← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Faust
Thread ID: 14762 | Posts: 16 | Started: 2004-08-20
2004-08-20 04:11 | User Profile
Alan Keyes calls for Slavery Reparations!
Reversal of Attitude: Alan Keyes on Reparations
Christine Phillip, BET.com, Aug. 18
Alan Keyes, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate who once referred to reparations as ââ¬Åan insult to our slave ancestors,ââ¬Â is now calling for a plan that would exempt the descendants of slaves from income taxes for at least a generation.
Tax exemption would give Blacks ââ¬Åa competitive edge in the labor market,ââ¬Â because they would be cheaper to hire than federal tax-paying employeeââ¬Â and allow Blacks to be compensated ââ¬Åfor all those years when your labor was being exploited,ââ¬Â said Keyes, who is challenging Illinois state Sen. Barack Obama for the U.S. Senate seat.
Keyesââ¬â¢ different turn
The ancestors of slaves would be precluded from paying federal taxes for a generation or two. The exemption would apply only to federal taxes, as opposed to state taxes, since slavery ââ¬Åwas an egregious failure on the part of the federal establishment,ââ¬Â Keyes said. There would be no exemption from Social Security taxes, however.
But Keyesââ¬â¢ recent pronouncements are puzzling some observers, who remember his expressed disdain for reparations not that long ago.
In 2002, for example, as a commentator for the MSNBC program ââ¬ÅMaking Sense,ââ¬Â Keyes lambasted former D.C. Delegate Walter Fauntroy for suggesting that the descendants of enslaved Africans should be compensated for centuries of forced, free labor.
ââ¬ÅThe issue of slavery was very prominent in the minds of the young men who went into the cannonââ¬â¢s mouth during the Civil War,ââ¬Â Keyes railed. ââ¬Å[A] lot of folks went consciously, believing that God called them to give their lives to repair the moral wrong of slavery. Something money could not do. So, they gave their blood.ââ¬Â
ââ¬ÅNow, it seems to me that by the very comparison youââ¬â¢re suggesting, almost I feel an insult to our slave ancestors. You want to tell me that what they suffered can actually be repaired with money? Youââ¬â¢re going to do the same thing those slaveholders did, put a money price on something that canââ¬â¢t possibly be quantified in that way.ââ¬Â
Conservative critic David Horowitz, also a guest on the show, praised Keyesââ¬â¢ insight.
Keyes: ââ¬ÅFrivolous suitsââ¬Â
ââ¬ÅWell, Alan, you put it very eloquently, yourself. This is a shakedown operation; the United States government liberated the slavesââ¬Â¦,ââ¬Â Horowitz said. ââ¬ÅThe United States inherited from Britain a slave system, and within 80 years ended slavery at the cost of the equivalent of 5 million lives. We have dealt with slavery in this countryââ¬âanother thing, Black Americans are the richest and freest and most privileged Blacks on the face of the Earth.
ââ¬ÅThe United States is a country that Americans should be proud of for ending slavery. And this whole, you knowââ¬âyou started with the suits against companies, completely frivolous suits. The companies that exist today have nothing to do with the companies of 150 years ago.ââ¬Â
Reparations advocate Charles Ogletree, a law professor at Harvard University, applauded Keyesââ¬â¢ recent conversion.
ââ¬ÅItââ¬â¢s a step in the right direction,ââ¬Â said Ogletree, whose views on affirmative action, as well as on reparations, have conflicted with those of Keyes in the past. ââ¬ÅIt captures the sentiments of many who are for reparations. Itââ¬â¢s not nearly as comprehensive to address the magnitude of the matter, but it is consistent with issues in finding real solutions.ââ¬Â
Keyes is facing a tough battle to unseat the popular, charismatic state senator from Illinois. Obama, grabbed virtually every major headline and lead TV story after delivering a rousing speech at the Democratic Convention last month. Keyes, an African American from Maryland who admittedly knows little about the issues affecting residents of Illinois, was drafted by the Republican Party to run against Obama. But Keyes is no novice to national politics: He ran two unsuccessful bids for the U.S. Senate, and he sought the Republican nomination for the White House in 2000.
