Keyes places 3rd in Utah Republican Assembly group’s straw poll

ST. GEORGE, Utah — Alan Keyes came in third in a presidential straw poll conducted Tuesday by the St. George unit of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies. Ron Paul led the balloting, followed by Mitt Romney.

Filling out the field were John McCain, Fred Thompson, Duncan Hunter, Mike Huckabee, and Rudy Giuliani.

The local conservative organization — which calls itself the Dixie Republican Forum, taking its name from the southern-most region of Utah — invited representatives of all the major GOP candidates to address a luncheon held in the St. George Holiday Inn.

Speaking on behalf of Alan Keyes was Stephen Stone, CEO of Alan Keyes for President, who distributed an 8-page newspaper-style pamphlet to attendees who filled a dining hall. Candidates' representatives were asked to speak on foreign policy, taxation, and domestic issues.

Stone remarked that Ambassador Keyes is the only 2008 presidential candidate who has any firsthand foreign policy background, and he noted that Keyes was Ronald Reagan's Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations, served on the National Security Council staff, and had responsibilities that included counter-terrorism.

Stone said Keyes believes in staying the course in Iraq, and warns that pulling out now would not only mean defeat, but would bring the war home. He added that Keyes considers the war on terror not just a political or national security challenge, but a moral challenge as well — and said Keyes has wondered publicly whether Americans have the moral backbone to endure the long-term threat posed by terrorism.

He emphasized that Keyes bases his political thinking on the premises and principles in the Declaration of Independence, which he said are centered in religious ideals that require moral commitment.

The Keyes spokesman added that the former ambassador has been unwavering in his public positions, and that Keyes has long been an outspoken leader in bedrock conservative causes — including the pro-life movement, the national effort to replace the income tax with a national sales tax, protection of traditional marriage, and border security.

Concerning the latter issue, Stone said Keyes proposes the creation of a National Border Guard, similar to the Coast Guard, to secure America's borders.

At the end of his remarks, Stone commented on Keyes' view of Mitt Romney's role in establishing same-sex marriage in Massachusetts, and said that as governor, Romney "instituted gay marriage entirely on his own, without authority or requirement to do so." Stone invited the conservative audience to research the truth of the matter in the public record. He said he, himself, was "greatly disturbed" by Romney's role in Massachusetts' gay marriage policy.

More on Romney’s defense of Marriage ...

Office of Gov. Mitt Romney, “Romney Files Emergency Bill to Seek Goodridge Decision Stay,” Press Release, 4/15/2004

“Romney announced April 15 that he would seek emergency legislation to allow him to appoint a special counsel to ask the Supreme Judicial Court for a 2 1/2 year delay of its gay marriage ruling set to take effect May 17. Romney’s plan was to bypass AG Reilly—who refused to name a special counsel in March—and name his own special counsel, retired SJC Justice Joseph Nolan. Romney said the legislation would allow him to “protect the integrity of the Constitutional process” and return the decision on gay marriage to voters. “We believe the people have the right to have their position heard and that as the governor, I should have right to have my position heard. Look, people that don’t have any income are entitled to representation. Everyone in the Commonwealth is entitled to representation. But somehow as governor of the Commonwealth, it’s deemed that I can’t represent my view before the courts—I think that’s a mistake,” said Romney.

“State House News Service reported April 22 that Romney’s special counsel bill was “languishing” on Beacon Hill. The main obstacle was the Senate, which failed to admit the bill in its last two sessions. Senate President Robert Travaglini dismissed the legislation when it was announced and said the governor was only trying to push his “political agenda.” If the bill was not admitted, then there would not be a joint committee public hearing on it.

“Romney said April 21 that he would not file a supportive brief or otherwise get involved in a petition brought by the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts. The League was attempting to persuade the Supreme Judicial Court to delay the start of gay marriages until November 2006, when voters could vote on the issue. Romney said he preferred to make the case for delay himself. On April 23, Romney renewed his call for the Legislature to grant him the authority to appoint a special counsel so he could launch his own effort to persuade the court to delay gay marriages from taking effect May 17. “I call on both branches of the Legislature, particularly the Senate. . .to give me the opportunity to preserve the choice of the definition of marriage to the citizens and make sure that the hard work the Legislature went through to pass this amendment to allow the citizens to have a voice is worth something,” Romney told reporters at a press conference.

http://www.freerepublic.com/~unmarkedpackage/#DOM

So, you can check this article out. http://writ.news.findlaw.com/grossman/20060410.html

Here’s an exerpt: “This law prevents non-residents from marrying in Massachusetts if the marriage they seek to celebrate would be prohibited by their home state. Governor Romney ordered town clerks to strictly enforce the law - and, for the most part, they seem to have done so. More than seven thousand same-sex marriages have taken place in Massachusetts — yet there have only been scattered reports of non-residents successfully marrying there.”

Mitt Romney has been a consistent opponent of gay marriage, but has also been against discrimination against gays. So does Alan Keyes think gays and lesbians should be second-class citizens and are NOT deserving of rights?

Conservative traditional moral values is one thing, but opposing “equal rights” of citizens is a great way to get pegged as an extremist and lose in a landslide to Obama.

Something Keyes has experience in, I hear.

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