I do, however, feel your opinion of Alan Keyes has little, if any, grounds, and it puzzles me that someone who has followed Keyes as much as you apparently have could reach the conclusions you do. Indeed, in all of the research I have done about this man and his ideas for over two years, I have come to the opposite conclusion on every point you make. The way you described your dislike, it seems that you simply don’t like his personality. That, to me, is not a good reason to throw away everything he has ever said. I don’t like Gary Bauer’s personality, and I found during the presidential debates that I disagree with him on a few things, but I would never use that as a reason to try to undercut his conservative message. To do so would hurt the conservative cause, and cause disunity in the GOP.
If there’s one thing Alan Keyes has contributed to society, it is that he is helping to revive the principles of the Declaration of Independence. I have a substantial collection of Keyes’ speeches, and the Declaration of Independence is mentioned in almost every one. It is his theme. Through his rhetoric, he brought these principles to the forefront at the Republican debates. In the 1996 presidential race, there was a movement in the GOP to remove the pro-life plank from the party platform. Other candidates in the race indicated they felt the abortion issue was irrelevant, and they wanted to focus solely on economics. Alan Keyes was one of the main persons who insisted upon keeping the plank, and he did so based on the Declaration. History shows which side one out. By the time the 2000 race came along, every single candidate for the GOP nomination tried to position himself as pro-life. Alan Keyes is largely responsible for that.
Anyway, I don’t see why a person would attempt to undercut Alan Keyes’ message of adherence to the Declaration, simply on the basis of some perceived personality flaw. Perhaps an analogy Keyes gave applies here. He said there are some who are willing to throw away the founding principles simply because the Founders were not perfect. The Founders did not outlaw slavery, and some of them even owned slaves--and this is often used as a reason to throw away all of their great ideas.
You and I, of course, are not like that. We accept the founding principles, and ignore the Founders’ flaws.
I invite you to do the same with Alan Keyes. If you are unfamiliar with his ideas, I’ll send you a few of his speeches--dating back to 1995. I think you'll see how much our country needs his message.
Now I expect you will reply that Keyes is only trying to educate and speak his beliefs. But what is finally accomplished? If anything, more exposure to him in recent months has driven a lot of people away. Maybe, just maybe, his inflated ego has interfered and blurred the actual goal. If the proper goal is ignored or neglected, all is practically lost. Unless human nature has changed and I missed it, preaching to the choir produces nothing but stagnation.