(Posted on August 19, 2004)
Top Home Previous story Next Story Post a Comment Send This Page Search Comments
The whole questions of reparations for slavery is laughable. If black Americans deserve to be compensated for the forced labor of their ancestors, then so do the white Americans and the "native" Americans. Blacks were not the only people enslaved in this country, nor were they the only people who were kidnapped and forced to submit to being shipped across great oceans to be slaves here. White people had the same experience. In this country most White Americans are the decendents of former slaves and "indentured servants (slaves)," unless their ancestors immigrated here after the earliest centuries of this country's existence. The past is past. We must live in the present. If black social and economic failure result directly from past enslavement, then why do white Americans not have the same problems to the same degree?
Posted by Clea Huot at 4:07 PM on August 19
I have watched Alan Keyes career closely for the past decade and have never been impressed.He has always struck me as a loud-mouthed opinionated blowhard.He has now issued a call for the odious notion of reparations -after recently criticizing the same absurd notion.Keyes incessantly yacks about pro-life issues and some gullible conservatives bought this line,but he has never been good on racial questions.Which should show us that race always should be our paramamount issue.I would like for virtually every black to get an abortion,but hope whites reproduce bountifully.
Now we see he is a hypocritical race hustler to boot.The move of the Illinios GOP is recruiting this carpetbagger shows how futile it is to pander to blacks.Keyes has never been good on the immigration issue and is married to an East Indian woman with a pack of mixed breed kids.
I hope Keyes is drubbed in his race and retreats back to Maryland with his tail between his legs.
Posted by Charles at 4:09 PM on August 19
Illinois Democrats must having a great time listening to this guy try to out do State Sen. Obama. If I were Black and in the real estate business in the DC Metro area I would be camped out on his doorstep with a folder full of listings.
The Republican Party got its start in Illinois and used to be taken seriously. Is Alan Keyes (the Black Harold Stassen) the best they can do? It would be a lot more economical and far less humiliating to simply not contest the election. I would guess that the only reason they are running Keyes is to keep ballot access.
Has Keyes even established residency yet? If I were a reporter I would want to be on hand when he gets his drivers license and registers to vote. (Hope he doesn't miss the deadline.)
Posted by Howard Fezell at 4:39 PM on August 19
I would be for this if it included ending affirmative action but this could not happen because if affirmative action were ended the women and hispanics would lose out.We whites should back programs that help blacks but in the process harm hispanics and women.This would put the blacks and the white males on the same side which is a necessary evil.
Posted by Brad at 4:51 PM on August 19
Alan Keyes is no conservative. Where would he be right now if blacks had not become the slaves of white people (and if there had never been any colonization of Africa)? He would be living as a naked, savage cannibal in a mud or bamboo hut, with no mechanical device of any kind, no written language, no medicine except witchcraft and voodoo, and no domesticated animals. His life expectancy would have been about 35.
Becoming the slaves of white people was the best thing that ever happened to blacks. There were some abuses, but their masters generally treated them very well simply because it was in their own best interests to do so. The slaves were compensated for their work in the form of being given food, clothing, housing, secure employment, as well as the benefit of living in an actual civilization rather than as savages in the jungle, with almost nothing to speak of in terms of law and order.
Even if you don't count all the costs to whites over the years such as black crime and government wealth redistribution programs, an accurate balancing of the books would show blacks owing whites. Show me a grateful black person who agrees with all that and I'll show you a black conservative.
Posted by Thomas at 5:08 PM on August 19
When are we ever going to get past this? Even a nod toward reparations is the thin end of a wedge that will only accelerate the destruction of this country. Ever notice that in the black community every problem can only be solved with a handout? It's always about give me this, grant us that, we demand, give give give. Here's your reparations: We take every dissatisfied so-called descendent of so-called slaves and return them to Africa for a refund, just as someone would return defective merchandise to a store. What idiocy.
