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As far as third-party runs go, this one could actually have an impact on McCain. Unlike Democratic voters, many conservatives are none too pleased with McCain and some of his more moderate stances. Now, whether that translates to a vote for Alan Keyes come November is anyone’s guess.
Here’s the story on it from USAToday:
HAZLETON, Pa. (AP) — Former Republican presidential candidate Alan Keyes announced Tuesday night that he has left the GOP and is considering joining the Constitution Party.
Keyes, who also ran as a Republican to challenge Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate bid in Illinois in 2004, says he is talking with leaders and rank-and-file members of the Constitution Party.
“They’re considering me, I’m considering them,” Keyes said in a conference call late Tuesday night. “We have so much in common that I find it hard to believe we won’t be able to work out a common basis for working together.”
Keyes singled out the nation’s present “border issue” as a reason he is leaving the GOP, saying it is a “threat to the sovereignty to the American people.”
“There are clear signs that our leaders no longer have an allegiance to the sovereign people of the United States,” Keyes said.
“I kind of expected that on the Democrat side. …. And the Republicans are presumed to nominate somebody who is anti-Republican. It puts a lie to the label and puts me in a position where I must question my ability any longer to participate in a party that has departed from its own identity. ”
The Constitution Party says its mission is to limit the federal government to functions spelled out in the U.S. Constitution and “restore American jurisprudence to its original Biblical common-law foundations.”
Conservative he is, but popular with voters, can’t say he’s even been. Still, the more the merrier as we now have Nader and possibly Keyes in as third-parties to suck votes from the major parties. In this case, perhaps Keyes will balance any voters Nader steals from the Democratic nominee.
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Nate said
Alan Keyes is awesome. Regardless of what you think of his views (I like many of them) you have to give him credit for telling it like it is. He doesn’t pull any punches. This guy puts Obama to shame when it comes to being eloquent.
He sounds like kermit the frog, Mr Stalin. He’s a terrible public speaker.
Oh this is going to be great, a rematch! Keyes can bring back his theory on how allowing gays to adopt logically MUST lead to incest. It was great to watch Obama debate him on this, because the majority of Obama’s rebutal was simply asking Keyes to explain his hypothesis, and the rest was left to Alan, who eventually explained that actually his point was that ALL adoption leads to incest, only he only wanted to talk about gay adoption.
What a genuinely entertaining guy. He made the republican debates much more lively, when they let him get on stage.
tehmazing:
I think you are letting your personal feelings cloud your judgement. It is well known that Alan Keyes is an extremely talented speaker. He is signed on with Premier Speakers and get paid $15-20K per engagement. Here is the link to this information:
http://premierespeakers.c.....video/1721
Tom,
I certainly didn’t mean “steals” in the sense that they belong, or are entitled, to either party. I mean “steals” in the sense of people who might ordinarily vote Democrat or Republican but choose to vote for Nader or Keyes because they’re also options.
If you ask me, I’d prefer if people rose up with third-party candidate to rival either party. Sometimes the status-quo needs to be challenged to keep it in check.
Stalin, I too think that Allan Keyes is Awesome! Finally someone that I can vote for. The man could read me tax law and I still would be interested. I was just thinking the other day, why is it that conservative black men fail to stir as much excitement as Obama. Could it be that there not Liberals?
To each his own when it comes to candidates and their preferences. Alan Keyes certainly has a resume, and many appointments that make him look officious and important.
That said, I have never heard the man give a speech I felt was well formed or articulate.
I realize I have very different values than this man, but that aside, I have heard many conservative or radical speakers give far more eloquent and substantive speeches than Alan Keyes. His last series of public comments came during the Republican primary, wherein he completely ignored the mediator’s questions and spouted out a litany of provocative words. He never confronted the questions head on, his thoughts were more styled to provoke and incite than to inform and construct, and his overly quick delivery was poorly paced.
I think the Republican Party is better off without him. I really cannot understand why people support him. I understand he is outspoken about his religious views, but there are so many other, more intelligent conservatives that do this than him.
