Alan Keyes Accepts Illinois Nomination for U.S Senate, 2004

Republican candidate for U. S Senate Alan Keyes says Democrat Obama’s position on abortion is what leads him to enter the race for the Senate
Aug 19, 2004 09:42 PM EDT

In an email written for supporters, Alan Keyes, Republican candidate from Illinois for U.S. Senate, 2004, has confirmed that he accepts his nomination.

Mr. Keyes emphasized that it would be wrong to allow his Democrat opponent Barack Obama running for the Senate without facing any challenges on his pro-abortion views.

Alan Keyes previously hesitated to run against Obama, believing that Obama was an intelligent likable guy whom he had no reason to oppose against.

"I saw no particular reason to believe that I should leave Maryland, the home of my family and my heritage, in order to go and oppose him in this race. I have to say that from the way he came across at the convention, he didn't seem to me to be some rabid threat to the future of the country," Keyes said.

However, Mr. Keyes explained that after learning about Mr. Obama’s pro-abortion vote in April 2002 which allowed live birth abortions in Illinois, he officially accepted his nomination for US Senate, saying it is a “must-run” against the Democrat.

"We are talking about a situation in which, in the course of an abortion procedure, a child has been born alive -- she is out of the womb, breathing and living on her own -- and Obama cast a vote against the idea that that child's life should be spared," Keyes carefully explained.

Keyes said that Obama's views on abortion are similar to those of slaveholders, who neglected their moral obligations of US citizens as suggested in the Declaration of Independence.

In an interview, Keyes explained that he would still be picking cotton if the country’s moral principles had not been shaped by the Declaration of Independence. In his analogy, Keyes referred Obama as slaveholder, saying he has broken and rejected those moral principles when voted for abortion.

"When Barack Obama embraces an extremist position on abortion that countenances even the murder of living young children outside the womb, he abandons the principles of our Declaration, and destroys the foundations of our national union," Keyes said.

Keyes promised supporters to conduct a campaign on his part to fight for the principles that this country has been built upon. He asked for their prayers and supports.

“The battle is for us, but I have confidence because the victory is for God”, Keyes said.

Keyes was also a Republican presidential candidate in 1996 and 2000.