Posted by Mattox at 7:57 PM on August 19
Many blacks (if not most) are not descendents of U.S. slaveowners. If Keys proposal was limited to those that can verify that they are a descendant from a U.S. slave, then it might not be a bad idea.
Here's why:
Many blacks would find out they are not a descendent from a U.S. slave. They would get nothing. They would realize they have nothing to be bitter about, and whites have nothing to feel guilty about.
In lieu of this tax break, all affirmative action, set asides, and endless shakedowns from black organizations would have to end. In the long run it would be cheaper than the billions if not trillions we have already spent.
Most whites are not a descendent from a U.S. slaveowner. (less than ten percent of whites owned a slave); ninety percent of whites didn't own a slave, and since many whites are descendents from immigrants that arrived after 1865, it stands to reason that the vast majority of most whites were not guilty of slaveowning.
A thorough examination of the facts might be a good thing. It is better than the endless guilt trips layed on the general population.
The record would also show that the U.S. and England led the way in abolishing slavery all over the world, including Afica were slavery was prevalent (some say it still is).
Posted by JD at 8:49 PM on August 19
Sadly, Keyes was the hastily chosen candidate of the Illinois Republicans. They should have taken Jim Oberweiss, the runner up, who was emphasizing the problems of illegal immigration. Apparently, the Republicans want to lose this one...
Posted by James in IL at 10:37 PM on August 19
[url]http://www.amren.com/mtnews/archives/2004/08/reversal_of_att.php[/url]
More articles on Reparations [url]http://www.amren.com/mtnews/archives/reparations/index.php[/url]
2004-08-20 16:43 | User Profile
I heard on the radio a couple days ago that Keyes supported ending taxes on blacks for a couple of generations. I was wondering what Keyes they were talking about.
A couple of generations of Affirmative Action and a century of white subsidies to black institutions, I think is reparations enough... nevermind that slavery itself is absolutely irrelevant to the modern black condition.
I don't like it when someone moves to a different state, just to run for office. But, I thought, at least Keyes was doing it because the Republicans wanted him to vs. Hillary who did it just for herself.
If Keye's is talking about just federal income taxes, most blacks don't pay it, anyway. And, if this would get rid of all government racial preferences, I'd be all for Keye's reparation plans. But, after any reparations, blacks would still be demanding more and still be demanding racial preferences. Blacks are a hopeless species.
2004-08-20 16:57 | User Profile
At one time I thought he deserved a chance, even though there always was something lucridious about him. Now he's turning into a complete joke.
It's interesting though. I wonder how his "inspiration" will be viewed by other neocon dominated publications. Maybe they'll say "hey, we need to reexamine this. We do need to reach out to blacks". (like the neocons at National Review always say)
So maybe it will hasten the irrelavance, not only of Keyes, but of the mainstream conservative movement in general.
2004-08-20 17:29 | User Profile
Keyes' vision for his version of black reparations is a great idea. Accelerate the Collapse of the Empire.
2004-08-21 04:28 | User Profile
I need to hear a Black Man like Keyes say they are THANKFUL for all White Civilization has given HIS RACE. We give give give and have NEVER gotten anything in return except for Socialism and Government Welfare. 300,000 Union Men DIED to set their Black Asses FREE. They did NOT set themselves free, and they have contributed NOTHING. They wouldn't be living in the LIFE WE GIVE THEM, WE CREATED FOR THEM THE LIFE THEY HAVE. And they are still UNGRATEFUL. It's time for a White Man of Principle to STAND UP in front of the Media and TELL THEM. I'm not only asking for them to stop whining, and pass the blame of their crime, poor intellect, single-parent mother homes .. I'm talking about them THANKING US. They need to THANK US for giving them all they have, none of which they ever would be able to create if left to their own devices. I'm ANGRY at their stupid big mouths, and I'm ANGRY at them thinking we OWE them anything MORE than what we have already PROVIDED FOR THEM.
