If you will recall Jack Ryan was running against Obama. Jack got caught up in a sex scandal and dropped out. No Illinois republican had the balls to step up and take Ryan's place, hence they went outside the state fo a candidate.
Exactly . . . but Keyes was completely wrong-footed over the fact that he was not in fact familiar with the state in the way a long-time resident would be. When asked why he was running in IL, he should have blasted the Democrats for having fished in troubled waters, getting a friendly judge to unseal the records of a messy divorce. Talk about intruding on private life!! It was completely unjustified, and precisely counter to stated Democrat principles.Keyes was in a position which was indefensible in ordinary terms, and the only possible approach was to go on the offensive over the reasons why the IL Republicans were forced to consider an unconventional candidate such as himself. But instead he went on the defensive - and, quite naturally, got swamped. At least that's how it looked from here (Long Island, NY).
Oh, I’ll agree with you. I’m just saying that the name calling, ie, carpetbagger, was and is totally uncalled for. Keyes went to Illinois at the request of the Illinois GOP. How he handled his campaign is a different story.
“Alan moved to and ran for the Illinois US Senate at the request of the Chairman of the Illinois GOP. To label him as a “carpetbagger” is not really deserved.If you will recall Jack Ryan was running against Obama. Jack got caught up in a sex scandal and dropped out. No Illinois republican had the balls to step up and take Ryan’s place, hence they went outside the state fo a candidate.”
Not so. the primary unner-up Oberweis was willing to run and had money to boot. The Illinois GOP first tried Mike Ditka, and then over-reacted and probably thought they needed a black man to run against Obama or something stupid like that. The ultimate problem is that Keyes is incapable/unwilling of running a campaign to win.