Home » blogs » Prometheus 6's blog

What's so bad about Alan Keyes anyway?

by Prometheus 6
November 7, 2004 - 7:46am.
on Politics

I was one of the many progressives that had to reassess things a bit after the last election. The comments made about that reassessment…okay, they weren't about the reassessment but they were attached to the post…make need to ask the question in the title of Republicans in general.

Make no mistake, my goals haven't changed because they've never been attached to any particular political party. And my views haven't changed…I still see him as a prancing absurdity.

But it was said:

To state the blindingly obvious, Keyes is not even vaguely representative of the Republican Party.

and

Alan Keyes was a joke. Republicans, Democrats, Independents, etc. all knew that.

Equating him with the national GOP is insane.

And yet Alan Keyes' positions are precisely those of the Religious Right., a significant part of the alliance that is the Republican Party.

Are these comments correct? I don't think so…I think the Religious Right is a major, significant part of the Republican Party. I think it has a huge impact on the Party's platform, statements and actions. So why have so many Republicans distanced themselves from him? Why is he so disrespected by his own Party?

latest article | previous | next

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.
Submitted by DarkStar on November 8, 2004 - 2:49am.

He asked a similar question his last presidential run.

link
Submitted by Prometheus 6 on November 8, 2004 - 2:25pm.

He asked because his feelings were hurt. And the lack of response was his answer.

This was also posted at Blogcritics. A number of the responses were enlightening to me.

link
Submitted by James R MacLean on November 10, 2004 - 8:09pm.

The thread at Blogcritics was up to 32 when I visited, so I’ll post here:

Â

Al Barger is being disingenuous when he decries the use of Alan Keyes as an example of the GOP ideology. Keyes is a caricature only insofar as he enthusiastically attacks any breach in the GOP platform; in contrast, most will spend their energies attacking a few, and then relax on points in the platform which are politically indefensible in their district.

Â

On abortion: see this NARAL classification of the 109th and 108th Congresses. More? You want more?

Â

Just off the top of my head, there’s Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, who recently told an AP reporter, “I favor the death penalty for abortionists and other people who take life.” Executing doctors who perform legal abortions? He later clarified his remark saying, “… I was not referring to current law.” ….Last year to the Rogers County Republicans he said, “… The gay community has infiltrated the very centers of power in every area across this country, and they wield extreme power. ... That agenda is the greatest threat to our freedom that we face today. Why do you think we see the rationalization for abortion and multiple sexual partners? That’s a gay agenda.” (About.org)

Â

Now, is Dr Coburn a nutjob like the guy in Tennessee (Republican James Hart, who wrote a tract favoring eugenics, which refers to Blacks as one of the “less favored races,” won 26% of the vote in the 8th District of TN)? No, while the GOP did disavow Mr Hart—who ran unchallenged in his district’s Republican primary—Coburn was chosen to head Pres. Bush’s panel on AIDS.

Â

If the GOP were a microprocessor, Coburn would be part of the control unit.

Â

James DeMint, Republican Senator-elect from South Carolina, has said begins at conception and “who we are is pretty much programmed by conception.” (The State, SC).Â

Â

And finally, still keeping to the topic of abortion by way of illustration: the GOP has essentially voted en bloc (from the moment it won control of Congress in ’94) to ensure that women who depended on federal funding for health care—including military personal and dependents; in all, nearly 40% of the female population of the USA—are barred from abortions. Employers are able to prevent their health care coverage from covering abortions for covered employees (conscience clauses), so don’t think you’re protected from the Taliban just because your health insurance comes from your private sector employer; needless to say, “conscience clauses” amount to a handsome incentive to religious hypocrisy, since they are a unique case of a carrier being allowed to unilaterally reject paying out a claim. The GOP has almost unanimously pushed for this state of affairs, under which abortion rights are becoming a way for economic management of women’s bodies, much like other natural resources.

Â

I’m going to have to calm down now. My computer screen is fogged up.

link