2004-08-21 14:05 | User Profile
Do you remember when Keyes had his show on one of the cable stations, "Alan Keyes Is Making Sense"? It was eventually cancelled due to low ratings, and apparently Keyes pulled the usual "racism" line on why the show wasn't successful.
2004-08-21 21:40 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Exelsis_Deo] They need to THANK US for giving them all they have, none of which they ever would be able to create if left to their own devices. I'm ANGRY at their stupid big mouths, and I'm ANGRY at them thinking we OWE them anything MORE than what we have already PROVIDED FOR THEM.[/QUOTE]You might be waiting a long time for a thank you. Certainly won't see any gratitude from them in this lifetime. Every time I've done a kind act for a black person it has never been met with a grateful disposition. In fact, I think it would only make them hate you even more.
2004-08-21 23:06 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Robbie]Do you remember when Keyes had his show on one of the cable stations, "Alan Keyes Is Making Sense"? It was eventually cancelled due to low ratings, and apparently Keyes pulled the usual "racism" line on why the show wasn't successful.[/QUOTE]
Keyes wasn't advancing as fast as he thought he should at the state department. He claims racism. He couldn't get into a debate. He claims racism. His show is cancelled, he claims racism. Whenever something doesn't go his way, he claims racism. I must be king of America because as a white person there is nothing to explain why I haven't become the most powerful person on Earth (aside from a lack of interest in such).
Just like getting the invitation to the Illinois race, his dark skin has always been his ticket. But, like so many blacks, he has dellusions delusions that his dark skin as always caused others to hold him back.
2004-08-22 01:40 | User Profile
No reparation without repatriation.
2004-08-22 05:41 | User Profile
I had already decided Keyes was a joke; this just confirms it. If I were in Illinois, I'd vote for anyone (even that Obama character, although preferably someone from a third party) before I'd vote for neo-"conservative" swine Keyes. The main focus of the guy's career was to con the less sophisticated Christian consertvatives (the ones who now identify as Christian Zionists) to vote for him, rather than Buchanan, in the '96 and 2000 Republican primaries, after all, so its always been clear he was one of our enemies.
2004-08-22 21:53 | User Profile
[QUOTE=londo]No reparation without repatriation.[/QUOTE]This is a good one. :thumbsup: I'll be sure to use this in the future. Thanks.
2004-08-23 03:21 | User Profile
Whore-o-witz FrontPage Magazine on this subject
[QUOTE]A Conservative Slave Reparations Plan?
FrontPage Magazine, Aug. 19
The movement to legislate reparations for slavery has a new face: Alan Keyes.
In a craven attempt to boost his faltering (read: hopeless) Senate campaign, Keyes said Monday that he would support exempting blacks from all taxation in order to repay the debt America owed them for enslaving their ancestors. Blacks would pay only Social Security taxes under his plan. The Chicago Tribune reported that Keyes justified his position with an appeal to ancient history, ââ¬ÅWhen a city had been devastated (in the Roman empire), for a certain length of timeââ¬âa generation or twoââ¬âthey exempted the damaged city from taxation.ââ¬Â Keyes, usually no fan of the morés of the later Roman Empire, said this would ââ¬Åcompensate for all those years when your labor was being exploited.ââ¬Â
When whose labor was being ââ¬Åexploited,ââ¬Â Ambassador? Itââ¬â¢s been far more than ââ¬Åa generation or twoââ¬Â since Americans atoned for their tolerance of the peculiar institution, which more than half the country never really tolerated, and which 300,000 free state Americans gave their lives to end.
