Because I Said So…

If Ron Paul is a the long-shot Republican presidential candidate, then resident minority for the GOP race Alan Keyes is in another universe.  Now that “World Mayor” Rudy Giuliani has dropped out of the running, leaving Paul impossible to ignore, there is room for Alan Keyes to move into the vacant invisible candidate slot.

Keyes is not even mentioned on CNN’s online list of remaining Republican candidates (he was there in the beginning of January), but the “other” black man running for president is starting to make some noise to let everyone know he’s still in the swing of things.  Keyes is in the midst of a a six-week grassroots tour of Texas, and he plans to camp out in Texas until its primary on March 4.  According to pundits, Texas may become key to the Republican primary if Super Tuesday fails to produce a “presumptive” Republican nominee.

Keyes will also continue his “nationwide radio blitz to counter the media’s virtual blackout of his campaign.”   Recently, Republicans in New York have attempted to remove Keyes from state ballots on the grounds that he has not submitted a list of delegates.  Otherwise, he appears on the ballot in most states.

The former assistant Secretary of State (and trained opera singer–who knew?) is no stranger to animosity and controversy.   This will be Keyes’ third long-shot run for the presidency.  The last time he ran for national office was in 2004 when the Illinois Republican Party drafted Keyes to run against Barack Obama for U.S. Senate.  Keyes became infamous for slamming his competitor, and he’s up to the same antics in this race.

Keyes launched a blistering attack against Mitt Romney on the issue of gay marriage saying:

“Mitt Romney is single-handedly responsible for instituting same-sex marriage in Massachusetts….Mitt Romney pushed through same-sex marriage all by himself, in the absence of any authority or requirement to do so, having a complete misunderstanding of his role as governor and of the significance of the court’s opinion.”

Clearly, Keyes has some very conservative views of homosexuality.  And since he is so outspoken about the issue, in the grand scheme of Republican ironies, this means either he or someone in his family must be gay–his daughter Maya is a lesbian and rumored to have been “cut-off” by Keyes when she came out to her family in 2005. 

While, Keyes failed to register more than a few thousand votes combined in New Hampshire, Iowa, and other early states, he might be in luck if Mitt Romney and Huckabee are forced from the race after Super Tuesday.  And if Keyes keeps up the sound and fury maybe big media will recognize him as a candidate.  He should ask Paul for some tips.

For fun here is a YouTube clip of Keyes from 2004 discussing his views on homosexuality.  How poised and not-homophobic is he, eh, eh?