Ramblings' Journal

Keyes nearing a Dean-esque "Scream" moment over reparations?

Illinois GOP Senatorial candidate Alan Keyes refuses to back down on his reparations stance, even though he is ticking off his core constituency with it. The black and liberal audience he is pandering to with it, so far, seems to be seeing through it, which leaves the Maryland Republican out in the cold.

His voice rising to a yell, Republican U.S. Senate nominee Alan Keyes told a bipartisan civic group Wednesday he "will not budge" from his belief that descendants of slaves should be exempted from income taxes to help heal the wounds of past discrimination and segregation.

The former presidential candidate disdainfully brushed aside questions over whether his suggestion should apply to rich African Americans such as Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan or Oprah Winfrey.

Keyes appears to be pandering to Chicago-area hard-core Democrats with his position, which encourages elimination of federal income taxes for blacks descended from slaves "for one or two generations." The position appears counter to his 2002 position which insisted that reparations for slavery in the United States had been already "paid in blood."

Keyes continues to draw heat from conservatives nationwide (including this one) with his stance, insisting (among other things) that the position was not well thought out and would create a further antagonistic division of the races within the United States, this time based upon both financial as well as genological class.

With his voice becoming more shrill and loud, comparisons to former Presidential candidate Howard Dean make themselves apparent, and bring forth a question: "Is Keyes nearing his own 'Dean moment'?"

Posted by mhking at August 19, 2004 12:27 PM