Students standing behind Keyes

By Ashley Johnson

Jack Ryan’s departure from the Illinois U.S. Senate race has not deterred the College Republicans – who are now rallying behind former presidential candidate and conservative talk show host Alan Keyes – nor has it changed the College Democrats’ faith in Barack Obama’s ability to win the election.

According to Garrett Leek, president of the College Republicans and sophomore in LAS, Keyes’ stance on major issues is part of the reason the College Republicans are committed to supporting his campaign.

In a phone interview, Keyes said he offers Illinois voters “leadership, experience, clarity on moral issues, a willingness to defend the tradition of family, a willingness to defend the innocent life in the womb and a willingness to defend Second Amendment rights.”

“I’m willing to attempt to bite the bullet on difficult decisions,” Keyes said.

He also said he is willing to speak out on reparations, income tax and foreign policy issues.

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Leek hopes Keyes’ ideas will resound with University students.

“From a University perspective, he’s against racial quotas,” Leek said. “He’s got a lot of revolutionary ideas that are good policy – for example, privatizing Social Security. He stands to a great degree for returning government to its proper role under the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. He stands for bringing it back to the basics, and that’s something I can really get behind in terms of his campaign.”

Chuck Prochaska, vice president for the College Republicans and sophomore in LAS, said the organization rebounded from the Jack Ryan sex scandal by shifting resources from Ryan’s campaign to Keyes’. The president of Students for Jack Ryan will now be president of Students for Alan Keyes, he said.

The Ryan scandal and the emergence of Alan Keyes as the Republican candidate has not changed the focus of the College Democrats.

Erin Janulis, president of the College Democrats and senior in LAS, said she hopes the scandal does not take attention away from Obama’s qualifications.

“Some of us wish there was no scandal because it makes it seem like we’re winning because of the scandal and not the strength of our candidate,” she said. “We have a very strong candidate in Obama. We’re confident he will win either way.”

Janulis said the group will be registering students to vote and holding rallies to impress upon students the importance of the election and encourage their support for Obama, the candidate she feels better understands college students’ needs.

“I think he has a very good understanding of how important an education is and I think he understands college students’ motivations,” Janulis said.

Members from both organizations are concerned with the opposing candidate’s ability to focus on the needs of Illinois voters.

Prochaska said Keyes’ experience as a former ambassador will enable him to represent America’s foreign policy interests, while Obama may be too focused on Chicago.

“(Obama’s) another Chicago representative. Downstate will suffer dramatically from having two senators like (Richard) Durbin and Obama … Keyes is more mainstream on issues that affect the state as a whole, instead of just issues concerning Chicago,” Prochaska said.

Keyes, a Maryland resident, has been criticized because he does not live in Illinois. Leek said the issue must be put into proper perspective.

“If the issue of carpetbagging is brought up, you have to realize that he was asked to come here,” Leek said. “He didn’t come here looking for a position; he was asked, and I think he’s going to make good on the request that was made.”

Janulis disagrees.

“Obama has a better pulse on what the people in Illinois need from a senator,” Janulis said. “He has amazing vision. He’s not looking one or two years down the road, but 10 or 20 – and that’s what we look for in a candidate.”