Alan Keyes on Reparations (AK contextualizes his comments)

The Illinois Leader ^ | 8-17-2004 | Chicago Bureau

[unspun]

Alan Keyes on Reparations

Tuesday, August 17, 2004

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.

[blanknoone]

If seasoned citizen refers to me as a kid in a benevolent way, I will gladly accept it. If someone uses it as a way to demean me, I will react. I post people's replies back to them all the time when I think they are being hypocrites. And it was your boy who called in the mod. Given that they saw his side, I thought they should hear mine.

I've said my piece and goodbye to your friend on another thread where he was checking to see if I was troll. Let it lie, its over.

[nopardons]

Hmmmmmmm...he's NOT "my boy",you EDITED his post,and you still haven't a leg to stand on.

But beating a dead horse grows stale,especially when circular logic and lies begin to be your only form of refutation.

[NYCVirago]

Campaign aides said Keyes would meet Wednesday with wealthy entrepreneur and outspoken conservative Jack Roeser to discuss the issue.

Roeser told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he had planned to make an independent expenditure of $100,000 to publicize Democrat Barack Obama's state Senate record on taxes and other issues and compare it to the views of Keyes. But he said he would not if Keyes backs reparations.

"I feel very much like the average conservative guy about this," Roeser said. "This will not fly. Mr. Keyes is a philosopher and he cannot let loose talk sit there, because it's very disturbing."

Thanks for posting this. Roeser was such a fan of Keyes he was willing to give $100,000 to help his campaign, and even he's repelled by Keyes' reparations nonsense. And I'd venture to guess that most conservatives in Illinois are going to feel the same way as Roeser once they hear about this.

[JustPiper]

For all those quick to judge Alan and be fickle changing your vote after one erroneous article:

IMPORTANT:

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 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:

[JustPiper]

IMPORTANT:

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 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:

Keyes ping list, courtesy of FRN-IL. Just let me know if you want on/off this list! Also...

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 to do those 6 Lincoln/Douglas style debates with that 'right-winger' Alan Keyes!: info@obamaforillinois.com & bobama@aol.com and For Full Events Calendar

[JustPiper]

He responded to the erroneous Times/Tribune lib papers, how is that flipflopping?

[JustPiper]

McCULLOUGH: Barack's Back-pedaling

Barack's Back-Pedaling -Mens News Daily

Obama Truth Squad duels him on national level

[NYCVirago]

For all those quick to judge Alan and be fickle changing your vote after one erroneous article:

Did you even bother to read the article we're talking about? You just posted a link to the very same article as if it's new information, when we have been discussing it for 750+ plus posts.

[Non-Sequitur]

My guess is his next step is to head to downstate and try to win over those voters.

Pitching reparations is a strange way of trying to do that.

[Don Joe]

Thanks for covering me, ya did good!

I ran into the guy in another thread, found that I actually agreed with him on something, and posted a congenial reply to him before working my way through the thread, leaving a number of replies to several posters.

After I got towards the end of the thread, and running into the replies to my replies, I found one from him, just really spooky-creepy-strange. Gave me the creeps.

And to think that just a few hours ago he was trying to get me to divulge my RL info to him. Yeah, right.

PS: I'm old enough to be his father, but if I was his father, I'd change my name and move to another planet. ;)

G'nite!

[mhking]

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.

Keyes' "clarification" shows that he is pandering. Period.

As I said last night, I lost a bit of respect for Keyes yesterday.

[mhking]

He responded to the erroneous Times/Tribune lib papers, how is that flipflopping?

He insisted that his "plan" is not the same as "reparations." Then he went on to describe a plan that essentially is a reparations plan.

His plan is diametrically opposed to his stated 2002 position.

That, my friend, regardless from any ideological contortions you may put yourself through, is a flip of Kerry-like proportions.

And just because he's a conservative Republican, doesn't make it any less wrong than when a moonbat tosses out a reparations plan. It still wrong.

[Aquinasfan]

Anyone catch the interview on Scarborough last night? Can you give me the highlights?

[Don Joe]

As I said last night, I lost a bit of respect for Keyes yesterday.

It really does suck, because I had a lot of respect for him until I found out about this brainfart. I supported him for years, chewed people's ears off telling them about him... I admired the guy, and now I guess I feel somewhere between really let down hard, and betrayed.

[Catspaw]

I saw most of the interview. Joe threw Keyes softballs and Keyes gave his talking points. He reiterated his reparations plan, he said he was against quotas, but was for affirmative action, restated his position on abortion. Nothing new from what I saw.

[FITZ]

Wrong again --- she remains in federal custody. Check this thread.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1193718/posts

[Aquinasfan]

Do it as charity. Please. Don't propose it as government policy.

I see a lot of problems with the concept when it is put into practice, but I don't think that the idea is intrinsically evil. Do you?

Would you oppose reparations for the Jews, or their descendants, who were victims of the Nazis?

[Luis Gonzalez]

"You're breaking Ronald Reagan's 11th Commandment even as we speak."

Howlin, if you don't mind, I'll expand on your quote:

"I start here today my friends because some of you may believe that the Clinton era was the most dangerous era that we faced as Americans and conservatives in the history of our country. I do not believe this. I believe that we are right now in the most dangerous era that we have faced as conservatives in America. And though I know it will be difficult for some of you, the sub-heading of this speech could very well be, "Why I am not a Bush Republican." And I want to make that clear. I want to make it clear from the outset, so you know where I stand and where I'm coming from and so I don't have to pull my punches here because I won't." -- Alan Keyes

Alan Keyes considers George Bush more dangerous to America than Bill Clinton, so don't you DARE ask anyone to uphold Reagan's 11th. commandment when it comes to Alan Keyes.

Alan doesn't pull punches?

Well then, neither do I.

[onyx]

Luis, for TRYING to correct the likes of Antonius, you win this... LOL

[unspun]

I saw most of the interview. Joe threw Keyes softballs and Keyes gave his talking points. He reiterated his reparations plan, he said he was against quotas, but was for affirmative action, restated his position on abortion. Nothing new from what I saw.

That's funny. I listened attentively and I don't recall "reparations" being a part of the interview at all. The questions and answers were about the "carpetbagger" charge. Keyes explained referring to how the egregious violation of our nation's founding principles, of Obama's extreme votes, including against the Infant Born Alive bill, leave federalism intact. Also how this is different from Hillary shopping for New York (most rich women simply like to shop in New York, btw) while applying the politically coercive power of the White House.

He explained these things in reference to the Illinois state motto: State Sovereignty, National Union, which is maintained by that state sovereignly deciding they wanted him.

I thought tax-reparation might be addressed but didn't hear it.

Scarborough played very poker-faced and said that he'd also interview the Obamanation.