[Luis Gonzalez]

Jim, Keyes' standing among the voters in the State of Illinois is my fault?

No, I don't like the idea of Obama in the Senate for the next several years, nor do I like his using this to catapult himself into the national stage, and I blame the current numbers directly on the people responsible: the Illinois GOP.

From the day that this was announced, these results were predicted, as was the notion that it would be spun into a "blame anyone other than Alan" campaign.

I don't blame Alan Keyes, he's just doing what he does best, he's a pundit, not a politician. I blame the Illinois GOP because it was THEIR decision to bring Keyes in, so it was their obligation to bring the voters to Alan...they failed, and no amount of critical posts in FR could have impacted the poll numbers so negatively to bring them down to the current level.

They should have run Oberweis.

[malakhi]

I don't blame Alan Keyes, he's just doing what he does best, he's a pundit, not a politician.

He could spend more time discussing the issues which are of most concern to voters -- the economy and the war on terror -- and less time on the moral agenda.

He could avoid coming out for things like reparations and a universal draft.

So I'll blame him for that part. But for creating the situation in the first place, the blame does rest with the Illinois GOP.

[Dan from Michigan]

Keyes is a good pundit(although he may hurt himself badly here). He's a good draw to fundraisers, particulary right to life functions(800 people paid $40 to see him - county event).

I had a bad feeling about this from the start. For the record, if I lived in Illinois, I'd vote for him.
1. He's an out of towner. Not only is he not from Illinois, he's not even from the Midwest. That hurts him both near Chicago and Downstate.
2. The GOP in Illinois is not on the same page. The moderate and liberal factions are at odds with the conservatives, and neither will support the other at all. The party is still recovering from George Ryan.
And that's not even considering the campaign itself, and any statements given(reperations, etc).