In contrast, Keyesââ¬â¢ rival Barack Obama sounded much more conservativeââ¬ânot to mention saneââ¬âthan Keyes, telling Illinois reporters, ââ¬ÅI generally think that the best strategies for moving forward involve vigorously enforcing our anti-discrimination laws in education and job training and other programs that can lift all people out of poverty.ââ¬Â
Thus, in the Illinois Senate race, the left-wing Democrat has shunned the overheated racialist rhetoric embraced by his ultra-conservative Republican challenger.
So manifest is the illogic behind the reparations movement that it has been recognized by none other than Alan Keyes. Discussing the Civil War in a column in 2002, Keyes wrote, ââ¬ÅThe price for the sin of slavery has already been paid, in blood.ââ¬Â This would make Keyesââ¬â¢ second major flip-flop since announcing his candidacy last week, the first being his carpetbagger candidacy itself.
Mark your calendars: this is the earliest point at which Keyes has resorted to racial demagoguery, a staple of Keyesââ¬â¢ media appearances for nearly 20 years. When Keyes left the State Department in the late 1980s, he blamed his stalled career on a biased superior. Keyes referred to his inability to attract media attention during the 1996 presidential primaries as ââ¬Åa blackout, which means you keep the black out.ââ¬Â (Keyes last cited his racially charged dictionary in 1992, when he told Republicans they had gone colorblind, which ââ¬Åmeans that when a colored person walks in, you suddenly go blind.ââ¬Â) In 2000, the single-digit candidate accused the New Hampshire press corps of racism for not covering his presidential campaign to his satisfaction.
Beyond stirring ethnic animosities, Keyes also has a habit of engaging in genuinely neurotic behavior. Keyes chained himself to an Atlanta TV station in 1996, then went on a hunger strike to protest his exclusion from a televised debate. He deliberately provided fodder for Michael Mooreââ¬â¢s camera during the 2000 primaries, body surfing the crowd at an alternative rock concert in return for Mooreââ¬â¢s promised endorsement. (Moore predictably reneged.) Will this man convince Illinois voters that heââ¬â¢s the steady hand they want at the nationââ¬â¢s helm during a time of war?
The Illinois Republican Party chose Keyes, because, like his opponent, he is a minority and an eloquent speaker. If thereââ¬â¢s any truth to the charge that the Republican Party is racist, it lies in the fact that the GOP continues to lavish political attention on a proven loser, with a case of racial hypersensitivity and a penchant for spouting nutty-sounding rhetoric, merely because he is black.
The reason Alan Keyes accepted the nomination is clear: running for elective office is his most reliable means of employment. Keyes paid himself $100,000 out of his campaign funds when he ran for Paul Sarbanesââ¬â¢ U.S. Senate seat in 1992 and more money out of subsequent campaigns. After telling Wolf Blitzer he was not taking a salary during his 1996 presidential bid, he was caught taking $20,000 (which he reimbursed after unwanted publicity).
For those who share a conservative position on social issues, Alan Keyes is not the face you want associated with your cause. Although he enacted little of his social agenda, Ronald Reagan gave religious conservatives a major propaganda coup by associating their opinions (which the media always portrayed as ââ¬Åextremeââ¬Â) with his warm personality.
Alan Keyes does no such thing. He began the race by referring to the pro-choice African-American Obama as a ââ¬Åslaveholderââ¬Â with all the sophistication and finesse of a street preacher. As Mike Murphy has noted in the Weekly Standard: ââ¬ÅThe job of a political candidate is to attract people to a partyââ¬â¢s political philosophy and bring victory to the party on Election Day. In two U.S. Senate races and two presidential campaigns, Alan Keyes has done the exact opposite: shown a great ability to stampede voters away from his candidacy like a herd of panicking animals fleeing a huge volcanic eruption.ââ¬Â Indeed, in his two home state Senate races (1988 and 1992), Keyes garnered 38 and 29 percent of the vote, respectively. In a ludicrous race against an equally charismatic, far more mainsteam-sounding minority politician, he is likely to pull in even fewer votes.
