What if the Republicans had gotten David Duke to run in Illinois instead?

[ButterflyBlood]

Would he be doing that much worse than Keyes right now?

[dogtag]

1. Duke would be doing better.

Why? Because a lot of the whackos who like Keyes' stand on social issues won't vote for a black man.

The logical thing would have been for the repukes to run a local guy who could have gotten some name recognition that would benefit him in a future race. Why they decided to import a carpetbagger with enough 'baggage' to fill entire freight car is beyond me. They aren't always smart and cagey apparently.

[ButterflyBlood]

2. actually what they could've done

is found some janitor in Peoria, put his name on the ballot, not run a campaign, and still get 40%.

Instead they import a guy who'll be lucky to break 30% and can't even pull 50% of Republicans in the latest poll. Intelligence isn't the GOP's strong suit.

[Sporadicus]

3. I Concur on Their Lack of Smartness & Caginess

After all, they gave serious consideration at one time to Mike Ditka! Only Ditka's wife had enough common sense to call for an end to the nonsense.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

6. What was funny, was, I heard some wingnut radio host here in TX trying

to rationalize how Ditka would be a good choice, on the basis that he was a total outsider to Washington/politics and had "common man/common sense". Of course these same guys would totally lambaste any Dem candidate who was just a celebrity thrown into the ring.

[ClassWarrior]

9. I think they were very smart and cagey.

They made the most of a lost cause by running loudmouth Keyes.

23.

[yardwork]

5. I have the impression that good old Illinois politics

worked to our advantage in this case. I think that the national Republican Party was appalled when Keyes was chosen. Who knows what happened?

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

7. So the Keyes decision came regionally and not dictated down from

the national party organization?

[ClassWarrior]

4. Wouldn't matter. Duke? Keyes? Just red meat for the rubes.

They saw the writing on the wall. They knew they'd never beat Barak. So they sent a sacrificial lamb so they could whip up the fundies and make them feel all persecuted and stuff.

23.

[madrchsod]

8. david duke would

have gotten more votes than keyes, that is a given...scary isn`t it..

[ikojo]

10. Correct. I suspect that a lot of Illinois voters will not bother

to vote for Senate, thinking it's a foregone conclusion that Barack Obama is the winner. I also suspect that Barack will do much better in the Chicaco area than in Central or Southern Illinois. The wing nuts down there cannot bring themselves to vote for a black guy but would have little problem voting for someone as whacked out as David Duke, but not even the Republicans are crazy enough to run him.

[DeadHead67]

11. I live downstate, in Belleville, and even racists I know will vote. . .

. . .for Obama. I think the guy may be our first African/American President! Yeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

[salin]

12. David Duke... I glanced and read Daisy Dukes

tried to envision Keyes wearing some daisy dukes in order to boost his numbers... *scary image, btw*

[Lefty48197]

13. That would have solidified the Republican base, instead of pissing them

off, like the Keyes nomination did.