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| This article is from the March 31, 2000 edition of the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram newspaper, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. |
By Dan Holtz Leader-Telegram staff
Republican presidential candidate Alan Keyes sent a strong message Thursday to Texas Gov. George W. Bush, his party's likely presidential nominee.
Keyes suspects leaders at this summer's Republican National Convention will try to weaken the GOP's anti-abortion platform.
"They may try to foist a pro-abortion person on us in the vice presidency," Keyes said. "I promise you this. If we abandon our moral principles this way, I will work to make sure the Republican Party doesn't win."
While Bush and his entourage were in Eau Claire in the morning touring a north side school, Keyes brought his conservative and anti-abortion message to the city during an outdoor rally before about 250 supporters at the Tom Geary home, 4424 Meadow Lane.
All proceeds from the fund-raising event were donated to the Apple Pregnancy Care Center in Eau Claire.
"It shows his unwavering pro-life support," Mindy Gardner, the center's director, said of Keyes. "He's the most thought-provoking candidate I've ever heard."
People attending the rally were impressed with Keyes' message and enthusiasm.
Chris Baudhuin of Independence said Keyes was on the mark when he said most people would cast their votes for him if they were voting with their moral conscience.
"That's a shame people don't vote with their conscience," he said.
Baudhuin was impressed Keyes brought his campaign to Eau Claire.
"It shows he has a passion for getting his message out to everybody. He's not just sticking to Milwaukee and Minneapolis," Baudhuin said.
Cathy Carpenter of Mondovi was equally impressed with Keyes.
"He's speaking the truth," she said. "It's important he gets heard by the common people."
Keyes, a former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. General Assembly and assistant secretary of state under Ronald Reagan, said his work with the United Nations showed him abortion is accepted only in the United States and portions of Europe.
"The world is pro-life. I hope you realize that," he said. "The Africans, the Asians, the Latin Americans. They're all on our side."
Even though he has virtually no chance at getting the GOP presidential nomination, Keyes said his continued candidacy should send a message.
"The fact that I'm still standing at all ... is because conviction doesn't lose heart in the face of defeat," he said.
Keyes called the Clinton administration "the culture of death and evil. He accepts the business of murdering the children of the world. We must get the pro-death Democrats out of the business of running our government."
Keyes said Vice President Al Gore, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, was against abortion early in his political career.
"Then, when he was bitten by the bug of national prominence, he changed," Keyes said of Gore. "He just turned around to serve his ambitions. He must have a guilty conscience about it. I can't believe he doesn't."
Holtz can be reached at 833-9207, (800) 236-7077 or dan.holtz@ecpc.com.