Ryan May
For the Daily
DES MOINES, Iowa — Liked by many, hated by some, Alan Keyes is fighting against the odds to get the GOP nomination for president and putting up a good fight.
Keyes placed a surprise third Monday in the Republican Iowa caucus. A conservative radio talk-show host, Keyes has a reputation for eloquence.
The 51-year-old Republican is calling for a return to constitutional-based government and a return to Thomas Jefferson’s natural rights doctrine. Keyes said he believes people are born with certain rights and no government should intrude on them.
A former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Social and Economic Council, and a Reagan administration official, Keyes ran for president in 1996 but dropped out because of lack of support.
But despite past shortfalls, Keyes is working to make a difference within in his own party, especially in his push for moral reform.
A devout Christian, Keyes believes restoring liberty to Americans should be the goal of the next president. His vision to restore liberty to the people includes plans to cut taxes, allow schools to post the Ten Commandments in the classroom and reform Social Security.
Recently, Keyes has received considerable criticism for his stance against gays in the military. Keyes believes sexual orientation is a personal choice and, for that reason, cannot be equated with race discrimination and civil rights.
“The effort to equate homosexual and lesbian relations with legal marriage represents a destructive assault on the heterosexual, marriage-based family,” Keyes states on his Web site.
David Noe, a student at the University of Northern Iowa and a volunteer for Keyes, said the candidate understands the dangers of citizens losing their liberty.
“According to the Constitution, the American people are supposed to have control of the military. We no longer have this control,” Noe said. “Keyes believes if we do not regain control of our country we will become a totalitarian government in the next 50 to 100 years.”
Keyes uses the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bible to support many of his positions including taxes and government spending.
“The best way to curtail government spending is to cut taxes, because they can’t spend what they don’t get,” Keyes states on his Web site.