Alan Keyes and the Neocon Destruction of Third Parties
By Maggie Bloom
Sacramento Central Committee
American Independent Party
I’ve really come to dislike Alan Keyes. He says all the right conservative things but what he does is destructive to the Constitutional movement. I have trouble believing it is not planned.
First time I noticed it was in 2006. Illegal immigration had finally hit the main stream media as an issue. Citizen border patrol groups sprang up and huge amounts of money were donated to build an Israeli style fence along the Mexican border. The money was all funneled through a non profit called Declaration Alliance chaired by Alan Keyes. (see: Alan Keyes and the Minuteman Morass) The money disappeared, the fence was never built and the movement has all but died.
Then Ron Paul decided to run for President in 2008. It lit a fire under Constitutionalists that even the main stream media had to pay attention too. With Constitutional issues being brought to the forefront, third parties were in a good position to become a viable alternative to the Ds and Rs.
The American Independent party, as the third largest party in the nation, in affiliation with the Constitution Party was poised to strike at the heart of the status quo system. The Constitution Party put forth well known conservative Pastor Chuck Baldwin. In steps Alan Keyes to reek his destructive havoc.
The leadership of the American Independent Party pushed for Keyes to be the Constitution Party nominee even though the AIP electorate had chosen Don Grundmann as their candidate. So much for holding a primary. The leadership, in its allegiance to Keyes, felt no obligation to support the rightfully elected candidate.
When the leadership of AIP, now referred to as the Robinson faction, failed to push Keyes’ candidacy on the Constitution Party, they chose loyalty to Keyes over Constitutional principles and split the party in two. The split took Pastor Baldwin off the ballot in California and replaced him with Alan Keyes.
The destruction continues. The King faction of AIP wants to remain with the Constitution Party. This election year they tried to regain control of AIP by putting up a bunch of candidates for office. Not only were the candidates like Chelene Nightengale great candidates but it would have effectively given control of AIP over to the King faction.
Alan Keyes needs to retain ballot access in California though. Mark Seidenberg and Markham Robinson, the Robinson faction, have moved to disenfranchise these newly elected candidates. They plan to have the State Convention prior to the candidates being certified by the Secretary of State keeping them off the State Central Committee and prior to the election code mandated county organizational meetings. This allows Seidenberg and Robinson to fake a quorum by filling “empty” spots with their cronies, keeping the Constitution Party out of California and Alan Keyes on the ballot.
So much for viable third parties.
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