Alan Keys an eloquent speaker? Sir i think YOU are letting personal feelings cloud your judgment! He’s a horrible speaker not even in the same ball park as any of the Candidates especially Obama.
But i’ll say this. Keys is probably the most extremely conservative man on the planet. If the die hard conservatives want someone he’s their man. I don’t think he’ll pick up any steam though. His success will be no better then Nader.
Conservative girl
It’s not about conservative blacks not stirring up excitement. it goes more into the character and charisma of the person. No black politician has stirred up things the way Obama has but there are other factors which add to this which has nothing to do with race.
Dreadsen, I’m sitting here reading your post paying particular attention to your statement that “He’s a horrible speaker not even in the same ball park as any of the Candidates especially Obama”, and at the same time listening to the debate. What I hear is a lot of stuttering and umm’s and ah’s coming from Obama’s mouth. There is nothing that I hate more then a stumbling fool. I cannot listen to the current president too long without turning the T.V off or changing the channel. I currently visited a Church where the Pastor stuttered the whole way through the service, the second we got in the car my husband turned to me and said, “I know there was a lot of ahh’s”. Why people need to use “fillers” in there vocab is beyond me, they would sound more credible just pausing and thinking of what it is they want to say. Therefore, that said, I find Obama’s speech extremely poor. For goodness sake he was a professor, he had sufficient time to practice. This is a little idiosyncrasy of mine, however, it is a clear deciding factor of what makes a person a good speaker. You can have a extensive vocab, but if you use “fillers” when speaking your message is lost.
Michael, I don’t want to hear that even Professors misspeak, no excuses on Obama’s behalf
Michael and Dreadsen
Dreadsen, I know you look up to me for guidance and direction, but you really don’t need to call me Sir. Stalin will do.
Seriously though, you guys are amazing. You can’t even bring yourself to give a conservative one little tiny compliment. Most people will tell you that Alan Keyes is a great orator. It’s what he most know for. I’m not going to try and convince you because it is a matter of personal opinion, but you are both certainly in the minority on this.
By the way, Michael, during the debate, Keyes was pissed that he wasn’t being given equal time so that’s why he went off point.
Clarification, please. Did the man really say that abortion leads to incest? And what was his basis for this statement?
This looks like our last chance to stop McCain–and it’s because he’s broken the law knowingly, willingly, and deliberately:
http://www.petitiononline.....ition.html
I wish more people would respect Alan Keyes. I was also for Fred Thompson, and still am. There is a site called The Thompson Coalition that is working to continue the good fight - http://www.thompsoncoalition.com
Check it out! It has some good statistics on the UN and US military casualties, too, showing the futility of liberal thought.
CS,
I too wish we had an alternative to McCain, but I fear at this point in the game, a 3rd party conservative candidate would only serve to help the Democrats. Barring some sort of health problem, McCain is going to have to do for this election.
Stalin and Conservative Girl
Obama is also known for his Speaking skills. If you all haven’t noticed a lot of attacks on Obama has been aimed at his speaking skills being so great that they overwhelm people beyond reason.
BUT i will say this. Keyes is MUCH BETTER IN DEBATES as far as his oral skills. Obama does stumble at times. but not all the time. when Keyes and Obama debated eventhough keyes had some horrible views which led him to defeat he came off much more smooth and his answers just flowed so clear and crisp. I was so impressed that eventhough his thoughts on Gays was so harsh and i disagreed with him i still enjoyed listening to him answer.
Obama’s performance last night reminded me of his performance in the first several debates last year. He didn’t seem to confident and his stumbling and eyes fluttering indicated to ME that he was uncomfortable on such a stage.
But stand alone speeches Keyes doesn’t have the power Obama has. I doubt i’m the minority on that opinion.
I agree, Dreadson, Obama is a great orator of the written speech. It’s when he is thrown into a candid off the cuff answer that he fumbles.
