Alan Keyes
February 1, 2000
Concord, New Hampshire

Thank you. Praise God. Thank you very much.

Tonight, I would like you first of all to join me in remembering the One who is the guide to our peace, and the source of all our hope and strength. Would you bow your heads with me in a prayer?

Dear Lord, our God, we thank you for the integrity of all those who stood steadfast in support of the message of truth and hope, of moral strength, of return to the moral allegiance of our principles that acknowledge that our strength, and our rights, and our dignity come from you. We thank you for the peace of mind that comes from the knowledge that we walk the path that you lay out for us, that we do so with all the integrity that, by your grace, we can find--and that together we stand to send a message of hope and renewal to all of the people of our land. We thank you, Lord, for that peace and comfort which strengthens us now as we move forward to carry that standard and that message to other parts of the country--strengthened in our hope, because of the strong support of the good-hearted people who work so hard in your cause, and in the cause of their country, here in New Hampshire. Thank you, dear Lord, our God, for this day, and for the hope and the peace that you give us in our service to you and to our country. Amen. [Crowd: "Amen." Applause]

Thank you. Thank you very much.

First, I want to say a word to all of those voters out there who listen to folks in the media pointing out the inevitable winner of the Republican nomination. I want to talk to all those folks who listened to the words and the message of moral renewal, and said in their hearts, "That's what I believe. That's what this country needs. That person is the person who is speaking the words and walking the walk that we need as leadership in this country," and then went into the voting booth and voted for G. W. Bush. I want to talk to every single one of them, and every voter around this country in the Republican Party who is thinking of doing the same thing.

It is time that the people of conscience in the Republican Party come to their senses. We will not achieve the renewal of America's allegiance to its basic moral hope and basic moral principle until every voter of conscience stops looking for victory, and starts voting for what is right. [applause]

I feel a deep sense of pride and gratitude in all those good people throughout the state of New Hampshire who followed the fine example of many in Iowa, and voted their heart, and their principles, and their conscience--knowing full well which was the most effective voice raised on behalf of moral renewal and moral principle in this land.

I think that the results of this election, this primary in New Hampshire, clearly demonstrates the challenge that is now before the people of conscience--the moral conservatives of the Republican Party. And I think what has been proven is that all of those who put their faith in money, and all of those who put their faith in some big name to overcome the deficiencies of effectively articulating the moral challenge that is before this nation, have failed. They have shown that they cannot meet the challenge, and they will not meet the test.

They had all the advantages--they had the huge pocketbooks, and they had the media attention. But what they lacked was conviction, what they lacked was a digestive understanding of the way in which our moral principles apply to the issues of our time. And so, their hope has failed--and despite all their advantages, they did not achieve success.

There's a lesson in this, too, because of the nature of that candidate who did achieve success. I will congratulate John McCain on his victory. But I cannot agree with the stand that he has portrayed in this election on the issues. [applause]

And I want to state clearly and unequivocally the conclusion that I have reached based on all that we have seen in the last weeks and months of campaigning. If there are any in this country who respect my judgment and opinion, who understand the heart with which I articulate the urgent moral crisis of our time, and who know in their hearts that that articulation reflects the truth, I would ask them to listen to me now. Because the Republican Party is in danger of going down a fateful road--and I believe that John McCain exemplifies that fateful choice almost as well as Al Gore or Bill Clinton. [applause]

Our friends in the media like to pretend that this is some great man of principle. You and I both know that the last thing any decent-minded Republican should do is accept the media's opinion of what is principled. [cheers, applause]

When radical elements in the homosexual community are moving forward to challenge the most important and fundamental institutions of our way of life with their agenda--to overthrow those concepts of sexual and moral responsibility essential to our families--that is not the time to say, as John McCain has said, that such issues do not belong in our politics. We need leaders who will meet the moral challenge that now threatens the foundations of our families and our civilization. John McCain is not that man. [applause]

And I think that it is clear, from what we have seen in the last several weeks, that for all the sake of political expediency in Arizona, he voted time after time in the way that he understood to be essential if he was to have any hope of victory in Arizona.

But you did notice, didn't you, on the Democrat side, they were having a big debate over Mr. Gore. Why? Because Al Gore, too, at one time, had a strong pro-life record at the state level because the people of his state demanded it. When he stepped into national politics, he abandoned that pro-life record because he never had the pro-life conviction in his heart. It was all a case of political expediency. [applause]

And I believe the signs are clear and definitive that it is the same with John McCain. The answer that he gave with respect to whether or not, if his daughter came to him and said she was gonna have an abortion, what he would do, what he would say--the punch line of that answer is the clearest indication that we need of where his heart lies. And his heart is not pro-life. For, what he expressed in that clear answer was simply the classic pro-abortion position: "Oh, I think it's immoral, and it's wrong, and I'd counsel her this way and that. But in the end, it's her choice."

