November 1, 2004

HOST: Mr. Alan Keyes, Dr. Keyes, candidate for U.S. Senate, has requested an interview on WMBI to discuss the issues in this election, as it also relates to the state of Illinois. In compliance with FCC regulations, WMBI has offered this time for and interview exploring these issues. Federal regulations also require that stations offer equal time to the opposing candidate. WMBI has contacted the office of Mr. Barack Obama, offering him opportunity to respond to these same set of questions we're presenting to Dr. Keyes. Up to this time, Mr. Obama has not responded to the invitation for an interview.

Ambassador Keyes, thank you for joining us this morning. Good to have you on.

ALAN KEYES, ILLINOIS U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE: Good to be with you. Thank you.

HOST: Well, obviously, you've had a pretty aggressive three or four weeks of campaigning here in this state. What is your understanding of the state of Illinois that would, you believe, make you an effective senator?

KEYES: Well, actually, we've had a pretty aggressive months of campaigning, since I accepted the nomination. And I think that we're headed toward a day when the key to everything that goes on in America and in Illinois is going to be whether voters of conscience, particularly voters of Christian conscience, will get out and do something to help put this country on the right track, to avoid the destruction of traditional marriage, to avoid the continuation of the holocaust against innocent children in the womb.

I think the moral crisis of this nation's life, which has been coming to a head for a long time, has now reached the point where the key decisions on the fundamental institutions of our society are going to be made. And I think Illinois voters are going to have the chance, if they are willing to turn out at the polls and vote their faith, to make a key difference in setting Illinois and the country back on the right track.

HOST: All right. What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the state of Illinois as it relates to the national scene?

KEYES: I think the biggest challenge that we face is obviously joining with others in order to try to address what has been destroying our families and undermining the moral culture and foundations of our life. And it has an impact across the board, on poverty levels, housing--everywhere you look a major problem, including education, you will find that the collapse of the family structure is feeding that problem, costing us billions of dollars, and yet it can't be resolved by the socialist, government-dominated approaches of somebody like Barack Obama.

A matter of fact, his support for those who are trying to destroy the traditional marriage, opposing the marriage amendment and the Defense of Marriage Act, will further contribute to the destruction of the marriage culture that I think has been at the root of a lot of our key and most expensive problems in this country.

I also think that we are facing a challenge of leadership that's going to require somebody with knowledge and experience to deal with the trade agreements and other things that have had such an erosive impact on the prospects of people in Illinois, because it has been destroying our manufacturing base. And I have the background in international affairs, in trade, to deal with those issues from Day One, in a way that will command respect of my fellow senators and people round the country, so we can stop this unfairness and protect the jobs of the people of Illinois, and attract jobs back into our state.

HOST: As you talk to folks in this state, how do you rate the social issues--abortion, same-sex marriage, school choice, Social Security, healthcare--as far as their importance to people in the state.

KEYES: Well, I think they are critically important. My whole campaign has been the result of thousands of people who have surged forward in order to put together in every county in the state a campaign that has been committed to addressing these issues as a matter of top priority, that that we can restore our allegiance to the basic principle that "we are all created equal, and endowed by our Created with certain unalienable rights.

The key challenge right now is for those Christian voters who have been knee-jerk voting for people who support abortion, who support same-sex marriage, who are championing the destruction of the moral culture of the country.

I think that a lot of Christian voters have a lot to answer, because they have been part of an complicity with the destruction of the God-fearing moral culture that that country was founded on. But now they have an opportunity to correct that and to return their allegiance to God instead of worshipping a party as their idol.

And I think a lot of people who are Democrats are going to join with all of those who are committed to the principle that, at the end of the day, our rights come from God, and must be exercised with respect for the authority of God--which means we must stop killing innocent children in the womb, restore our respect for the male/female marriage-based family, resist those who, through the courts and other means, are trying to destroy it. And resist other things, including embryonic stem cell research and cloning that represent the extension of this culture of disregard for God's will.

HOST: Let's talk about what seems to be the biggest concern for America in this year's election, and that's the fight against terrorism. Where do you see the U.S. going in terms of policy here?

