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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Not even by DNA testing can you prove that your ancestors were here during slavery. I suppose if a particular family has maintained rigorous family records, that'd help but I can't imagine how such a task would be undertaken. Imagine the MONEY it would cost first of all. Now that I'm methodically thinking about it, it's even more of a bad idea than I thought it was previously *LOL*
I disagree --- every Keyes thread ends up being 1000 or more posts. Keyes has a way of agitating --- getting people to look at things --- he should do this. What other politician can you think of is as able to get this kind of debate going?
It sure is. Makes me wonder about some things.
No it is YOU showing up on this thread and bashing Roman Catholics. WHERE IS YOUR FACTS!!!!! You come here and make a grand charge without ANY statistics to support your claim.
Much like the idea that countries have no permanent friends, only permanent interests, I am willing to consider a relatively small compromise here to potentially major advances on other fronts. Sometimes loyalty to principles is knowing when to compromise one to advance others. If you are so loyal to your principles that you never get to advance them, you aren't very loyal to your principles. This is politics. I'd say real politik, but sinkspur would have another hissy fit.
This is NOT the kind of thing one talks about,when one want to reach what's left of GOPers in Ill.!
If Keyes gets every GOP vote in IL, he still loses unless he can get a whole bunch of non-GOP votes. He has to break into the D lock on blacks to have a chance. This may or may not be a good way to do it. But at least he is trying. He was brought in to shake up an otherwise hopeless race. He has certainly done that.
Why has Keyes ignored the Native Americans? They have a story to tell too. I wonder if we can get the Congressional Budget Office to "score" this little proposal. My off the top guess is 110-150 billion per year.
Do you want to hear some of the things people have said to me about Keyes?
They've called him a carpetbagger who talks out of both sides of his mouth.They know about the Hillary thing and call him a damned hypocrite an worse.Many have said that they'll vote for the president,but just NOT vote for Senator.The hard core GOPers still think that Keyes doesn't deserve their votes because of his trashing the president one during the inauguration week.Many,who used to like him,have asked me if I ever saw his T.V. show.When I say yes.....they tell me that THAT alone,turned them off.And on and on and on.The mushy middles HATE HIM utterly And some told me they're voting Kerry this time and refused to listen further...were REALLY nasty;especially about "THE DAMNED OUTSIDER"!
You want more specifics than that? THEY HATE HIS SPEAKING " STYLE" !
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.
"It is the Sense of Congress that Americans of African Heritage are understood to be encumbered by the Reproach of Slavery cast upon them by our white slavemaster forebears, and therefore, in the interest of fairness and in the name of justice, it is hereby decreed that for the purposes of this Act, "Descendant of Slave" shall be defined as "African-American."
If you can't see that coming, all I can say is that I hope your mother helps you cross the street, and you know better than to go near the traffic on your own.
Not too many politicians that's for sure.
LOL!! Tax breaks based on race, just like college admissions based on race, are "handouts."
And the only attention this will get is "Alan Keyes supports reparations for descendants of slaves."
And what of those blacks who are also descended from slave owners? That'd be an interesting formula for reparations. Or what of those blacks that owned slaves? There were a few. Or what of the noble Indians who owned slaves?
I think you've stumbled upon one of the reasons that Alan Keyes is so hated in certain circles. I'll let you figure out the others.
Who's got the fork?
The idea is nuts Richard, and you know it. You should give Keyes a ring after listing all the downsides, which are many, including fueling racial animosity - big time.
Did Ophrah Winfrey get a tax refund from Bush? What's this with the class warfare? Because she earned her money, she should not benefit from a tax break?
Thank god he isn't Jewish.
Pipe down you!
Because he has feet in mouth disease and is his own worst enemy!
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