GOP lukewarm toward Keyes

GOP lukewarm toward Keyes
Former Gov. Jim Edgar (right) greets Republican U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes Thursday during the Illinois State Fair. (Tribune photos by Michael Tercha / August 20, 2004)

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes finished a booming stemwinder of a speech to his party's State Central Committee here on Thursday, then stepped away from the podium to find only a couple of people in the group rising to shake his hand.

That's largely how things went for Keyes--and for the party--for much of Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair, formerly a raucous event in the heady days when the party controlled most of the apparatus of state government.

A late afternoon rally did draw an enthusiastic Republican crowd who braved the chill and rain to clamor for Keyes' photograph and handshake.


But most of the day was more tepid, as leaders tried to assure members there is something to get excited about this campaign season--even though President Bush doesn't plan to campaign much in the state and Keyes in the few short days since GOP leaders tapped him to run against Democrat Barack Obama has proven himself very controversial.

Perhaps summing up the temperament of the day was an address from U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.), who assured a sparse crowd at a noontime rally: "Our party is not dead. Our party is alive."

The beliefs that Keyes has espoused since joining the campaign aren't all that different from the conservative viewpoints of his predecessor Jack Ryan, who voluntarily dropped out of the race this summer. But Keyes' presentation of his anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage and pro-gun views has proven more strident, perhaps befitting his career as a popular radio talk show host.

Keyes added more heat to the discourse this week when he said he supports the idea of reparations for the descendants of slaves. He said he opposes the idea of "extorting" monetary damages, but that he would exempt slave descendants from federal taxes in order to encourage business ownership and create jobs.

Keyes reached high moments during the day's events, using eloquent speeches to win over even small and uncertain crowds.

The more he spoke at the noon talk, for example, the more the crowd responded until, at the end, they were whistling, applauding and giving him a standing ovation.

But the slate of events suffered by comparison to the enthusiastic lovefest for Obama that Democrats put on during their special day at the fair on Wednesday.

GOP members acknowledged that they are functioning at a disadvantage, partly because they are out of power and partly because of the corruption charges pending against the last Republican governor, George Ryan.

"When you don't have the [governor's] mansion and you don't have either one of the [legislative] chambers, we saw this two years ago, attendance was light," said Jim Durkin, a former Republican U.S. Senate candidate. "The momentum hasn't come back to the Republican Party yet."

Even in circles where party leaders generally overlook ideological differences to present a unified front for Republican nominees, the reception for Keyes was generally cautious.

There was the State Central Committee meeting in the morning, where Keyes' vigorous speech was greeted with courteous applause and a few handshakes.

There was the sparsely attended noontime rally, which began while there were still many empty wooden chairs on the platform.

Former Gov. Jim Edgar said he will do anything he can to help Keyes but added, "I do have a day job."

Edgar is the chairman of President Bush's re-election campaign in Illinois.

"I think Alan Keyes, he'll be fun," Edgar told the State Central Committee. "He's intelligent, he's articulate and he's entertaining, which is important for the media, because that's the business they're in."

Some party leaders were even reluctant to declare their intention to vote for Keyes in November.

Party chairwoman and state Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka was not one of them.

"I vote Republican," Topinka said in an interview. "I vote for a whole slate. Yes, I will be voting for Alan Keyes as part of the entire slate."

Keyes swept through the fairgrounds in a green shirt, tan slacks, tennis shoes and a necklace with a gold crucifix and a miniature version of the Ten Commandments--something he calls the "Boss and the Rules." He stopped at a Republican event in a tavern called Franny's, where he did not imbibe.

"I do have one rule, because I do occasionally take a drink of beer and wine," he said. "I never do so when I have to speak, because I want to make sure that the spiritedness of my speech is entirely mine."

At one point, Keyes compared himself to Abraham Lincoln, who, he said, didn't think slavery should be a matter of personal choice.

"Like Barack Obama, Stephen Douglas was the pro-choice candidate," said Keyes.

If some Republicans shied from Keyes, others said they found him inspiring.

"He has a strong message that I think will resonate with Illinois voters," said Senate GOP leader Frank Watson (R-Greenville). "I think it will resonate with Downstate voters. This election is going to be about issues, and he's not afraid to take them on."