KEYES: Well, I think that we must continue the policies that G.W. Bush has pursued. The president has understood that the only way to deal with terrorism is to preempt terrorist attacks. That is, to move against the infrastructure, the training camps, the sources of funds, the state supporters, like Afghanistan and Iraq, to transform the scene, so that it is not longer providing the support for the infrastructure of terror that then results in the terrible kinds of attacks that we say on September 11th.

And I think that this obviously is a policy that require courage and perseverance. It requires an ability to make decisions, not with the wisdom of hindsight, but with the courage of foresight, to as to prevent terrorists from taking American lives.

I fear for the future of the country, quite frankly, if someone like John Kerry, who apparently believes you can appease or negotiate away the threat of terror, if somebody like that is in office, while he's trying to negotiate with these blood-thirsty terrorists, Americans will be dead. And that's not good enough for the safety of our country.

HOST: Is it important to have Congress and our president on the same page regard the war and important social issues? I mean, can't you disagree on these things?

KEYES: Well, I think that it's absolutely critical that we have people--look at what's happened to the judges. Critical appointments will be coming up, including possibly four judges on the Supreme Court. And if we don't have people in the Senate to back up the kind of appointments that G.W. Bush has tried to make with strict constructionists, people who respect the Constitution, instead of making it up as they go along, people who will be look to provide support for the moral culture of the country, instead of destroying it, if Barack Obama is elected to the United States Senate, he becomes part of the obstructionist minority that has shut down the process of providing such judges for the federal courts and for the U.S. Supreme Court.

If I get elected, I will be backing the president up on the War on Terror, as well as on the critical appointments to the judgeships that will, sadly, determine the future of our country--particularly with respect to the marriage-based family.

HOST: In making important decisions about the future of America, there obviously are moral issues that come up for discussion, and many people in our audience would be interested to know, what is your source of moral truth?

KEYES: Well, my source of moral truth is the Bible and the words and example of Christ--Who has, I think, not only provided us with the way to salvation, but given us the guide that's needed so that our heart and spirit can be formed in such as way as to walk the path that leads through to the Lord.

And I think that that is clear also for our county, which began with the invocation of God's authority: "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, and endowed by their Creator"--not by the Constitution or their mothers' choice, or the president or the judges on the court, but by the Creator, God.

If we turn our back on the authority of God, we turn out back on the foundation of our liberty.

And I think it just appalls me that people have been so timid, especially people of Christian faith, about stepping forward to bear witness to this truth, which is the biblical truth, but it's also the truth that is the foundation of our civic, moral culture as Americans. And as we have turned our back, as we've been complacent, as we've sat on our hands and refused to act out of fear that we'll be ridiculed and shamed by the Godless media, we have watched our country walk down the path that is destroying the moral heart of our people.

I think it's time that Christian people stepped up to the plate and followed the vocation that, by His providence, God has given us by putting us here, as part of the sovereign body of the people--answering to Him, as David and Solomon answered, for our use of the great opportunity that he has given us to shape the destiny of our country.

HOST: Dr. Keyes, you have your Ph.D. in government from Harvard, and I believe your dissertation was on constitutional theory. Well, the Supreme Court is examining one piece of the Constitution, which is interesting, as it relates to the Ten Commandments and whether we have a right to display them publicly. What's your take on that?

KEYES: Well, actually, my take is that I don't understand how the federal courts, the Supreme Court or otherwise, got their hands on this issues. The Constitution clearly forbids the federal government to be involved in any way in the issue of religious establishment. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion," meaning that there can be no federal law on the subject of religious establishment. Where do the judges get their authority? The Constitution says the federal government can't have it. The Tenth Amendment leaves it in the hands, reserves it to the states and the people of the states to exercise those powers that have been withheld from the federal government. Why does the Supreme Court have any say in this matter? .This should be left up to the states and to the people.

And I think that those who have been pushing this doctrine of separation are ignoring the clear prohibition in the Constitution against federal involvement in this question, and are basically fabricating a doctrine that does not exist anywhere in the Constitution or in our Constitutional heritage.

And I think it's time that Congress step forward to remove these matters from the jurisdiction of the federal courts and put them back where the Constitution place them.

And that's what I'll be working for in the United States Senate, along with others who have already put such bills on the table. But they need my support and the support of others like me to get them through.

HOST: All right, Dr. Keyes. Thank you for your time today. We appreciate it. And we wish you well as you pursue this office here in the state of Illinois.

KEYES: Thank you very much. I appreciate the time.