I say to John McCain, and all those who think like him: those of us who understand the solid principle, the solid American truth on which the pro-life position stands, know this--we could not agree with such an answer. We would not take such a stand, because we know what you apparently do not know: that that life in the womb is not protected by its mother's choice, or the Constitution's choice, or the choice of any human being whatsoever. It is God's choice that establishes our right to life. [applause, cheering]

And I think that it's important, too, for anybody who cares about the pro-life cause and all that it represents--and what it represents, of course, is the crisis of our allegiance to our most fundamental American principles--I think it's important for them to reflect on what it will mean if we allow a pro-choice politician to capture the White House wearing the Republican label.

Think about this. We have fought hard and long in the pro-life movement. We have, indeed, established our strong presence in the Republican Party. The platform reflects our views and the views that are in line with the principles of our great Declaration and of our Constitution. But don't fool yourselves. If we allow ourselves to be duped into putting a time-serving expedient politician into the White House who stands on a pro-life record in order to get into the White House and serve a pro-choice cause, we will be fundamentally undermining, if not destroying, all of the progress we have made in the direction of justice and pro-life triumph in this country. [applause]

So, in looking at the results in New Hampshire, I would want to issue a challenge to every Republican of conscience, to every Republican of faith, to every Republican for whom the great principles of our Declaration still stand as the motivating cause of their hope for America. It is time that you began to reflect on the consequences of expediency.

We can no longer afford to be a party that consists of too many who believe that their vote is to go to someone designated by the media for victory. Our vote must go for those things that we believe will strengthen the hope of America's future.

And I would like to appeal, then, to all right now. It is quite clear--and I mean no disparagement of anyone. G. W. Bush is a fine a decent man. But I think one of the things that this election outcome demonstrates is that you can hand him all the advantages in the world, and he still is not capable of articulating the clear message of principle needed for our time, with the clarity and persuasiveness needed to bring about a victory.

We need to start reflecting on a simple fact. Let's say that you wanted to build a church. No doubt many Americans have this experience. And you have many assets available to you amongst those who are part of the faithful membership of that church. Some people have a name that they can use to bring together people who might support the work of that church. Other people have some money that they could use, and some materials that they could contribute, in order to make sure that the building that houses the church and its facilities would be strong. And maybe somebody else comes forward, and on the basis of their background, and their study, and the grace of God, they can articulate the heart and spirit and the message of the faith in a way that fires up the faithful, that brings them together, and calls them out.

I would ask people in the Republican Party to consider carefully what logic then will build that church most successfully. Is it the logic that hands the pulpit to the one with the money? The logic that hands the pulpit to the one with the name? Or the logic that hands the platform, through which you reach out and touch the hearts and move the people to come in and join in the cause--do you hand that to the one who can raise the most effective voice on behalf of that cause, and move most effectively the people to understand it and join in?

It is time that in the Republican Party we abandon the false logic of those who worship money, and those who worship name, and those who worship power, in order to follow the true path of those who understand that if we wish to prevail with the American people, then all Republicans must rally behind the one who has the most effective voice in presenting our message to the American people. [applause]

That being the case, I think we're going to see in the next few weeks in the Republican Party a little microcosm of what we will face in the general election. It is the battle of principle verses one who claims to be a straight-talking voice of principle, but takes positions on the issues that respect no principles at all. I think it's time that those who really care about the moral destiny of America stop calculating, stop playing games with this country's future, and resolve unequivocally to unite behind that voice which will lead us step by step in the direction of the best and most effective and most persuasive articulation of those principles so that this nation can respond and find its way back home.

We are going in that spirit, then, in the Keyes campaign, to continue with our efforts. As we have found here in New Hampshire good hearts and good spirits who are willing to go out and work against the odds in order to raise the standard of moral integrity in our party, so we have found good hearts and good spirits who will work with integrity in South Carolina, and in Michigan, and in Arizona, and in California, and in practically every state around this union. We will raise that banner high, we will carry that message without fail. And as the truth dawns on more, and more, and more of our people, we live in the hope that by God's grace their courage will finally awaken, and their visions will finally clear, and they will come forward to stand, hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder, with those who have already committed themselves to this path of true principle. [applause]

So let this clear message go out this evening to anyone who may have any doubts whatsoever, any doubts whatsoever: we are not discouraged. We will not retreat. We will not hesitate, we will not vacillate, we will not equivocate. [applause]

And on the strength of that unswerving commitment to the principles that made this nation strong, we will work hand in hand, and heart to heart, and with faith in Almighty God until the truth prevails. [applause]

Thank you. God bless you.