Keyes argued that gay adoption leads to incest because adopted children don’t know who their parents are, and so two adopted children could meet and marry - and they could be brother and sister but never know it. How this could be applied particularly to gay adoption over any other form of adoption is as beyond me as it was for Obama, but you can see that debate here if you’re curious.
http://video.google.com/v.....&hl=en
He doesn’t address it until the 2nd half of the debate, but as several people have noted, Keyes a very entertaining speaker.
Ah, thanks, IndiMinded, I couldn’t imagine how he was relating one to the other. Wow, the chances of the brother/sister scenario is so likely it should be a major campaign issue, huh? *L*
Yeah, whatever people are saying here, a few months ago people where saying thing Obama’s never won a serious election in his life - on account of how Keyes was a joke candidate to run against. And honestly, I’m inclined to agree with that - I don’t know what people see in him. But then I’ve never been a strong conservative myself.
On the other hand, I’m sympathetic to the conservatives who are figuring out how restrictive a 2-party system really is right about now, when they’ve been given no candidate to vote for.
Remember the good ole days when there were just Democrats and Republicans? *L*
This is meant only for entertainment, as I don’t see this becoming a national crisis, but it can happen:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/h.....182817.stm
Ah poor guys. It would almost be a funny coincidence if it hadn’t actually wrecked their lives. Yeah I’m sure it happens, I just can’t figure out why Keyes uses the argument to say homosexuals shouldn’t be allowed to adopt, but doesn’t take issue with adoption as an overall practice.
Seems to me that addressing the secrecy of a person’s siblings would be much more effective at preventing something like this than the homophobic rhetoric that Keyes offers.
Sure, Alan Keyes is a great speaker. It’s stupid not to admit that he is. However, Adolf Hitler is still widely considered on of the greatest orators of all time…what does it matter, really.
It doesn’t matter, but tehmazing said he was a terrible public speaker, so I argued against that.
To clarify, They have NEVER attacked Obama on his great speaking skills, souley on his rhetoric. The random words he strings together, hoping for a coherent thought to come across.
Babs, true there used to be a two party system that involved Republicans and Democrats only, but times are changing. It is time for there to be an upheaval in the political party system. This is certainly not new, however. If we think back, this country has experienced political party change before. I think it’s due time that the system is changed, especially when you have the Dems moving far to the left, and the Republicans moving to the left as well. Then there are conservatives, such as myself, that are watching society go to hell in a hand basket, not to mention my own party divide. Alan Keyes is a breath of fresh air to me! IF he runs as a third party I will have someone to vote for and I won’t be reduced to having to write in Ronald Reagan.
Conservative Gal,
You are hilarious! I enjoy your POV because you convey your views not only as an educated person, but in arespectful way with your own humorous twist.
As far as Keyes goes, I think it speaks volumes about our day and age that your skin color (or gender) really doesn’t stop anyone from voting for you on either side of the party lines. He brings something to the table that is important t the far-right conservative vote, and that, as Nate stated, could impact McCain in a similar fashion to the Nader effect on Democrats.
It is unfortunate that only Dems and Reps seem to get anywhere. In terms of true alliance, I am technically and Independant. But since that doesn’t get me anywhere, I have gone with the candidate I think is right for the country at this time, Barack Obama.
If you’ve kept up with my postings, you know why, but I’ll brief it: His blueprint for the economy, healthcare, and Iraq are along the lines that I can support. I also have viewed his voting record and found nothing that I had a problem with, wheareas I did not agree with Clinton and McCain’s voting record on certain issues. Lastly, I find his aritculate, intelligent, charismatic, and inspriational. Publicly manufactured distractions and one lousy debate cannot change my views on that.
Hey, I understand you Conservative Gal. Personally, I always kind of thought Al Gore and John Kerry were pretty mediocre politicians at best, but better than my alternatives - so I voted for them for the same reason lots of conservatives will be biting their lip and voting for John McCain. Lesser of two evils approach.
But whatever your perspective, the dems aren’t far left. They’re moderate left, it just looks that way because standing over there on the right
. What you’ve really got is two parties relatively close to each other in the middle and arguing about every step they take in any direction.
I say bring on the 3rd parties! I’d love for them to mean something. But I expect some republicans will be very upset.