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
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Sure. That's why I'm going for Specter.
The chemicals put hair on your eyeballs. As for your tax-break: get in line.
LTNT, Bob. As usual, you are too kind. Keyes revealed himself as a psycho eight years ago when he tried to crash that debate to which he was not invited.
If he said get rid of income taxes for everyone, well he'd be a SHOE-IN.
How 'bout a comp'd room?
I am wondering if the unabashed support for the man is based on religion only.... because tax relief targetted by race doesn't fit any brand of conservatism I ever heard of...
and it seems as most of his ardent supporters are R.C.
Brilliant maneuver!
We'll cut them off at... our throats!
Yes, that's the ticket! We'll compromise our way to success!
For every demand the left issues, we'll only give them half of what they demand! No, strike that -- we'll only give them a quarter of what they demand!
Why, in no time at all, we'll have them eating right out of our... wallets!
We know this is a winning strategy, because it's gotten us where we are today!
[laugh|cry|vomit|all]
Did he say that or is this becoming FUBAR? Do you know if Kobe Bryant's ancesters were from free men or bond slaves? How about Oprah or Shaq? I don't know their lineage.
This really is getting pretty ugly. Assuming that because you have dark skin that you are entitled to tax relief because all darkies are from slaves.
Always a pleasure talking to you sink.
Let me know how that 60 vote stranglehold works out.
What's with the Catholic bashing? You've done a poll to find this out no doubt. Either cough up the evidence or stop catholic bashing.
No.
Reparations are against our principles, but by a compromise there, can we make up much more than we lose on this front on other fronts?
To quote Alan Keyes "I don't compromise on my principles."
If the price of getting your own freedom from tax slavery is to give it to another group first, you really wouldn't take that deal?
No. I won't take it. Somebody's got to pay taxes, and if this turkey flies, it'll end up being you and me, the fair-skinned ones.
Maybe, just maybe, it is worth thinking about how to advance it in such a way that it severely damages the D party use of it without horrendously violating our principles. I think that is what Keyes is up to.
I don't want to think about reparations. I want to put a bullet through it's head, and bury it on the ash heap of history.
I really can't believe you'd even consider giving a single inch on something so blatantly racist and anti-conservative as reparations in any form!
What about the problem that lots of people are of mixed race in this country, and not all of them look "African?" How is a person going to prove he or she has slave ancestors? That's a lot of expensive DNA testing.
Tax breaks and tax reliefs are conservative principles. Why aren't we upset about the blind getting some kind of tax break, or those over 65? Or what about families with many children? Is it fair that a couple who was infertile but wanted kids has to pay more taxes because they couldn't have them?
Don't let an off-the-cuff comment & some twisting by a media that hates conservatives put you on the defensive. If Keyes were elected, he'd be one of our better senators by far.
If so, then very few of us would NOT qualify.
I'm fine, thanks.
I'm thinking this over. AK may be wrong on this. My wife thinks so! But, it is original and makes we want to reflect. I'm in no hurry.
I believe the internet tempts us all to shoot from the hip.
Best to you,
cheers,
Richard F.
That is what it would boil down to. Surely you know that.
Exactly! I don't know why that is so hard for some to understand.
Because you are sane and Keyes and his followers are not.
any question about support or voting based on religious affiliation is bashing? get real.
take a jump... oh I see you have already...
the alan keyes tax breaks for blacks bandwagon...
roflmao....
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