Go Get ‘em, Alan!

—– Original Message —–
From: Capt. Chaos
To:
Sent: Sunday, August 29, 2004 10:06 PM
Subject: FW: Dems’ bid to keep Keyes off ballot fails

Typical…first this guy John Keith says he’s a democrat election board
member…by the end of the story he’s denying he’s a democrat, then says “if
you want to call me a liar then call me a liar”.

Ok Mr. Keith, you are a liar…but then again that seems to be more and more
a party trait.

Oh yea…and the apparently new found tactics of the democrat party comes
into play again…when you don’t like the outcome of things…sue.

Chuck

>From: [email protected]
>To: [email protected]
>Subject: Dems’ bid to keep Keyes off ballot fails Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2004
>04:30:47 EDT
>
>
>http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-sen28.html
>
>Dems’ bid to keep Keyes off ballot fails
>August 28, 2004
>BY STEVE PATTERSON Staff Reporter
>
>Just when you thought the U.S. Senate race in Illinois couldn’t get any
>stranger, Democrats showed they have a few more tricks up their sleeve.
>With Republicans turning their attention to New York for their national
>convention, Democrats on the Illinois Board of Elections raised legal
>questions
>Friday that threatened to keep Alan Keyes off the ballot as the GOP
>nominee.
>But after a four-hour standoff at the Thompson Center, it took just a
>three-minute phone call from a top Republican attorney to settle the matter
>– at
>least for now — and put Keyes on the fall ballot.
>
>Keyes’ camp immediately blamed supporters of Democrat Barack Obama for
>orchestrating the ambush, though Obama’s aides insisted they were
>”blindsided” by
>the move and called it “outrageously stupid.” Polls show Obama way ahead of
>Keyes.
>”This was all politics,” said Keyes’ staffer Dan Proft, adding that the
>Democrats on the board decided to “play games with the law” and “it’s just
>embarrassing.”
>Keyes’ spokesman Bill Pascoe went further, saying the board acted like “the
>Barack Obama coronation committee” by trying to remove the Republican
>challenger.
>But Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said they “do not in any way condone” the
>move to boot Keyes.
>The drama unfolded as the board — made up of four Democrats and four
>Republicans — moved to certify the state ballot for the Nov. 2 election —
>which is
>usually a routine move.
>But Chairman John Keith, a Democrat, raised questions about the way the
>Republican State Central Committee selected a replacement for Jack Ryan,
>who
>withdrew as the GOP nominee after it was disclosed he took his wife to sex
>clubs.
>Keith led a Democratic chorus expressing uncertainty the committee had the
>authority to find a replacement as it did with Keyes. The Democrats even
>signed
>a state ballot without Keyes’ name on it, though Republicans countered by
>signing a ballot with Keyes’ name.
>The showdown seemed destined for courts when Republican National Committee
>attorney Charles Spies phoned in from New York.
>Spies assured board members that party rules had been followed and Keyes
>should be kept on the ballot. He said he would put his opinion in writing
>Monday,
>and Democrats agreed to keep Keyes on the ballot as long as Spies’ written
>statement doesn’t contain “a lot of malarkey,” Democratic member William
>McGuffage said.
>The dispute caught most Republicans by surprise, though one top GOP staffer
>admitted that “we’ve always thought this could get tricky.” That’s because
>the
>issue has been on Springfield radar since April, when bipartisan groups
>began
>to recognize that state law is vague on succession rules for U.S. Senate
>nominees.
>Keith cited cases to support his position that state parties aren’t
>empowered
>to act when a Senate candidate withdraws, though Republican Bryan Schneider
>led the charge that the GOP did it right.
>Keith also said he has twice raised concerns about the process to election
>officials, to no avail.
>But Spies spelled out party rules to support the process that state leaders
>followed in picking Keyes, and Obama even enlisted Democratic National
>Committee attorneys to back the RNC position.
>At meeting’s end, Keith was denying politics played a role in delaying
>Keyes’
>spot on the ballot.
>”Delay? What delay,” he said, after denying he was a Democrat. “Politics
>had
>nothing to do with it. If you want to call me a liar, call me a liar.”
>Contributing: Dave McKinney, Abdon Pallasch, Lynn Sweet