Heââ¬â¢s already off to a disastrous start. In the now-reliably Democratic state of Illinois, Keyes chose to make his campaignââ¬â¢s keynote issue abortion, trumpeting his opposition to abortion in the case of rape and incestââ¬âa position far more restrictive than the Republican Party platform.
Electorally speaking, if Alan Keyes becomes equated with the pro-life movement, the public will safely conclude the pro-life movement is politically untenable. And the damage he does in the next seven weeks will go a long way towards eroding support for the Party of Lincoln in the Land of Lincoln.
Keyes is an eloquent spokesman for causes near to his heart. For the sake of those issuesââ¬âand the Republican Partyââ¬âhe should never seek to be anything more.
(Posted on August 20, 2004)
Top Home Previous story Next Story Post a Comment Send This Page Search Comments
It seems like every black politician ends up proving himself to be either a buffon or a crook.
Posted by Billy H at 10:21 PM on August 20
What a joke! And to think that I actually used to like Keyes, no matter how "keyed" up he used to get when preaching about values and morality. Dump Keyes for Oberweiss!
Posted by Frank at 1:25 AM on August 21
I've always thought that Keyes (a very dark black man with a small head) has a low IQ. He screams a lot when he gives speeches but in a debate he is not very impressive.
Posted by Bernie at 3:18 PM on August 21
Keyes impresses himself. Has anyone else ever noticed that huge smile he always gives at the end of his rambling statements? This is particularly the case when he is answering questions. He is very proud of his verbal skills, though oftentimes his gramatically correct and convoluted statements lack real substance.
Posted by Frank at 4:08 AM on August 22
Alan Keyes is a Harvard-educated egg-head eccentric, to say the least. Here in Illinois the Republican Party went out and found Keyes as a short notice substitute after the candidacy of Jack Ryan self-destructed.Keyes is a veritable political hand grenade with the pin already pulled. Although obviously intelligent, in public discourse he is rambling, convoluted, often shrill,& very sweaty.His opponent Obama is the opposite of these traits, and will wipe the floor with Keyes come the elections. Although I do not share the majority of his political leftist leanings, I'm afraid I will have no viable choice in the election but to cast a vote for Mr. Obama. Between our current Democratic governor, & mayor of Chicago,this is all shaping up to be the People's Republic of Illinois. Indiana is looking more appealing all the time... MC
Posted by M. Connor at 2:57 PM on August 22
[url]http://www.amren.com/mtnews/archives/2004/08/a_conservative.php[/url]
[/QUOTE]
2004-08-23 04:37 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Faust]Whore-o-witz FrontPage Magazine on this subject[/QUOTE]
As much as Keyes disturbes the people at FrontPageMag, we owe Keyes credit.
2004-08-23 08:02 | User Profile
Here we see how far off base the Neocons have pushed the so-called "conservative" movement:
[QUOTE]In contrast, Keyesââ¬â¢ rival Barack Obama sounded much more conservativeââ¬ânot to mention saneââ¬âthan Keyes, telling Illinois reporters, ââ¬ÅI generally think that the best strategies for moving forward involve vigorously enforcing our anti-discrimination laws in education and job training and other programs that can lift all people out of poverty.ââ¬Â FrontPage Magazine [/QUOTE]
So Marxist "anti-discrimination laws" and Government Wefare programs are what Neocon call "conservative?" They Neocons have turned everything upside down!
2004-08-24 00:49 | User Profile
[QUOTE=londo]No reparation without repatriation.[/QUOTE] Amen and Amen !
2004-08-25 02:34 | User Profile
God Damn NIGGAZ !!! Contribute NOTHING.. Leech and VOTE. Let me aask you a frightening question, brothers..
Imagine that you are a Nigga.. Imagine that your mind is gone, and you now think like that Nigga.. it just rips the bones from your back doesn't it !!!!!