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September 20, 2004 Dekalb County's Wiegand calls Alan Keyes a "man of principle" Sycamore event features Keyes Joe Wiegand
U.S. Senate candidate Alan Keyes is coming to Sycamore on Tuesday, and local citizens have an opportunity to see and hear Keyes and go beyond the sound bites that our TV news and big city newspapers thrive on. In case you can't be with us, I'd like you to know a couple things about Ambassador Alan Keyes. Alan has a Ph.D. in government from Harvard, writing his dissertation on constitutional theory. Later Tuesday morning, Alan will speak to an NIU political science class, and those students are in for a treat. Alan Keyes spent eleven years with the State Department. He served in the U.S. Foreign Service and on the staff of the National Security Council before President Ronald Reagan appointed Alan as ambassador to the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Reagan later named Keyes as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations. Of Keyes, Reagan said, "I've never known a more stout-hearted defender of a strong America than Alan Keyes. He truly knows that freedom works." Keyes promotes the principles of the Bible, the Declaration of Independence, and the United States Constitution. Very little of that is politically correct these days, but there are hundreds of thousands of Illinois families hoping for political leadership loyal to those principles. It is ironic that a state Republican Party that has been so weak on these principles asked their most persistent advocate to be our nominee. Many of us have issues with the incompetence and double dealing of our state Republican Party. What was done to nominee Jack Ryan is the same sort of destructive action taken against reformers Peter Fitzgerald and Gary MacDougal. Driven by the mantra of "Don't send nobody that nobody sent," they refused the services of Aurora dairy man Jim Oberweiss, who finished second in the primary. They are so untrustworthy that Elgin Senator Steve Rauschenberger couldn't accept. Let us not blame Alan Keyes for their mess. Jack Ryan, Oberweiss and Rauschenberger have all endorsed Keyes. Yes, Alan Keyes is only recently relocated to Illinois. Keyes, the head of Washington D.C.-based Declaration Alliance was training for the Columbia (Missouri) Marathon when this state's GOP asked him to run against the anointed Obama in a race more important. (On Tuesday morning, you can join Keyes for a 6:30 A.M. fun run starting at the DeKalb County Court House flag pole.) Some people tell me they don't like the fact that Keyes is a transplanted candidate. Remember, Senator Fitzgerald and President Bush imported U.S. District Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. Apparently, coming from out of state actually helps one to find the corruption too many others can't see. I want to thank The Daily Chronicle for making its Opinion Page a vibrant forum for various views. I enjoy the letters, the phone call transcripts and editorials. Your Opinion Page edifies and serves as a constant reminder that none of us will agree on all the various issues and persons involved in public policy and politics. Much has been written about Alan Keyes. We owe it to ourselves, as inheritors of that noble title "American citizen," to see for ourselves whether this man is what others say he is. Let Alan Keyes and his issues speak for themselves. Join us for breakfast or for a run, but only if you are ready to be challenged, informed, and encouraged by a man of principle. Joe Wiegand Fairdale, Illinois |
