February 8, 2008

On Thursday, Republican presidential candidate Alan Keyes commented on Mitt Romney's decision to bow out of the presidential race, saying he never bought into the former Massachusetts governor's "whole phony business" of "reinventing himself" in contradiction of his record.

Keyes also addressed Romney's hand in instituting same-sex-marriage, repeating his charge that Romney pushed through same-sex marriage in Massachusetts without obligation or authority to do so, in violation of state law.

Keyes' remarks were made on KGNW's Thor Tolo show, which is based in Washington state.

Keyes also weighed in on Sen. John McCain's recent emergence in the presidential race, saying, "There's not a constituency of true conservatives that doesn't have one of John McCain's knives sticking out of [their] backs" — due to the senator's "determined effort to shut down true self-government in this country, so people can't organize, can't fundraise, can't associate, and can't communicate about the records of their representatives."

The former Assistant Secretary of State under Ronald Reagan called McCain's record an "assault" on conservatism and "a deadly blow against the possibility of self-government and constitutionalism." He added, "And we're just supposed to forget about it now and listen to his words . . . that he speaks to please and placate people, but I don't think people are that stupid. I really don't."

Keyes suggested that conservatives won't forget McCain's "work and record" when they go to the voting booth in the general election.

Asked if he personally would vote for McCain, Keyes said, "I'll just make it very clear: I'm not going to support John McCain, and that's just simply that."

Host Tolo led off the interview by raising the issue of Keyes' allegations that Romney forced same-sex marriage upon his state.

Said Tolo, "Alan Keyes believes that Mitt Romney single-handedly instituted same-sex marriage while governor of Massachusetts. . . . Keyes — who lobbied against that state's adoption of same-sex marriage 3½ years ago, when most people were unaware of the way Massachusetts had come to adopt same-sex marriage — believes that [the perception that] the state's Supreme Judicial Court [instituted same-sex marriage] is absolutely, positively a false perception."

Asked why this perception persists, Keyes said, "I think it persists because people don't look at what the court actually said in its decision."

Keyes noted that the court acknowledged it had no authority, under the state constitution, to change the law, and that when the legislature refused to comply with the court's directive to revise the law, "Mitt Romney, without any basis in the law, . . . ordered the justices of the peace to perform gay marriage, even though that order itself was unconstitutional and illegal."

As a result of Romney's public record, as well as the governor's lack of credibility in professing numerous changes of heart regarding his positions, Keyes said he couldn't support him for president.