we could have used.
An all around bad decision by the IL GOP that not only hoses them for at least 2 election cycles but could have nasty repercussion on the GOP nationally. And simply shameful that Keyes would say yes, didn't he used to be a respected Constitutional scholar.
Signed and bumped. Donation already sent.
I feel a swell of sadness for our republic if we were relying on this information to beat Hillary in '08.
I don't know about "relying" but every piece of ammo helps.
No offense, but you're not even thinking two-dimensionally, much less three dimensionally.
Obama is a rock star at this point in time. If the GOP had put up some twit, he would have spent most of his time campaigning for Dems in tight races all over the country, helping them and firming up his own presidential ambitions. Now he has to stay in Illinois and fight, but ONLY if Keyes has some money.
If we force the Dems to spend money here, it helps the rest of you, and if we just concede this seat to a socialist, we're wimps. You don't have to help us, but at least quit whining about Illinois conservatives wanting to stand for limited govt, American sovereignty and the right to life. We're fighting!
If you just want to roll over and let Barack *OSAMA* win, then you might as well give money to the *RATS*!
I am *HORRIFIED* that we have *PESSIMISTS* like you on Free Republic!
Keyes can *WIN*!
gasp! "troll-like ones"??? I demand an apology!
Why call him "Osama" when you could just as well call him "Your Momma"?
Both exhibit about the same level of maturity.
nothing strange or troll-like about thinking principles count. Basically all Keyes says is that because Obama is so bad he's willing to violate his principles, to which I say he by doing so he has now made himself not a man of principles. A man of principles would have told the Il GOP to look within and offered to help campaign for them. A carpetbagging scumsucker on the other hand will discard their principles when they become inconvenient. I used to have major respect for Keyes, he was one of my favorite conservatives and a voice I always listened to, this one act has moved him as far in the other direction as possible. It's a shameful and disgusting powergrab move that a man like Keyes should have easily been above. Shame on him, shame on the Il GOP for approaching him, and shame on every FReeper who supports this reprehensible move, triple shame on any hypocrite that criticized Hillary in 2000 and now supports Keyes in his move to be the Hillary of the GOP.
Illinois has some of the richest, most fertile soil in the world. We don't need someone from out of state spreading manure. ;-`
Tell you what, listen to Keyes Acceptance Speech with that link, and then tell me what you think. Then I'll see if I can find you free of any trollish DNA, even if it's from back a few generations. If not, you have my invitation to come see the good Dr., in his very own Land of Lincoln home, for a prognosis.
Nope, I'm out in Freeport.
think about your opponent?
KEYES: Well, I thought, given all the hype, that there was some substance there. Today, however, after saying he wanted six debates, that he'd debate anybody that the Republicans put up, I'm told today he had a press conference, somebody told me now he wants to reduce it to two, ah, to four. I was just told it was two. He says and claims, and everybody claims, he has such national stature and ability.
I step onto the scene, and he's running for the ropes at the side of the arena.
It seems to me we may have a situation here of all hype and no handle. We've got somebody who's like the Wizard of Oz in the famous picture: big head projected by the media, full of hype, sound, and glory, but when it comes down to it, he doesn't want to face the test.
FOR AMBROSE, READ IT AND WEEP.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA You criticize people from out of state (actually I'm a Chicagoland native and still have family in the area) for criticizing Keyes for running from out of state. So according to you it's OK if we run for your Senate seat but we have no right to make suggestions about who runs for your Senate seat. Hypocricy thy name is Unspun.
I read the acceptance speech, frankly it makes it even clearly that Keyes is behaving in a shameful way, not only does it make clear that what he's doing is wrong it makes clear that he KNOWS it's wrong and is doing it anyway. Apparently all that fat cash the Clintons have got for doing things they knew was wrong has clouded his judgement, I guess next comes the book deal.
I don't need your diagnosis of whether or not I'm a troll, you started the insults, that's troll-like behavior. making my opinion of Keyes shameful behavior known in a polite manner isn't troll-like.
Both exhibit about the same level of maturity.
When Obama stops terrorizing *MILLIONS* of innocent unborn *BABIES*, I'll stop calling him *OSAMA*.
