Alan Keyes, the only true conservative in the race

[Josquin des Prez]

And the one you are least likely to have ever heard, or if you did, you have probably been given the impression he is some sort of pro life, bible thumbing nut job, rather then being the most principled and probably the most intelligent candidate among the barrage of genetic defects that are shoved in front of our eyes during this shameful election of ours.

Here's his stance on immigration for instance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xzqg_QWgnFY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-taxkeodhxA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m39D8wYiXBk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arOL-FGbX7g&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQUSjil-zqA&feature=related

Please, tell me that this isn't something every single conservative in America and perhaps a fair chunk of even the most staunch of American-hating liberals are just dying to hear coming out of our corrupt politicians? This man is pure brilliance, it's like listening to Beethoven or something. It's a sad state of affairs when men of real integrity such as this are ignored and marginalized. I fear our republic will not survive much longer.

Here's another brilliant speech given for his GOP brake announcement:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byl6P9f5ckA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUCdkYh05jY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oECajOi_M4I&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPzzondbfgA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYQ8wwPs9zQ&feature=related

More:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4G5GNlp_xQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lOFRaLOrnE

And here's something for you religious types:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMYmL20ihbY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AInkcfgZOeU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=638-czJotCw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOavlwBmOHQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPAkRgWr-WA&feature=related

[Josquin des Prez]

No comments? Fine then, go vote for your McCains and your Obamas. Bunch of philistines.

[Daidalos]

I'll give you this, judging from that first speech; he's an effective speaker. Clearly he's smart and impressive. However, were I an American citizen, I would not vote for him. He's far, far too much to the right for my tastes, on economical and social issues alike.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

And the one you are least likely to have ever heard, or if you did, you have probably been given the impression he is some sort of pro life, bible thumbing nut job, rather then being the most principled and probably the most intelligent candidate among the barrage of genetic defects that are shoved in front of our eyes during this shameful election of ours.

It is quite possible for a person to be a nutjob and to be principled and intelligent, too. Keyes probably falls into this category. 

When I think "true conservative" though, Ron Paul comes to mind a lot faster than Keyes does. No wonder the Republicans can't stand him.

[mozartsneighbor]

It is quite possible for a person to be a nutjob and to be principled and intelligent, too. Keyes probably falls into this category. 

When I think "true conservative" though, Ron Paul comes to mind a lot faster than Keyes does. No wonder the Republicans can't stand him.

I lived in Washington, DC for almost 10 years and am not a stranger to Keyes, his ideas, and career. He definitely falls into the category Spitalve put him in -- quite intelligent and principled, and quite a nutjob.

[Josquin des Prez]

He's far, far too much to the right for my tastes, on economical and social issues alike.

I don't have a problem with that, since i'm an hopeless right-winger myself, but i think this is part of the problem with conservatism today. Everybody is afraid of standing up to what they believe for fear of being labeled as an "extremist".

[Daidalos]

I don't have a problem with that, since i'm an hopeless right-winger myself, but i think this is part of the problem with conservatism today. Everybody is afraid of standing up to what they believe for fear of being labeled as an "extremist".

I suppose I can sympathise with that sentiment. Keyes should be given credit for his candour, at the very least.

In some ways, it's the same way "liberal" seems to have become a swearword in America. Politicians, out of fear of being so labelled and its perceived implications, are too afraid to tackle the issues honestly. From a foreigner's perspective, this strikes me as ironic. In America, "liberal" seems to connote leftism, however in Sweden, the liberals are considered to be a part of the centre-right bloc of politics. The leftists are the the Social Democrats, the Left Party (formerly Communistic), and to a lesser extent the Greens. Of course, in America, "socialist" or "communist" are even stronger swearwords than "liberal".

In my mind, we are too preoccupied with these labels and categories and don't examine critically the various positions for what they really represent. This has led to the contemporary situation where terms such as "liberal" and "conservative" are rendered vacuous and utterly meaningless, serving only as convenient catchwords used to vilify the opponent.

Something that might have escaped the politicians and media people is that when you willfully provide misinformation in order to mislead, you completely subvert both in theory and practice the democratic process. When the people base their decisions on propaganda, it's not their voice that is being heard, it's not their will that decides their own destiny. In the end, their choices are made for them by the people with the resources to deceive on such a grand scale as we are witnessing today in the media, and from the politicians (sometimes, the distinction is meaningless).

Whatever one thinks of Alan Keyes, and I don't agree with him on much at all, you'd have to admit he's not contributing to the pervasive and ongoing dismantling of our democracy by being dishonest.

[Todd]

I loved him in Borat. 

[Guido]

i'm an hopeless right-winger myself

You don't like to thwart the stereotype do you! 

[scarpia]

Everybody is afraid of standing up to what they believe for fear of being labeled as an "extremist".

By definition, only a very few of us would be afraid of being labeled extremist, since by definition very few have extreme views.  You are under the convenient delusion that most people agree with you except they are afraid to admit it.  In fact, most people don't agree with you, and that's a good thing.

[drogulus]

     It would be better to decide what's right without regard for whether it makes you look like a conformist. Most extremists think they are more honest and/or courageous when they differ with the majority. Most of the time there's a good reason they are outnumbered. Keyes and Paul want to live in a much different country than most of us do. There's something reassuring about the "averageness" of the garden variety politician in this respect. He/she wants to live in the same country I do. He's not sitting in the beer hall daydreaming about who he'll hang from the nearest lamp post. Keyes and Paul most definitely do. Not murderously, mind you, just a long, long list of scores to settle. America didn't turn out right for them. My reaction is that they are not right for us.

