Constitution Party Convenes in Kansas City

From Ballot Access News:

The Constitution Party national convention in Kansas City will actually vote for a presidential nominee on Saturday, April 26, starting at 8 AM. Nominating speeches will have been made the preceding day. There will probably be a strong vote for former Ambassador Alan Keyes, a strong vote for 2004 vice presidential nominee Chuck Baldwin, and a strong vote for drafting Congressman Ron Paul.

It's unclear as to whether C-SPAN will cover the convention, but Keyes will have a live stream from his website daily from 8 AM to 11 PM Central time. This stream started today and will continue through Saturday, the last day of the convention.

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by W. James Antle III | The American Spectator

In the grand tradition of the Boston Tea Party, Tax Day is as good a time as any to begin a struggle for independence. Perhaps that's why perennial candidate Alan Keyes picked April 15 to announce his departure from the Republican Party, though a cheeky blogger for the Los Angeles Times had a slightly different take: "Alan Keyes officially leaves GOP and hardly anyone notices."

Keyes certainly didn't have a noticeable impact on the 2008 Republican presidential primaries, where his highly unorthodox campaign made both his 43-point loss to Barack Obama in the 2004 Illinois Senate race and his 42-point defeat by Barbara Mikulski during a 1992 Maryland Senate run seem like successes by comparison. Keyes spent much of his time campaigning in Texas, where he won just 0.62 percent of the vote. His best showing was in the Kansas caucus, where he received 1.5 percent. Keyes's bizarre performance at the Des Moines Register debate before the Iowa caucuses was the first -- and last -- time he made news during his GOP run.

This week, Keyes is expected to make a bid for the Constitution Party's presidential nomination, which will be determined at the party's national convention in Kansas City, Missouri, on Friday and Saturday. "If Dr. Keyes's positions on the issues square up with the CP platform we'd be thrilled to have him represent us and offer Americans a choice that the other 'Big Box' parties don't," says Constitution Party communications director Mary Starrett. But there is no guarantee that Keyes will be finding electoral success in his new party either.

At first glance, Keyes ought to be a good fit for the Constitution Party. Both are unapologetically pro-life and animated by Christian conservative issues. Both favor the abolition of the income tax. Keyes has in the past addressed the party's gatherings, hobnobbed with its leaders, and championed many of their political causes. But the Constitution Party is predominantly paleoconservative and Keyes isn't exactly.

Many Constitution Party members are former Pat Buchanan Republicans. Veteran leader and three-time presidential candidate Howard Phillips thrice sought to have Buchanan run on the party's national ticket. The bad blood between the Buchanan brigades and the Keyesters dates back to the 1996 Republican primaries, when many of the former saw Keyes as a stalking horse out to siphon pro-life, socially conservative votes away from Buchanan. Keyes took 7 percent in the Iowa caucuses, for example, where Bob Dole only beat Buchanan by three points.

Other party members point to philosophical differences with Keyes. Trent Hill of the Louisiana Constitution Party told me in an e-mail that Keyes "is a good man" who will be "respected and welcomed by all within the party." But he expressed concerns about Keyes's "interventionist leanings" when it comes to foreign policy. "Also at issue, especially with some of the more philosophically astute delegates, is that Keyes is a friend of... Read more>>>