Posted on 04/13/2008 8:26:43 PM PDT by Kurt Evans
Former Republican presidential candidate Alan Keyes has chosen April 15 to make a major announcement of his intentions, following indications he has broken with the GOP.
A life-long Republican who has increasingly cited the party's failure to match conservative rhetoric with actual performance in the political arena, Keyes said he will reveal his reasons for departing the GOP at a press conference scheduled for 8:30 pm ET, at the Best Western Genetti Inn in Hazleton, PA.
The event will be video-streamed live at Keyes' website, www.AlanKeyes.com.
Keyes added that he is looking to the Constitution Party as a possible home for his future efforts in politics, including a potential run for president in the 2008 general election.
"No other 'third party' is as well-established as the Constitution Party," said Keyes. "They've been around since 1992, and have built a significant grassroots presence among patriotic, Constitution-minded citizens — with a registered membership of over 350,000. Conservatives have a home in the CP that they can find nowhere else, given the decline in the Republican Party's credibility as a voice and vehicle for conservatism."
Regarding his potential third-party candidacy for president in the fall, Keyes said, "I believe people deserve a choice. They certainly deserve a conservative choice — something neither John McCain, Hillary Clinton, nor Barack Obama can offer voters. All they can offer is empty promises based on liberal track records."
Symbolic of Keyes' break with the Republican Party is a caricature of the GOP logo — upside down — on the front page of his website.
The Constitution Party will hold its nominating convention April 23-26 in Kansas City.
According to Dan Smeriglio, a Keyes supporter who is helping to arrange the event, the former Reagan administration diplomat chose to make his announcement in Hazleton because of the town's strong stance on illegal immigration.
"I understand a good portion of his speech next week will center on illegal immigration," Smeriglio said. Smeriglio and a group he represents, Voice of the People USA, have been vocal in opposing illegal immigration since Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta introduced the Illegal Immigration Relief Act in 2006 — thrusting Hazleton into national prominence in the movement to stem illegal immigration.
Keyes — who has a Ph.D. in government from Harvard and wrote his dissertation on constitutional theory — served as Reagan's Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations, as well as Ambassador to the United Nations Economic and Social Council, where he represented U.S. interests in the UN General Assembly.
conservatives have no place anymore. McCain will or would happily sign the fairness doctrine as President among numerous other things to give it to conservatives, which he hates
If I had a dollar for everyone who cared, I’d be broke...
He is a good man, far too principled for politics.
He's now for certain a dis-appointment to McCain.
Who are some of the folks in the Constitutional party?
The joke is, Keyes is perhaps the most formidable opponent Obama has beaten in an election, so BO's been basically untested.
At least he has a place in history as a political trivia question:
Who ran for U.S. Senate against Barack Obama and received only 27% of the vote?
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Not sure lately, I’ll have to check them out.
The “GOP” is a joke. Take some time to rethink what America is supposed to stand for.
I just did some research based on the party website.
I didn’t see any name that I recognized.
By the way, as a die hard Ron Paul supporter, I suspect I’ll be thrown out of here - or at least ridiculed - and if that’s the case, call this my swan song.
I’ve found better places.
These days? They kinda remind me of acorns or cashews.
They used to be okay, but since they chose Michael Peroutka as their nominee, along with all of the soap opera stuff since, they haven't been worth much.
Of course, Alan Keyes--having his daughter come out as a lesbian, etc.--would fit right in with the estrangement of Michael Peroutka with his stepdaughters.
A heart-felt change or is he just going there because oh, by the way, they need to choose a candidate? Sorry, Alan, but methinks it’s the latter.
I was planning on voting for Ron Paul. No one else impresses me.
Peg Luksik got more than 10% of the vote as candidate for Pennsylvania Governor in both 1994 and 1998.
The highest presidential score? Peroutka got 0.12% of the vote for president in 2004.
If he couldn’t beat Hussein Obama before, what makes him think he could do it now? All he would do is pull a few votes away from McCain that could help Obama get elected president.
I’ve always like Keyes but I won’t anymore if he pulls one vote away from McCain.
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