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A very misleading factoid seems to be making the rounds of the right wing lately, so I thought I’d help nip it in the bud.

* Alan Keyes received more votes than Jim Durkin did two years ago during his run against US Senator Dick Durbin.

Keyes did receive more votes than Durkin. Durkin took 1,325,703 votes compared to Keyes’ 1,376,044. But total voter turnout was way higher this year than in 2002. Durkin and Durbin received a combined 3.4 million votes. Barack Obama alone received 3.56 million votes this year.

Durkin raised almost no money, was hardly known outside of his own state House district, received little media coverage, was up against a popular incumbent and still won 38.7 percent. Keyes won 27 percent last week. Only a fool would claim that Keyes improved on Durkin’s result. A tree stump running as a Republican might have received more votes than Keyes this year.

Then there’s the “blame the media” mantra that seems to emanate from every rightist corner. Keyes’ own website had this lovely nugget:

For almost three months, the Illinois media had a field day intentionally turning the dignified, passionate Keyes into a caricature of his true self.

There was nothing “dignified” about Keyes or his campaign.

dignified

To invest with dignity or honor; to make illustrious; to give distinction to; to exalt in rank; to honor.

Syn: To exalt; elevate; prefer; advance; honor; illustrate; adorn; ennoble.

Nobody can claim that I am a fan of the mainstream media. But Keyes got pretty much the coverage he deserved. He did not elevate the dialogue here. He cheapened it with over-the-top insults and super-heated rhetoric.

And then there’s the paranoid fantasy that Illinois Republican Party Chair Judy Baar Topinka somehow wanted a Keyes candidacy in order to ruin the party’s conservative wing.

The problem with this tinfoil hat argument is the undeniable fact that it was the conservatives who came up with the Keyes idea and it was the conservatives who convinced the state GOP to bring him here and then defended him until his strange behavior forced most of the saner members of their cabal into hiding.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Nov 11, 04 @ 3:22 pm

Comments

Well, even though Topinka didn’t lure him here, when they hit rock bottom in the candidate search, and there were the conservatives whining like babies for Keyes, she had to have cracked half a smile.

Comment by fearofblog Friday, Nov 12, 04 @ 12:29 am
I saw only grimaces.

Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Nov 12, 04 @ 12:46 am
Keyes will not stay here no matter what he said. He will follow the christian right to the ends of the earth. The GOP needs to get a more moderate candidate.
Maybe Fast Eddie Vrdolyak will run against Durbin

Comment by Anonymous Friday, Nov 12, 04 @ 10:56 am
Is JBT that tribal? I’ve never had that impression.

I also think it’s a mistake to lump all conservatives into the Keyes camp, or they should all be blamed. There are individuals to blame, not a class or group.

I’m conservative and I was among the first to say this was a bad idea. No one listened to me…

This whole Keyes thing is about as useful as people continuing to debate the reasons for the Iraq war… as if you can give it back or something… The Keyes thing is done, over, caput…. the horse dead all ready….Let’s move on…

Comment by Greg Friday, Nov 12, 04 @ 4:47 pm
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.

Comment by Anonymous Saturday, Nov 13, 04 @ 8:08 am
Greg, conservatives shouldn’t “move on” until they understand the mistakes they made. I’m not sure that many of them do.

Comment by Rich Miller Saturday, Nov 13, 04 @ 1:19 pm
“Anonymous,” your post was deleted because of a personal attack on someone that was a bit over the top. Let’s be nice, eh?

Comment by Rich Miller Saturday, Nov 13, 04 @ 1:22 pm