Posted on 08/17/2004 2:38:57 PM PDT by unspun
By The Leader-Chicago Bureau (admin@illinoisleader.com)
CHICAGO -- Republican U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes has just released a statement clarifying what appeared to be a surprising position he took at a news conference yesterday.
"I think a cogent argument could be made for reparations in principle," Keyes is quoted as saying to reporters yesterday, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
The Chicago Tribune expanded:
Keyes gave a brief tutorial on Roman history and said that in regard to reparations for slavery, the U.S. should do what the Romans did: "When a city had been devastated [in the Roman empire], for a certain length of time--a generation or two--they exempted the damaged city from taxation."Keyes proposed that for a generation or two, African-Americans of slave heritage should be exempted from federal taxes--federal because slavery "was an egregious failure on the part of the federal establishment."
The response from conservatives was immediate. "Who downstate will now vote for Keyes?" wrote IllinoisLeader.com reader Randall Mead of Springfield today. "I certainly won't."
This afternoon, Keyes released the following statement, clarifying his position:
I have consistently opposed the effort to extort monetary damages from the American people. As I have argued in the past, the great sacrifices involved in the Civil War represented the requital in blood and treasure for the terrible injustices involved in slavery. In this form the so called "reparations" movement represents an insult to the historic commitment that many Americans made to the end of slavery, which included the sacrifice of their lives.I have also consistently maintained that the history of slavery, racial segregation and discrimination did real damage to black Americans, left real and persistent material wounds in need of healing.
In various ways through the generations since the end of slavery, America has tried to address this objective fact, but without real success. This was at least in part the rational for many elements of the Great Society programs of the sixties, and for the original and proper concept of affirmative action developed under Republican leadership during the Nixon years.
Unfortunately, the government-dominated approaches of the Great Society, which purported to heal and repair the legacy of historical damage, actually widened and deepened the wounds. They undermined the moral foundations of the black community and seriously corrupted the family structure and the incentives to work, savings, investment, and business ownership.
The idea I have often put forward to address this challenge involves a traditionally Republican, conservative and market-oriented approach: removing the tax burden from the black community for a generation or two in order to encourage business ownership, create jobs and support the development of strong economic foundations for working families.
This has the advantage of letting people help themselves, rather then pouring money into government bureaucracies that displace and discourage their own efforts. It takes no money from other citizens, while righting the historic imbalance that results from the truth that black slaves toiled for generations at a tax rate that was effectively 100 percent.
I have also made it clear that while I believe that the descendants of slaves would be helped by this period of tax relief, my firm goal and ultimate objective is to replace the income tax, and thereby free all Americans from this insidious form of tax slavery. It is well known that this is one of the key priorities of the Keyes campaign.
In response to Keyes' statement, conservative Jack Roeser of Family Taxpayers Network told IllinoisLeader.com, "I expect Keyes would say this is one of those interesting subjects to be talked about among people sharing ideas. Reparations is an impractical concept. Everybody in every category has been wronged in one or the other, and you cannot single one out."
Roeser continued, "Keyes is a man of ideas, and I expect he gets into discussions like this that are proper in their proper place, but that he would never vote for reparations. The problem with American politics is that people don't get into deep discussions."
© 2004 IllinoisLeader.com -- all rights reserved
______What are your thoughts concerning the issues raised in this story? Write a letter to the editor at letters@illinoisleader.com and include your name and town.
SIGN & FORWARD PETITION to GOP Leaders: Fund & Support Alan Keyes Senate Campaign!
Get up to date with Alan Keyes, his schedule and campaign.
Be an Obama fan! 8-o Encourage our Socialist Rock Star Barack! Don't back down! Do those 6 Lincoln/Douglas style debates with that 'right-winger'Alan Keyes!: info@obamaforillinois.com
Can't he find some grown-ups to work on his campaign?
There seems to be an effort to take Keyes comments out of context and report the heck out of them. This is the second time it has happened in two days.
There we have what? Just because he provided more details doesn't make it any less reparations, any less pandering, or any less insane.
An Alan Keyes campaign is... an Alan Keys campaign. ;-`
Actually, its not so bad. What's Obama gonna do? Come after Keyes condemning reparations? Heh.
Ping!
It is clear that those we think of as African-Americans (not Kenyan-Hawaiians, such as Barack Obama) have been dealt a bad hand from the beginning and have still never been incentivized out of the harm dealt their subculture. Considering ways to correct this is hardly insane.
American Indians would certainly have something to say about the discussion, though.
Ta da.
Just win baby! Go Keyes!
Ta da.
I pretty fascinating way to turn a discussion, wouldn't you say?
"There you have it."
Yes, there you have it. Keyes is a "nuanced" flip-flopper, just like Kerry.
There you have it, indeed.
Alan Keyes is one of the worst politicians in the entire world.
I have no problem with brainstorming and kicking around ideas which one has no intention of actually proposing, but a candidate mustn't do it in public.
Conservatives believe in individual responsiblity, not collective guilt. Reparations are the antithesis of everything conservatives stand for. Bill Cosby and Oprah Winfrey won't have to pay taxes under Keyes' plan, but lower-income white Americans will. White people whose ancestors may not have even been in America until after slavery was ended will have to pay the taxes for black people whose ancestors may not have even been slaves. And you actually defend this proposal?
Had hoped this might be his point all along. :-)
Thanks for the post!
I'm still trying to understand why this piece should make me say, "Oh, okay. Nevermind."
Uh huh. This sounds like he's backpedaling.
Go, Keyes, go!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.