By: Mary Mostert, Analyst, Original Sources (www.originalsources.com)
March 27, 2000
Following the Illinois primary last Tuesday (March 21) the Associated press reported: "CHICAGO - George W. Bush and Al Gore cruised to victories in Illinois primaries, but about a third of Republicans withheld their votes from Bush in what some analysts said could be a sign of trouble for the likely GOP nominee."
Of course, the outcome of primaries has been decided. Both Al Gore and George W. Bush have enough delegate votes to secure the nominations of their respective parties. So, just exactly what did the Associated Press, and other news outlets, see in the 68% of the votes for Republican Candidates going to Bush as a "sign of weaknesss?"
The AP article noted: "With 97 percent of precincts reporting in the Republican primary, unofficial returns showed Bush with 484,706 votes, or 67 percent, and McCain with 154,968 votes, or 22 percent. Keyes had 64,321 votes, or 9 percent.
"But in the races for delegates who actually pick the GOP nominee, Bush was winning in every district. "On the Democratic side, with 97 percent of precincts reporting, Gore had 662,809 votes, or 84 percent, according to unofficial returns, while Bill Bradley had 112,575 votes, or 14 percent. "In primary races around the country a week ago, Bush never got less than 74 percent of the vote."
Well, item #1: George Bush only got 52% of the Republican vote, not 74% in California; McCain got 43% and Keyes got 4% in California. Item #2: In California the Republicans got 54.4% of the total of over 7 million votes cast to the Democrats 43.3%. That figure for California showed that the low turn-out for Democrat candidates which the Associated Press hasn't reported has followed Gore and Bradley in every race. Even in Illinois, which gave Bob Dole a mere 37% of the total vote in 1996, gave the Republicans 47.5% of the vote in the March 14th Illinois Primary.
The primary race is basically over. Many people were voting their true feelings and 9% of the Illinois voters voted for Alan Keyes. That figure, totally ignored by Associated Press, is very significant. They knew the race was over and Bush was the nominee, but they came out to vote anyway. If we are going to compare two large industrial States, California with 152 Republican delegates and Illinois with 74 Republican delegates, let's take a look at what happened in one week's time. In California a week ago, McCain got 43% of the Republican votes. In Illinois, he go 22% of the Republican vote, almost a 50% drop in 7 days. Alan Keyes got 4% of the Republican vote in California and, in a weeks time more than doubled his percentage of the vote to 9% in Illinois.
Isn't it rather odd that the Associated Press and Network reporters never seem to notice this sort of thing? Why would they just fail to notice that as McCain's votes diminished by 50%, Keyes increased by more than 100% - in only a week? And, why would that have happened? Is it really indicative of "weakness" for Bush, or does it mean that Republican voters are sending a message about their choice for Vice President? The media has been pushing McCain - yet McCain's support is dropping like a rock, while Keyes support is moving up.
One of my readers, Charlie Banks, sent me a succinct e-mail that expresses what's happening out there among the voters and why it is happening, which explains that 9% vote for a candidate who has been almost completely ignored by the media. Banks wrote:
"The first time I had ever heard Alan Keyes speak was last October, when I was in North Carolina on a week vacation with the rest on my big family and their families and kids......representing about 10 white adult voters. All of us generally hail from all over the east coast...New York State.....Virginia..... Florida,..... are highly, if not, overly educated and are generally conservative in nature.Having kept abreast of what George W.and the rest of the delegates were doing..... and, as a practical matter, having made up my mind to vote for Bush over McCain after reading the newspaper, mag's and listening to the network evening news.....I decided to listen to the rest of Republican delegates....for argument sake. All of us adults.... sitting around the big screen and staying warm by the fireplace..... were half-heartedly listening to Bush, then Forbes, then McCain, then Bauer, and .... then...a black man named Alan Keyes. Everyone stopped chatting....when Keyes began to speak.....I suppose, at first, more out of curiosity than anything....because black Republicans are rare... to say the least.
In just 2 minutes.....we were all blown away....everyone sat spell-bound....this guy was actually saying something. When my half liberal and half conservative, 76 year old mother burst out in applause..... I knew that this guy was the real deal. My mother has two uncanny gifts....she can spot a good real estate deal in a NY second....and she can spot a phony in about the same length of time. This guy was no phony and my mom adored him. As she said after the debates were completed, the others shouldn't be on the same stage with him.
All of us agreed with MOM and couldn't figure out why we hadn't previously heard more about Keyes. After much deliberation, we all assumed the liberal press would certainly want a black man to be heard..... but assumed his message struck too coarse a note to their otherwise liberal notions.
As the weeks rolled by and the primaries ran their course.... I felt for the first time what it must feel like to be a black man in America......Keyes message was now my message....but the messenger was black..... the message that I agreed with was being ignored.... because its messenger was black.....and from a practical standpoint the press had decided that he was unelectable ....so my message was muzzled......no matter how many debates he won or how much everyone agreed with his answers. What's wrong with this picture?
We all lamented....would it be different if Keyes was white? Probably. Again, I appreciate you covering Keyes. I love his message as do all who get a chance to hear him.
Sincerely,
Charlie Banks
Now that the conservative voters don't have to worry about a loose cannon like John McCain getting nominated with an influx of Democrat votes, they are increasingly voting from their heart, as Alan Keyes has asked them to do. Twenty percent of the Utah vote went to Alan Keyes. Twenty-one percent of the Minnesota caucus vote went to Alan Keyes. Keyes has out-polled McCain in at least three states - and it's never mentioned. Now nine percent of the Illinois vote has gone to Alan Keyes.
The people like George W., but they will like him even better with Alan Keyes at his side helping to articulate the conservative principles for the 21st Century. And, contrary to the few media comments about Alan Keyes, who has taken a strong stand on moral issues such as abortion, he is not a "one issue" candidate, unless you consider constitutional principles "one issue." He does couch his responses to questions on almost any topic in the principles articulated by our founding fathers for this land. Thirty-four percent of the people who voted for Alan Keyes in California were not Republicans. He appeals to people like Charlie Banks’ 76 year old mother who, like most her age, have a liberal, FDR bent to their politics - but who are also appalled at the incredible slide in America's culture, education level and moral stance in recent years.
I don’t believe that George W. Bush who has built his political house on a message of inclusion and who has been warm and friendly to Alan Keyes will leave him out of his Administration. I don’t believe, as some have suggested, that George W. would be afraid that Keyes would out-shine him. Bush doesn’t appear to have that kind of arrogance. Keyes is a perfect example of the kind of person Bush would search for as a vice-president or as a member of his cabinet.
The liberal media have had a lot of years in articulating their message that blacks must be "kept" or "taken care of." To a large degree they are stuck in an outdated time warp with most of the Democrats on racial issues and constitutional issues. Alan Keyes has already been a jarring experience for some of Washington’s top talking heads. It’s going to be fun to watch them trying to figure out how to report a black leader who will not pander to their nonsense.
To comment, or to send an e-mail to Mary Mostert or to Charles Banks: mmostert@originalsources.com
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