[Daidalos]

     It would be better to decide what's right without regard for whether it makes you look like a conformist. Most extremists think they are more honest and/or courageous when they differ with the majority. Most of the time there's a good reason they are outnumbered. Keyes and Paul want to live in a much different country than most of us do. There's something reassuring about the "averageness" of the garden variety politician in this respect. He/she wants to live in the same country I do. He's not sitting in the beer hall daydreaming about who he'll hang from the nearest lamp post. Keyes and Paul most definitely do. Not murderously, mind you, just a long, long list of scores to settle. America didn't turn out right for them. My reaction is that they are not right for us.

Those points are fair, I suppose, however I wonder if it's true that "garden variety politicians" really want to live in the same country as the average Joe. Are their goals truly the same? Considering the influence lobbyists wield, how much special interests dictate policy, I must question the notion that the common people are served by their politicians. Then of course, it has often been noted how much corporations affect politicians, and their interests are not always the same as that of the average man or woman.

I'm not saying Paul, Keyes or any other fringe politician truly speaks for the people, most often they do not, but how often do the "mainstream" politicians stand for the common man? The prevailing prejudice among the jaded is of course that all politicians are lying scumbags, and that perception most certainly has been reinforced these last eight years. I guess you would not include the current administration under the heading "garden variety politicians"? Would McCain or Obama be more in tune with the common folk? I seem to recall Bush's folksy antics were a contributing factor to his popularity; he was a guy with whom you could have a beer. Well, we see now what kind of a country he envisioned, and if we're to go on polls, the common man disagrees with him.

I'd say most of the people in power have a different vision for their country than do the average person. Do you really think a cross-section of congress or the senate would show you anything near the diversity of a cross-section of the populace? With a two-party system where on many, many policies the parties are just the same, how good can you represent the variety of thought and opinion in the entire country? Can you truly represent it at all?

[Josquin des Prez]

I loved him in Borat. 

I've just seen this film. Dear lord what a pile of rubbish. Our civilization must be on it's last breath if this is what is considered "entertainment" this days.

[Josquin des Prez]

     It would be better to decide what's right without regard for whether it makes you look like a conformist. Most extremists think they are more honest and/or courageous when they differ with the majority. Most of the time there's a good reason they are outnumbered. Keyes and Paul want to live in a much different country than most of us do. There's something reassuring about the "averageness" of the garden variety politician in this respect. He/she wants to live in the same country I do. He's not sitting in the beer hall daydreaming about who he'll hang from the nearest lamp post. Keyes and Paul most definitely do. Not murderously, mind you, just a long, long list of scores to settle. America didn't turn out right for them. My reaction is that they are not right for us.

I'd like to point out that this country was founded by individuals such as you describe. It's a matter of fact, every single advancement in the history of our civilization was the direct result of extraordinary individuals taking aggressive steps against the reassuring "averageness" of their respective times. And in retrospective, we always tend to wonder why their ideas were considered at all to be "eccentric" or "extreme" when they were in fact the most obvious ones.

[scarpia]

I've just seen this film. Dear lord what a pile of rubbish. Our civilization must be on it's last breath if this is what is considered "entertainment" this days.

My, very big on the "end of civilization" theme again, I see. 

[Josquin des Prez]

My, very big on the "end of civilization" theme again, I see. 

Well of course, i do believe our civilization has rotted beyond repair, and i take all signs of degeneracy as proof our decline has reached critical mass.

[Daidalos]

Well of course, i do believe our civilization has rotted beyond repair, and i take all signs of degeneracy as proof our decline has reached critical mass.

Might I ask, at what time do think our civilisation was at its peak?

[Todd]

I've just seen this film. Dear lord what a pile of rubbish. Our civilization must be on it's last breath if this is what is considered "entertainment" this days.

And Keyes fits in it quite well indeed.

[Josquin des Prez]

And Keyes fits in it quite well indeed.

Besides the fact most of the personages you see in the film were duped into appearing like fools thanks to artful trickery and post production editing, i'd say the fact Keyes is against homosexuality is further demonstration that he is a man of unflinching principles. After all, the bible is pretty damn specific regarding the act of homosexuality in the eyes of god and i don't see how anybody can be a Christian and somehow turn the other way when the issue comes up. This pretty much plays into my argument.

[Daidalos]

Besides the fact most of the personages you see in the film were duped into appearing like fools thanks to artful trickery and post production editing, i'd say the fact Keyes is against homosexuality is further demonstration that he is a man of unflinching principles. After all, the bible is pretty damn specific regarding the act of homosexuality in the eyes of god and i don't see how anybody can be a Christian and somehow turn the other way when the issue comes up. This pretty much plays into my argument.

By the same logic, a person who advocates stoning unruly children can be considered a man of unflinching principles. Can bigotry be tolerated - even praised - if it follows from a set of moral and ethical principles? I would be afraid of a person of such a literalist conviction; are Western ideals of democracy and liberty really compatible with a literalist reading of Scripture?

Shouldn't the mature religious person recognise that the Bible is a product of its times - its authors prone to the same prejudices and faults as all other people of those eras - and realise that maybe not all of its laws and ordinances are relevant today?

But, I digress. I do not intend to start a religious debate. Care to answer my earlier question, Josquin? Since you've posited that our society is in decline, I would be eager to learn how the world looked like When Things Were Better.

Might I ask, at what time do think our civilisation was at its peak?