Vanity: Alan Keyes for Senate

Aug 23, 2004 | Jim Robinson

[Jim Robinson]

I'll make this short and sweet (kinda like this is your brain, this is your brain on crack - any questions?).

a) Alan Keyes is an America loving, Constitution loving, Liberty loving, pro-life ultra conservative. We'd be ^damned lucky to have him in the Senate if we could get him there.

b) Barack Obama is an America hating, pro-abortion socialist communist. It'll be a dark day for America if he's elected.

Any questions?

[Sabertooth]

"An outsider, especially a politician, who presumptuously seeks a position or success in a new locality."

Alan Keyes did not seek a position in Illinois. After being invited to discuss the situation by the Illinois GOP State Central Committee, he decided to accept their decision to nominate him.

You're going to stake your claim on "presumptuously?"

That's a loophole so wide that no politician could be called a carpetbagger.

Once again, the term, in modern political parlance, means to move to new state or locality to run for office. Some will see such campaigns as presumptuous, and some won't, so that's not a valid qualifier, nor is it the common undestanding.

You can cite any dictionary you like, but we're talking about a Reconstruction Era term that's being applied to a modern political practice. For the term to have meaning, it can't be so overqualified as to be rendered meaningless.

If Alan Keyes is not a carpetbagger (in the modern parlance), the term is meaningless.

If you want to pursue this endlessly, you have an appointment with a genie and a bottle.

[tame]

He is also not violating our principles Federalism. Illinois sovereignly sought him out and asked him to run.

The whole state has not sought him out...However, those folks who did have a right to ask him and then the state has a right to vote to endorse that decision.

But even using Keyes opponents' point for the sake of argument, it still does not fly. Lives are at stake. Obama would end those lives; Keyes would save those lives. A greater good.

[unspun]

go away

[Sabertooth]

Illinois sovereignly sought him out and asked him to run. Illinois has the sovereign right to do that, according to the U.S. Constitution.

Of course Illinois has that right/power/prerogative, that's not in contention.

Illinois will not let residents of other states tell us what we cannot do.

You cannot claim that Alan Keyes is not a carpetbagger with any credibility.

[unspun]

If Alan Keyes is not a carpetbagger (in the modern parlance), the term is meaningless.

You are the one refusing to accept the meaning of the word, "carpetbagger."

Get your fangs out of Illinois business.

[Aquinasfan]

Can you say "six thousand volunteers in two weeks and counting?"

Six-thousand-volunteers-can't-be-wrong bump!

[Aquinasfan]

You can cite any dictionary you like, but we're talking about a Reconstruction Era term that's being applied to a modern political practice.

The essence of which is self-aggrandizement. This isn't the case with Keyes, since he could not have chosen a more difficult race to win. And he has turned down invitations to run in other states' senate races.

[tame]

Regarding post #95: I did not mean to imply that Keyes did, in fact, violate the principles of Federalism. I don't think he did.

And, interestingly enough, I don't think Keyes' argument that Hillary violated such principles carried much weight.

Here's a novel concept. Keyes was wrong when he said that Hillary was violating Federalism. BUT... he was correct when he suggested that Hillary opportunistically and unethically sought New York's Senate seat for all the wrong reasons.

Because of Keyes mistake then, he is criticized now at the very time he happens to be correct.

It's funny that nobody else has made this objective observation, at least that I'm aware of :o)

[lentulusgracchus]

First Keyes gets the Thomas Sowell endorsement, now the Jim Robinson. Who's left that matters?

Nancy Reagan and Newt Gingrich.

And J.C. Watts.

[malakhi]

It will be building an organized, unifeed base. Get a clue or get out of our business.

Ya'll have such an ... interesting ... way of building a base and attracting support.

[Willie Green]

If Alan Keyes is not a carpetbagger (in the modern parlance), the term is meaningless.

Our society has changed significantly since the 19th century term was coined.
Regional perspectives, issues and interests used to make a big difference.
That is much less true in the 21st Century.
You can visit any town in the nation and be pretty certain of finding a Walmart or Mickey-D's, for instance.

Perhaps "carpetbagger" HAS lost it's original meaning, and should only be applied to those neocon and liberal globalists who place foreign interests ahead of our own.

[Sabertooth]

You are the one refusing to accept the meaning of the word, "carpetbagger."

By your definition, was Hillary a carpetbagger? RFK?

[malakhi]

To say that the Keyes campaign won't help Phil Crane, for example, is wacky. It's as if they won't be campaigning for both? (Not to mention Legislative candidates.)

You didn't really answer my question. If Keyes is down 30-40 points 3-4 weeks before the election, should time and money still be spent on his campaign?

You have to see what happens over the next 6 weeks. But at some point, if he doesn't make significant movement, you have to cut your losses.

[k2blader]

Ha!!

[Sabertooth]

The essence of which is self-aggrandizement. This isn't the case with Keyes, since he could not have chosen a more difficult race to win. And he has turned down invitations to run in other states' senate races.

Some Reconstruction Era carpetbaggers chose more profitable locales than others, yet they were all carpetbaggers.

The choice to become a political carpetbagger doesn't occur when the decision is made as to which non-residential race to enter, but whether to enter a non-residential race at all.

Whatever his motives, whatever his invitations, this is the decision that Keyes has made.

[tame]

By your definition, was Hillary a carpetbagger? RFK?

Please post #108.

[k2blader]

You are right.

Instead of incorrectly saying (like the Democrats) that Keyes is a "carpetbagger", folks should honestly say, "I think the IL GOP should have chosen someone else."

[unspun]

There is no stopping the ILLINOIS KEYESIAN HORDE. ;-`
The stakes have already been taken.

[unspun]

Instead of incorrectly saying (like the Democrats) that Keyes is a "carpetbagger", folks should honestly say, "I think the IL GOP should have chosen someone else."

No, we say the IL GOP should have had it together enough not to have needed Alan Keys.

Campaign all you want against conservatives, though.

[tame]

Carpetbagging is not the foremost issue of concern for conservatives, nor should it be for this election (though many voters will make it so). Let the following picture out it all into perspective: