Alan Keyes

Donate to MSSA political efforts Home Successes Join MSSA Contact Us Search This Site Montana Shooting Ranges Montana Firearm Manufacturers and Gunsmiths Events, Matches, Shows Attorney Referral List News Releases Legislative News Archives Publications Gun Laws CWP Info Event Calendar Importing Firearms Quotations Picture Gallery Pin Shoot Links Informed Juries No SSN "Modwest has done a great job for MSSA!" --Gary Marbut, MSSA President

To Missoulian Site May 26, 2000 Fighting for principle By ROB CHANEY of the Missoulian Republican second-runner Alan Keyes blasts liberals during stop in Missoula "If you don't vote for what you believe in, what you believe in will never win," Republican presidential candidate Alan Keyes thundered to an appreciative Missoula audience Thursday evening. Despite running a distant second to Texas Gov. George W. Bush in the GOP primary race, Keyes gave no sign of giving up on a political effort he equated to rescuing the American institutions of liberty and freedom. Before about 600 people in the Valley Christian School gym, he warned that excessive government control of society would destroy the principles that founded the United States. "Whether you take the direct, open poison of the Democrats or the sugar-coated poison of some Republicans, it's death either way," the former ambassador to the United Nations said. He accused the country's liberal politicians, and particularly the Clinton administration, of fostering doubt in each citizen's individual capacity to act morally or responsibly without government help. The result, he said, would be the abandonment of American heritage. "We might wake up just in time to get it back before it's lost forever," Keyes said. Politicians in power have convinced voters that without big government programs, children, old people and other social needs won't be taken care of. But when the United States reached the end of World War II with no standing enemies and the nuclear capability to make any new opposition bow to its will, Keyes said the nation showed its true moral fiber. Instead of taking over the world, Americans helped rebuild other nations and gave them back their sovereignty. "We had a position of power unmatched in the history of the world," he said. "We tasted the greatest potential for abuse of power and we turned our back on such abuse. It never occurred to us to use it that way. I'm not saying that's a testament to our intelligence, but it's sure a testament to our character." The Missoula-based Montana Shooting Sports Association sponsored Keyes' appearance and association president Gary Marbut said it had endorsed Keyes for the Republican primary. "He's a man of great integrity," Marbut said. "He's a man of vision and an unembarrassed supporter of the right to keep and bear arms." Keyes was also a man on a nationwide campaign in need of contributions, Marbut added. He cajoled the crowd to contribute what it could, including "cash, checks, gold and once-fired brass." Keyes acknowledged that Americans have almost never thrown an incumbent political party out of the White House during good economic times like the present. But he argued this time might be an exception because of Clinton's sex scandals in the Oval Office and the Senate Democrats' unanimous stand against his subsequent impeachment. "They circled the wagons around his lying and corruption and refused to do their duty to the Constitution and the American people," Keyes said. "That's the reason they have to go. I think that Nov. 2 could prove to be a good day for the Republicans." Positions of Alan Keyes € On taxes: Keyes would abolish the income tax and Social Security program, funding government instead with sales taxes and tariffs. He said Social Security promises of retirement benefits needed to be kept, but the system must be redesigned to deliver on those promises. Income taxes, he said, unconstitutionally force citizens to pay their share to the government before taking care of themselves, and gives government complete potential control of the nation's resources. "We are wage slaves of the government and we will never be free again until the income tax has been abolished," he said. € On the Second Amendment: Criminals are people who break laws, Keyes said, and one more law on gun control will be just one more for them to break. Keyes said the real purpose behind gun control legislation was to keep guns out of citizens' hands, on the assumption "we can no longer be trusted with the dangerous toys that would allow us to defend our liberty." € On public education: Keyes said parents have the predominant right to control their children's education, and accused governmental education systems of "turning out people willing to be dominated by their government. Take away control of education and you've taken away the ability to influence the future." € On the Department of Veterans Affairs: "When it's time for you to get the shaft, they elevate your concern," Keyes said of the nation's system of benefits for military veterans. Rather than make it a separate department for some special interest, the American military should retain responsibility for its veterans' health and well-being, he said. € On efforts in New York to draft Keyes as a Republican opponent to Hillary Clinton for Senate: Keyes' press secretary Connie Hair said Keyes was offended by Clinton's "dropping into the state" to run for office, calling it an offense to the nation's principle of federalism. Keyes would not do a similar act, even though he has an extensive New York background, she said. Keyes is open to the possibility of being the Republican vice presidential nominee, if Bush is willing to offer the position to him, she said. Reporter Rob Chaney can be reached at 523-5382 or at rchaney@missoulian.com.