If anything, I'm being too *KIND*.
And I was disposed to say, "OK. On that basis, I will look at the record," and they sent me information--because, I'll confess. Like most Americans, I didn't know much about Barack Obama more than what I saw on the Democratic convention. And though he looked to me like a pretty standard liberal with whom I do not agree on most everything, I have to say . . . .
[laughter, cheering]
I have to tell you that from the way he came across at the convention, no, he didn't seem to me to be some rabid threat to the future of the country, and so forth and so on. He looked like a pretty likable guy. Certainly intelligent and articulate. And I saw no particular reason to believe that I should abandon the home of my family and my heritage in order to go and oppose him in this race.
And then I looked at his record, and what did I find?
[laughter]
I found, wait, I found somebody who, as we would expect from the kind of liberalism he professes, has never seen a spending bill he couldn't find some excuse for, and has never seen a tax increase he didn't like.
We find somebody who, in the tradition of a lot of the liberals, would rather that our children were educated in schools controlled by impersonal bureaucracy than in schools under the influence and control of the parents who love them and care about their future.
[cheering, applause]
I found someone who appears to believe that even when a criminal has entered into the sacred precinct of your home with intentions you couldn't possibly fathom, you don't have the right to defend your life and the lives of the people in your family!
[cheering, applause]
And as you might expect in someone who won't defend the right of citizens under the Second Amendment to defend themselves, he doesn't seem to understand the necessity that when terrorists and others come against the people of this country, the President of the United States does not have the right to neglect intelligence that suggests there are threats and dangers to the American people!
[cheering, applause]
And I'll tell you clearly and unequivocally. By the time I got through those parts of his record, I was absolutely convinced that SOMEBODY had to run against Barack Obama!
[cheering, applause]
But I'll also tell you quite clearly and unequivocally that if those had been the only points of difference between us, it would not have been me!
[laughter]
What finally caught my eye, however, and what we have to spend some time thinking through so that we will understand, not just the significance of the decision I have taken, but the significance of this election overall, what we have to look at is what finally arrested my attention and forced me to consider whether I not only had the opportunity to oppose him, but the obligation.
And that was when I learned that he had actually, in April 2002, apparently cast a vote that would continue to allow live birth abortions in the state of Illinois.
[crowd: "Boo!"]
Now, wait a minute. And we have to understand. I hope everyone here will understand what I'm talking about. We are talking about a situation in which, in the course of an abortion procedure, a child has been born alive--is out of the womb, breathing and living on its own--and he cast a vote against the idea that we should not stand by and let that child die!
obamasama and his cheerleaders cringe and tremble when they hear real conservative power like this. No apology, no spin. Keyes will stomp obama and help flush the johns.
Keyes throws a mean Straight Right.
I can appreciate that, but it does us no good to cripple ourselves between then and now by refusing to put our best foot forward in a manner completely consistent with the Constitution as well as the will of the Illinois GOP that was in charge of selecting a candidate. If we follow the Constitution, if we fight for the principles in which we believe, we have a fighting chance. If not, we will only ensure we lose, and if we do, we will unfortunately, IMO, deserve to lose.
On a side note, have you considered how the carpetbagger term was coined? It was originally applied exclusively to Republicans. The Southern Democrats were upset over the fact that people were essentially being selected for office by people who had no business appointing them. They claimed these people would come down from their northern cities and drag the wealth of the South back north in carpetbags. I believe this fear mongering eventually turned out to be unwarranted.
To his credit, Keyes was not selected to run by people who had no business selecting him. Instead, although Keyes was not appointed by a state legislature, since the adoption of the 17th amendment, this is the next best thing. Now we can let the people of Illinois decide whether or not their views are aligned more with Obama or Keyes.
I plan on contributing to the effort to see he gets heard.
Earlier in the speech: "First, as I will talk to you about, because I actually have a clear, and serious objection in principle to the notion that people of national reputation have the right to go around this country, cherry-picking the states as platforms for their ambition. I do. I have said it repeatedly; it’s not a good thing to be done."
Keyes has sold down his principles for expedience.
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