Matt C. Abbott
Alan Keyes: hardly a 'deadbeat candidate'!
By Matt C. Abbott
I must say that I was very disappointed to see the following blog post from the highly-respected LewRockwell.com site.
I thought it best for Stephen Stone, the excellent editor of RenewAmerica.com — and CEO of Keyes for President — to respond to Mr. Garris' post; and Mr. Stone has graciously allowed me to quote from his e-mail to Mr. Garris, as follows.
So there.
© Matt C. Abbott
I must say that I was very disappointed to see the following blog post from the highly-respected LewRockwell.com site.
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Alan Keyes: The Deadbeat Candidate
Posted by Eric A. Garris at October 15, 2007 03:07 PM
'If you have been wondering why Alan Keyes is running for President, I have found the key.
'In his latest report to the Federal Elections Commission, Keyes has filed five previous committeees [sic] alongside his current one. These five committees go back to 1994 and cover his 1996 and 2000 runs for President and his 2004 Illinois Senate campaign. Among these five committees, he owes a total of (drumroll please)...
'$521,943!
'Keyes is well-known for paying his personal bills with campaign coffers, and he has defended his making a living off running for office. I wonder if his current contributors know that they are paying off Keyes' bills from over a decade ago.'
I thought it best for Stephen Stone, the excellent editor of RenewAmerica.com — and CEO of Keyes for President — to respond to Mr. Garris' post; and Mr. Stone has graciously allowed me to quote from his e-mail to Mr. Garris, as follows.
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'As the CEO of the Keyes for President committee, and as someone who is personally liable for the finances of the committee, I request that you remove your utterly false and misleading smear of Alan Keyes and the presidential committee currently filed in his behalf.
'What you wrote is completely untrue regarding Dr. Keyes' motivation for running for office; the indebtedness of past committees formed in his behalf (committees over which he has no direct control and for which he bears no legal responsibility); and your allegation that our committee uses donations of current contributors to retire past committees' debts. In fact, what you claim our committee is doing to retire debts of previous committees would, in fact, be illegal under FEC rules.
'Your claims therefore amount to slander, not just of Alan Keyes but of me, and you are legally liable should our attorneys choose to pursue the matter.
'I am particularly disturbed by your claim that Dr. Keyes 'has defended his making a living off running for office.' Your claim is an outright lie. Dr. Keyes is one of the few truly principled statesmen in our country today, someone who has sacrificed as much (in terms of time and personal resources) for the cause of preserving our constitutional republic as anyone you could name, and he does not 'make a living' from running for office. His sole motive for running, in every instance, is to restore the foundations of our republic.
'We need more statesmen who are willing to sacrifice as much for principle as Dr. Keyes.'
So there.
© Matt C. Abbott
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