Punting with Keyes

A moment of silence, please, for the Illinois Republican party. In nominating Alan Keyes to run, they have not only signaled that they have no ready talent, no message, and no structure, but that they have no future as well. The GOP had an opportunity to nominate some young up-and-comer who would lose to Barack Obama, but could use the experience of a statewide campaign to prepare for a run against Democratic Governor Rod Blagoyevich in 2006. Blago is vulnerable given how poorly he’s governed and how much he’s pissed off his fellow Dem leaders in Springfield (Lisa Madigan is taking note).

Instead of building for the future, the IL-GOP decided that they needed someone, anyone. What they got was the worst possible thing: A carpetbagger who decries carpetbagging and whose ultimate purpose here is is here to rape the party. Sure, Alan Keyes will make some whacko speeches about religion and gay bashing that are sure to please the reactionary right. And sure, Alan will generate some publicity for himself that will lead to either more TV time or a book.

But that’s not the real reason he’s running. He’s got over 500,000 other reasons.

See, Alan, ran for president in 1996 and 2000. According to Federal Election Commission documents, Alan still has $524,000 for his failed presidential bids. Guess what? Any money he fundraises while he runs for Senate can be used to help retire this debt.

It’s one thing if you vote for Keyes. But if you donate money to this guy, be sure you know where it is going. One place where it's not going is to help the GOP in Illinois.