Keyes to pick cotton for Master Obama
Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2004 3:25 pm
Keyes calls Obama abortion views 'slaveholder's position'
By Mike Robinson
Associated Press
CHICAGO - A day after jumping into the Illinois Senate race, two-time presidential candidate Alan Keyes ripped into Democratic rival Barack Obama, saying his views on abortion were "the slaveholder's position."
The conservative former diplomat said Obama's vote against a bill that would have outlawed a form of late-term abortion denied unborn children their equal rights. Both candidates - one an outspoken conservative and the other a favorite of party liberals - are black.
"I would still be picking cotton if the country's moral principles had not been shaped by the Declaration of Independence," Keyes said. He said Obama "has broken and rejected those principles - he has taken the slaveholder's position."
Obama, who has been basking in national celebrity since delivering the keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention, suggested Keyes was outside the moderate mainstream of state Republicans.
Asked specifically about the phrase slaveholder's position, Obama said Keyes "should look to members of his own party to see if that's appropriate if he's going to use that kind of language."
Keyes, who is from Maryland and lost two Senate races there, on Sunday accepted the GOP nomination to replace primary winner Jack Ryan, who dropped out of the race in June over embarrassing sex allegations. Keyes must establish residency in Illinois by Election Day.
Obama said he voted against the late-term abortion ban as a state senator because it contained no exception to protect the life of the mother. He noted that Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and federal Appeals Judge Richard Posner, both appointed by President Ronald Reagan, had voted to strike down laws banning late-term abortions.
Obama said he did not question the sincerity of those deeply concerned about abortion, but he said he believed there were many other issues on the minds of voters.
"As I travel around this state, I don't get asked about gay marriage, I don't get asked about abortion," Obama said. "I get asked, 'How can I find a job that allows me to support my family?' I get asked, 'How can I pay those medical bills without going into bankruptcy?' "
In an interview on WBEZ radio yesterday, Keyes defended his belief that gay marriage was wrong, brushing aside a suggestion from an interviewer that sexual preference might be biologically determined.
"We as human beings cannot assert that our sexual desires cannot be controlled," Keyes said. He said such an assertion would "consign us to the realm of instinctual animal nature - and we are not there."
The race between Keyes and Obama sets up the first U.S. Senate election with two black candidates representing the major parties and all but ensures Illinois will produce only the fifth black U.S. senator in history.
By Mike Robinson
Associated Press
CHICAGO - A day after jumping into the Illinois Senate race, two-time presidential candidate Alan Keyes ripped into Democratic rival Barack Obama, saying his views on abortion were "the slaveholder's position."
The conservative former diplomat said Obama's vote against a bill that would have outlawed a form of late-term abortion denied unborn children their equal rights. Both candidates - one an outspoken conservative and the other a favorite of party liberals - are black.
"I would still be picking cotton if the country's moral principles had not been shaped by the Declaration of Independence," Keyes said. He said Obama "has broken and rejected those principles - he has taken the slaveholder's position."
Obama, who has been basking in national celebrity since delivering the keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention, suggested Keyes was outside the moderate mainstream of state Republicans.
Asked specifically about the phrase slaveholder's position, Obama said Keyes "should look to members of his own party to see if that's appropriate if he's going to use that kind of language."
Keyes, who is from Maryland and lost two Senate races there, on Sunday accepted the GOP nomination to replace primary winner Jack Ryan, who dropped out of the race in June over embarrassing sex allegations. Keyes must establish residency in Illinois by Election Day.
Obama said he voted against the late-term abortion ban as a state senator because it contained no exception to protect the life of the mother. He noted that Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and federal Appeals Judge Richard Posner, both appointed by President Ronald Reagan, had voted to strike down laws banning late-term abortions.
Obama said he did not question the sincerity of those deeply concerned about abortion, but he said he believed there were many other issues on the minds of voters.
"As I travel around this state, I don't get asked about gay marriage, I don't get asked about abortion," Obama said. "I get asked, 'How can I find a job that allows me to support my family?' I get asked, 'How can I pay those medical bills without going into bankruptcy?' "
In an interview on WBEZ radio yesterday, Keyes defended his belief that gay marriage was wrong, brushing aside a suggestion from an interviewer that sexual preference might be biologically determined.
"We as human beings cannot assert that our sexual desires cannot be controlled," Keyes said. He said such an assertion would "consign us to the realm of instinctual animal nature - and we are not there."
The race between Keyes and Obama sets up the first U.S. Senate election with two black candidates representing the major parties and all but ensures Illinois will produce only the fifth black U.S. senator in history.