OK, let's take a f'rinstance here.
Let's say, for instance, that you're a carpetbagging opportunist from out of state. Let's say that in order to get anywhere, you need the sincere and public support of your national political organization, which has already pretty much written off your state as going to the other party in the upcoming presidential and senate elections. Let's also say that you need the state organization and its apparatchiks to come out and support you in public, and all the heavy hitters have been notably reluctant to do so. Let's say, furthermore, that what little press coverage you can get, beyond the initial flurry, has been fairly relentlessly in the, "Wow, what a nutjob" vein. You'd think that perhaps -- just perhaps -- you should suck up to the leaders of the national party, asking for both financial and public support of all sorts, right? You might also consider sucking up to the leadership in the state party, asking for the same sorts of support. That's what normal people would do in this situation. (Of course, all the normal people in the GOP declined most emphatically to put themselves in this situation, but never mind that.)
You would think that insulting the family members of your party leaders might be a bit beyond the pale if you were in such a tenuous situation, wouldn't you? Well, of course you would, if you were your average person with a bit of common sense.
Thankfully for punditry everywhere, Alan Keyes' common sense seems to have decided to take a wee vacation. (Probably back in Maryland.)
Illinois Republican Senate candidate Alan Keyes labeled homosexuality "selfish hedonism" and said Vice President Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter is a sinner.
The former talk show host who has made two unsuccessful runs for the White House made the comments Monday night in an interview with Sirius OutQ, a satellite radio station that provides programming aimed at gays and lesbians. After saying homosexuality is "selfish hedonism," Keyes was asked if that made Mary Cheney "a selfish hedonist." "Of course she is," Keyes replied. "That goes by definition."
Liz Cheney, Mary's sister, refused to comment Wednesday during an interview on CNN. "I guess I'm surprised, frankly, that you would even repeat the quote, and I'm not going to dignify it with a comment," she told the interviewer.
Wait, it gets even better:
Madison Square Garden, home of many prizefights and hockey brawls, seems a fitting venue for Alan Keyes to be meeting his fellow Republicans. The candidate for U.S. Senate has miffed many members of the Illinois delegation by spending more time on national talk shows than schmoozing with them. He has been prickly with the media, chastising reporters for asking "inappropriate" questions. As the Republican National Convention focused on unity Tuesday, Keyes lashed out at the vice president's gay daughter.
And it was only the second day of the convention.
Keyes' first comments about Mary Cheney came during an interview Monday night on Sirius OutQ, a New York-based satellite station that provides 24-hour gay and lesbian programming. After Keyes told the hosts that homosexuality is "selfish hedonism," he was asked whether Mary Cheney is a "selfish hedonist." "Of course she is," Keyes replied. "That goes by definition. Of course she is."
On Tuesday, Keyes defended his remarks, adding that if his daughter were a lesbian, he would tell her she was committing a sin and should pray about it.[...] Two hosts with Sirius OutQ spoke with Keyes for four minutes Monday night in a nearby hallway. Their conversation centered on Keyes' opposition to gay marriage. Keyes said family is defined by having children. "If we embrace homosexuality as a proper basis for marriage, we are saying that it's possible to have a marriage state that in principle excludes procreation and is based simply on the premise of selfish hedonism," Keyes told hosts Michelangelo Signorile and Corey Johnson.
It was at this point that the hosts asked Keyes their question about Mary Cheney, which Keyes answered.
An interviewer then said: "I don't think Dick Cheney would like to hear that about his daughter."
Replied Keyes: "Dick Cheney may or many not like to hear the truth, but it can be spoken."
When asked Tuesday evening to explain his statements about Mary Cheney, Keyes did not back down. "I have said that if you are actively engaging in homosexual relations, those relations are about selfish hedonism," Keyes said. "If my daughter were a lesbian, I'd look at her and say, `That is a relationship that is based on selfish hedonism.' I would also tell my daughter that it's a sin, and she needs to pray to the Lord God to help her to deal with that sin."
THAT is a defense?
I can just imagine the scene back in the ol' Illinois GOP Politburo headquarters. People all sitting around a table, heads in hands, murmuring, "What were we thinking? What were we thinking?"
At this point, it pretty much doesn't matter if Keyes shreds Obama in the upcoming debates, whenever and wherever they may be. (And I'm pretty sure he won't.) The rate he's going, he's going to alienate even the hard-core Republicans so much that they're not going to vote for anyone at all in the Senate race.
Posted by iain at September 01, 2004 03:46 PM
