Alan Keyes in 2004 third IL Senate Debate

On Abortion: Pro-choice stance is the slaveholder’s position

KEYES: It doesn’t conflict at all. Abortion and capital punishment are at different level of moral concern.

OBAMA: It’s unfortunate that with the death penalty Mr. Keyes respects that people may have a different point of view but with the issue of abortion he has labeled people everything as terrorists to slaveholders to being consistent with Nazism for holding an opposing point of view.

KEYES: Mr. Obama has read the newspapers too much. I don’t call people names. I make arguments. And in point of fact, [the pro-choice stance] is the slaveholder’s position. Slaveholders took the view that black people were not developed enough to be treated as human beings and therefore can be bought and sold like animals. People looking at the babe in the womb take the view that it is not developed enough to be treated as a human being and therefore can be killed at will.

On Civil Rights: Gay marriage invalid because gay couples cannot reproduce

KEYES: Marriage is based upon heterosexual relations because they are connected to procreation. Where procreation is impossible, marriage is irrelevant. And that is the civic explanation against homosexual marriage. It is irrelevant. And the idea that one should have legislation that is regulating private friendships for no reason is a degrading of those friendships.

OBAMA: Well, to answer the original question, I would love that child and seek to support them. I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman but I detest the bashing and vilifying of gays and lesbians. Most gays and lesbians are seeking basic recognition of their rights so they’re not discriminated against in employment or renting a house, so they can see their partner in a hospital. These are rights for everybody, not just some people.

On Crime: Enforcement should target criminals, not social conditions

KEYES: When I was part of the effort to fight terrorists, I dealt with some of the most hardened criminals on the face of the earth. What I learned to understand, that Senator Obama seems to forget when dealing with domestic crime and foreign relations is that you must go after the people who cause the problem and you must get after them before than can do harm. You must deal with the individuals who pose a threat to the decency of our communities.

On Crime: No conflict between pro life and pro death penalty stances

KEYES: It doesn’t conflict at all. As a matter of fact, abortion and capital punishment are at different level of moral concern. Abortion is intrinsically, objectively wron and sinful whereas capital punishment is a matter of judgment, which is not in and of itself a violation of moral right. There are certain issues that objectively violate the most fundamental canons of moral decency and abortion is one of them: the takin of innocent life. The question of whether or not you should apply capital punishment depends on circumstances and it’s an area where Catholics have a right to debate and disagree.

OBAMA: Now I agree with Mr. Keyes that the death penalty and abortion are separate cases. It’s unfortunate that with the death penalty Mr. Keyes respects that people may have a different point of view but with the issue of abortion he has labeled people as terrorists for holding an opposing point of view.

On Crime: Sentencing gang members to death sends strong social message

OBAMA: [The proposed legislation] was entirely unnecessary and unconstitutional. It suggested that I could kill a police officer but because I’m not a gang member, I would be treated differently. I think both cases should be death penalty eligible.

KEYES: Senator Obama does not think it superfluous to have hate crimes legislation that adds a special animus to certain acts of violence already penalized against the law. But in order to convey against those certain acts a special category of deviation from society. The law provides a special message aimed at discouraging things considered especially harmful to a society and a community.

On Education: Parents, not schools, should be responsible for sex ed

OBAMA: We have an existing law that mandates sex education in the schools and we want to make sure that it’s medically accurate & age appropriate. [Sex education] is in the law so schoolchildren can exercise some kind of protection against abuse.

KEYES: I think its perfectly appropriate for parents t talk to their children at these tender young ages in a way that reflects their faith and their values, as understood according to their moral identity and religious culture. And I think its dangerous to be touching these subjects at such tender ages in a school environment rather than leaving it to the parents. I believe in empowering parents with the right to choose the environment where their children will be educated rather than usurping their role with a bureaucratically dominated education system.

On Government Reform: Reinstate that state legislatures elect US Senators

KEYES: Senators were originally chosen by the state legislatures for the simple reason that the US Senate was supposed to represent the state government as sovereign entities. Our laws in Illinois are passed by the state legislature. Are the people disenfranchised in the passing of these laws? I don’t think so.

OBAMA: I think [Illinois citizens] should be voting, not state legislatures. I teach constitutional law at the University of Chicago and I understand that’s how the constitution was framed. It also prohibited anyone but white, male property owners from voting. That’s why we had amendments. It’s a funny way to empower people to take their vote away.

On Gun Control: Gun control mentality means crooks have all the guns

OBAMA: Let’s be honest. Mr. Keyes does not believe in common gun control measures like the assault weapons bill. Mr. Keyes does not believe in any limits from what I can tell with respect to the possession of guns, including assault weapons that have only one purpose, to kill people. I think it is a scandal that this president did not authorize a renewal of the assault weapons ban.

On Principles & Values: Great principles at stake: marriage & innocent life

On War & Peace: Iraq War reduced probability of attack from Saddam to zero

KEYES: We either fight the war against terror or the terrorists kill us. What Pres. Bush did was take a situation where there was a probability of a terrorist attack and respond. Now what probability was there that there was going to be a biological or nuclear attack against the US? Bush did was what any responsible president would have to do: He acted to reduce that probability to zero because that is the only probability we want. So he acted to attack them before they attack us, to make it clear to enablers of terrorism like Saddam Hussein that we will retaliate. And it’s worked. It was a necessary decision the president made to save our country from disaster.

OBAMA: We have not reduced the probability of a terrorist attack to zero, when we have nuclear fuel lying around in the former Soviet Union & while Osama bin Laden roams free in the hills of Afghanistan.

KEYES: We have reduced the probability of an attack from Saddam Hussein to zero

On War & Peace: Naive to think Saddam has no connections to Al Qaeda

OBAMA: There was no connection between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda. This war has made us less safe. Osama bin Laden roams free in the hills of Afghanistan.

KEYES: The breathtaking naivete of the assertion that there is no connection between Al Qaeda & Saddam Hussein when Saddam was providing payments to the families of Hamas suicide bombers who had ties to Al Qaeda. I worked on the National Security Council staff. Maybe that’s why I understand the situation a little better than Barack Obama. Those ties are real and we cannot afford to let them operate.

OBAMA: I don’t think that Mr. Keyes knowledge of the situation is better than Donald Rumsfeld’s or the other experts who have confirmed that there was no connection between those who perpetrated the attacks of 9/11 and Iraq. This was an ideologically driven war. But now we do have a hotbed of terrorism to fight in Iraq.